Lady Cardinals Make History

Sporting events have been taking place for centuries.  Track and Field itself dates back to 776 B.C. in Olympia Greece.  With the passage of so much time it can be a rare sight to witness new history.  The Cardinal faithful that made the trip to Middleton High School last weekend were given the rare opportunity to witness history live in front of them.  Winning a state championship is a special thing that few get to say they are a part of.  Even fewer get to say they were the first ones to ever accomplish that feat for their school and community.  This year's Lady Cardinals now get to join that elite group of athletes.  The blue state title trophy belongs to the Lady Cardinals but they were not the only Soda athletes performing last weekend at the state meet.  The large contingent of girls were joined by their classmates on the boys team.

Even with just a few athletes qualified for the state meet, the boys team made their presence known.  Just two boys competed in field events for the Cardinals.  Cooper Thompson matched his personal best jump of 6’ 2” to earn fourth place in the high jump.  Fellow sophomore Cole Garbett also claimed a spot on the podium placing third in the discus.  Caleb Thompson ran in the prelims of the 400 meter race where he was unable to advance to the finals.  Zayden Garbett suffered the same fate in the prelims of the 300m hurdles.  Freshman Landon Moldenhauer only finished in sixteenth place in the 3200 meter race, but set a new PR in the process.  The 4x400 relay team of Degan Stoor, Cooper Thompson, Landon Martinsen, and Caleb Thompson finished in fifth place earning medals and a place on the podium.  The brightest spot on the boys team was Degan Stoor who won a close 110m hurdle race and dominated the 300m hurdle race.  Stoor left the meet with two gold medals and a new PR and school record in the 300m hurdles.

The state champion girls team is just loaded with talent.  Starting off in the field events, the Cardinals had four girls compete in five events.  Madilyn Kempe jumped in the long jump but missed out on the finals.  Likewise, Rosie Harris finished just outside of the medal stand in the pole vault, while teammate Gevevieve Fullmer earned points and a medal for sixth place in the same event.  Harris fared better in the high jump where she finished in fourth place adding to the points and medals for Soda.  Izzy Shelton has been a standout in the throwing events for the Cardinals all season.  Shelton saved her best for her final high school meet.  Shelton placed sixth in the discus with a PR of 108’ 10”.  Her biggest feat however came in the shot put where she placed second overall with a new school record of an amazing 40’ 5.25”.  

The girls brought four relay teams to the state meet and every one of them placed in the top three.  Rebekah Evans, Macee Simmons, Rosie Harris, and Aspen Christensen grabbed third in the 4x200 relay.  Brooklyn Kempe, Macee Simmons, Madilyn Kempe, and Aspen Christensen made up both the 4x100 relay and the sprint medley relay.  The fierce foursome took home second place in both races.  Brooklyn Kempe, Macee Simmons, Rebekah Evans and Jinettie Garbett in the final race of the meet took home the gold in very convincing fashion in the 4x400 relay.

The girls also had a very strong showing in the distance races.  India Galloway finished with a great kick in the 3200 meter race earning a PR and placing fifth.  Lizzie Beutler also set a PR in the same race taking third place.  Beutler added to her success with a seventh place finish in the 1600 meter race and a PR.  Rebekah Evans just got in the top eight to earn team points with her PR performance in the 800 meters.  The young sophomore Ellie Wood set PR’s in both the 800 and 1600 meter races placing sixth and fifth adding to the team point total.  Cate Walker just missed out on making finals in the 100m hurdles while setting a season record.  Layla Torman took the last spot in the finals of the 300m hurdles missing out on a medal, but once again adding to the team point total.  Rebekah Evans, Brooklyn Kempe, and Aspen Christensen all earned points in the sprint races.  Evans in the 400 meter race placed just outside of the medals in seventh place.  Kempe improved three spots from sixth in the prelims to third in the finals of the 200 meter sprint.  Christensen qualified for the finals of the 100 meters with a PR and finish in fifth overall.  The top sprinting performance of the meet was put on by Jinettie Garbett.  Garbett ended the season and her career with four gold medals.  Three of them in individual races.  To go along with her earlier mentioned 4x400 first place finish Garbett also took the top spot in the 100, 200 and 400 meter sprints.  She also set a new PR and school record with her 100 meter prelim time of 12.28.

As the state championship meet finished up the Soda Springs Cardinals girls track and field team sat atop the team point totals.  For the first time in school history the Lady Cardinals are track and field state champions.  Coach Horsley reacted to the incredible accomplishment by saying, “This was a great group of kids...it was so fun to be a part of the Championship run.  Everyone did their part and performed at a high level.  There were a lot of PR's over the weekend and that is when you want to be running/performing at your best!  I was happy with the efforts of both the boys and girls.  What a great way to cap off an awesome season!”  It truly was an awesome season for the Cardinals track and field teams and you can bet that they will be hungry for more
next year.