Spring Sports Wrap Up

Yet another school year and sports season has come and gone far too quickly.  It seems like every year the month of May just flies by before anyone can catch their breath.  With that in mind let's sit back and take one last look at the spring sports around the county.  

Soda Springs Baseball:  As the baseball season began way back in mid March the Cardinals had high hopes for the season.  With snow still covering the ground Soda faced some challenges that other teams did not have.  After opening up with a loss at Declo the Cardinals bounced back and got a huge win in American Falls the next day.  Unfortunately, Soda would struggle from there and it would be a month before they could notch their next win when they split a double header with North Fremont.  A week later the Cards would play in a thriller of a game against district foe Bear Lake.  In front of a home crowd the Cardinals would win the shootout over the Bears by a single run.  Soda would drop the final two games of the regular season and head to districts as the number three seed in a three team conference.  In the opening game of districts the Cardinals would fall to the Bears in a hard fought battle.  After Malad defeated the Bears in the next game Soda would face a rematch with the Bears once again.  It would be another tight, hard fought game but this time the one run victory would go in the favor of the Bears.  The Cardinals season came to an end with just three wins on the year.  Soda Springs has said goodbye to five seniors leaving them with fourteen players eligible to return next season.  Despite the disappointing season you can bet the Cardinals will be back next season to give it their all and break their current playoff drought.

Soda Springs Softball:  Like their male counterparts the Lady Cardinals would face some early season challenges brought by the late winter conditions that we here in Caribou County have come accustomed to.  One of the coaches' pre-season concerns was getting the girls to believe that they were capable of winning games and making it to state.  A month into the season Soda had a record of 4-6 with three of their losses being by two runs or less.  The girls had bought into the team philosophy but they would face a tough road to get to state.  Being in a district with the top ranked team in the state the Cardinals would have to finish in at least second place to keep their state dreams alive.  Everyone knew Malad would be tough to beat but fans and players were hopeful that the Cards could get past Bear Lake.  As the regular season came to a close that was now in doubt after two late season losses to the Bears.  Soda would open up districts with yet another loss to the Bears and face an elimination game versus West Side.  After dispatching the Pirates, Soda would face Bear Lake for the fourth time this year in another elimination game.  This time fate would be with the Cardinals and they would finally get the win over the Bears.  After dropping the championship game to Malad the Cardinals would go to a play-in game against Declo.  That is where their season would end short of a state birth.  Though the season ended earlier than they would have liked with the loss of just four seniors the Cardinals should be back in the mix again next season with a solid group of girls coming back.

Soda Springs Golf:  The Soda Springs golf teams entered the season with a bunch of youth led by just a few veteran senior players.  The Cardinal men would make great strides throughout the season.  With some very tough boys teams in the district the Cardinals would not threaten for a district title or state berth this season, but will only lose one senior to graduation and with several sophomores and freshmen could be building for a bright future.  The Lady Cardinals had a similarly built team.  With just two seniors the girls team is loaded with underclassmen talent.  Coach Jorgensen had faith that the girls would be able to pull off a district championship not only this year but potentially for the next several years.  Some would have their doubts however as week after week the Cardinals would finish behind Grace.  Soda did not panic however and they kept working.  On the day of the district tournament the Lady Cardinals would at last have their revenge on Grace when they would indeed grab the district title and qualify for state.  After a long trip to the north side of the state the Lady Cardinals would represent well at the state tournament despite not bringing home a trophy.  As was mentioned the girls team is very young and should be in great shape going into next season.

Grace Golf:  The Grizzly golf teams entered this season with the highest of expectations.  Not only did both teams expect to win district titles but they expected to compete for a state championship.  For most of the season the Grizzlies seemed to be right on track to accomplish their goals.  The boys team saw only a couple of second place finishes during the season.  Those losses were to larger 3A schools.  They remained perfect against 2A teams.  The Grizzlies would go into the district championship as the favorites and would not disappoint.  Grace would earn a convincing win at districts and head to state.  At the state tournament things would not go the Grizzlies way and they would come up short of winning a state trophy.  The Lady Grizzlies would go the full regular season unblemished winning every meet and tournament they were in.  Going into the district championships they were heavy favorites as everyone expected them to roll to an easy win.  Unfortunately a single small mistake on a scorecard would cost the Lady Grizzlies their district championship and nearly cost them a trip to state.  After just qualifying for the state championship Grace would do their best to bounce back and would finish their season with a third place finish.  Both the boys and girls teams for Grace are very young as each team will have their top golfers returning next season.  The Grizzly teams should once again be in the mix for a district and state championship.

North Gem Track:  The Cowboy track team was few in numbers but saw some great growth throughout the season.  With just eight boys and six girls the Cowboy teams would not stand much of a chance to win any team titles so they would focus on making strides and setting PR’s in their individual events.  Both the boys and girls teams would improve as they worked towards their individual goals.  At the final meet of the year, the district championships, nearly every Cowboy athlete would set a PR in one of their events.  The Cowboys only graduated three boys from their team but with already low numbers they will look to do some recruiting to build their numbers and increase their chances of winning a district title and qualify some for state.

Grace Track:  The Grizzly track teams entered the season with a lot of question marks particularly on the boys team.  After graduating one of the most successful classes in Grace track history a year ago the coaching staff was unsure what this season would bring.  What this year's group of Grizzlies brought was a flurry of unexpected yet pleasant surprises.  The athletes that were young and inexperienced a season ago developed into a quality group of veterans this season.  The boys team saw several PR’s and broken school records throughout the season and saw the athletes peak at the right time.  As the Grizzlies took part in the district meet they would see several ups and downs and as the meet was coming to a close the boys were in striking distance of a district title.  When the final race was finished that is exactly what the boys accomplished.  For the second time in three years the Grizzly men won a district championship.  The Lady Grizzlies saw their own success at the district meet.  Though they were not as deep as the boys in number of athletes, a quality group of upperclassmen combined with an outstanding freshman class saw the girls earn their share of PR’s and state qualifiers.  At the state meet in Middleton the Grizzlies were unable to win any individual or team titles but several Grizzlies did medal and earn team points.  Of the fifteen athletes that qualified for the state meet only one was a senior.  With that much youth returning for Grace combined with a very strong incoming class the Grizzlies will likely be in the running for many more medals and titles next season.

Soda Springs Track:  The Cardinals have a strong culture of running in their school.  This season however Soda showed great balance and strength in all aspects of the track and field events.  The Cardinal men were a little low on numbers but boasted some quality athletes.  Their low numbers would hurt their chances of winning team titles but several of the Cardinal men placed very high in the district meet and qualified for state.  The Lady Cardinals did not have an issue with numbers as the very deep and diverse group would dominate much of the season.  Going into the district meet the Cardinals were primed to win the title and after two very cold days in Bear Lake that is exactly what the Lady Cardinals did.  But, winning the district title and qualifying several athletes would not be the pinnacle of their season.  The Lady Cardinals have been knocking on the door of a state title for the last two years.  This year near perfect weather and points coming from a variety of different girls and events saw the Cardinals not only get that door open but kicked wide open.  The Lady Cardinals dominated the state meet in Middleton and won the girls first ever state title for Soda Springs.  With a very talented group of kids graduated and now gone Soda will look to build on their success with a strong group of boys and girls that now have some great state meet experience.

There you have it.  A very quick look at what took place this spring.  With school now over the kids will hit their summer jobs and camps as they prepare to compete in August when the fall season of sports will begin.