CHRONICLE
May 3"1,2018 I The Lovell Chronicle 1 9
BY DAVID PECK'
A pair of highly suc-
cessful, multi-sport ath-
letes were named the se-
nior athletes of the year
at the annual spring Lovell
High School Athletic
Awards Night last Tuesday,
May 22, at the LHS Multi-
purpose Room.
Mikkel McIntosh and
Porter Nichols were hon-
ored as the top athletes
for the 2017-18 school year.
Each has excelled in multi-
ple sports throughout their
high school career.
Mclntosh, the daughter
of Keith and Jelli McIntosh,
was introduced by Lovell
girls basketball coach Chris
Edwards, who noted that
"this class of seniors had
so many deserving athletes
for this award, which made
it very competitive:' Mcln-
tosh has excelled in volley-
ball, basketball and track
and field at LHS.
As the Lady Bull-
dog starting libero, McIn-
tosh was named to the 2A
Northwest all-conference
team following the 2017
season, and Edwards quot-
ed LHS volleyball coach Ki-
sha McArthur as saying,
"Mikkel was an intregal part
DAVID PECK
Porter Nichols and Mikkel Mclntosh pose with their
plaques after being named the outstanding senior
athletes at LoveU High School during the May 22 Athletic
Awards Night at LHS.
game (3). Opposing coach- three in football, three in
es would always compli- track and one in indoor
In track and field, Nich-
ols has won numerous
medals during his career
and holds the school re-
cord in the 400-meter dash
(2017, 50.49 seconds) and as
a member of the 1,600-me-
ter relay team (2017, 3:31.11,
anchor leg), 3,200-meter
relay team (2016, 8:20.83,
anchor leg) and the new
1,600-meter medley relay
team (2018, 3:38.82, anchor
leg, also a state record). He
was the state champion ifi
the 400-meter .dash as a
well. i HS Seniors who had
two consecutive semes-
ters with a 3.66 - 3.99 GPA
were awarded an Academ-
ic "L" letter award: Antho-
ny Ballard, Mandi Jo Bax-
endale, Jessica Caldwell,
William DeFuentes, Kaylee
Englert, Kendal Rasmussen,
Porter Nichols, Brent Sny-
der, Ben Cornia and Hud-
son Wilkerson.
LHS Seniors who had
two consecutive semesters
with a 4.00 were awarded a
Star Pin for their Academ-
The coach finished with
two individual awards: The
Most Outstanding Female
Athlete to Megan Cornia,
saying she made a huge im-
provement from her soph-
omore to junior year, and
the Most Outstanding
Male Athlete to Will Lillard,
who started in track as a
long-distance runner and
shifted to sprints. "I'm glad
he did:' Sanders said.
Girls basketball - Coach
Chris Edwards called the
2017-18 season "one of the
junior, ic "L": Ballard, Baxendale, most gratifying years we've
Following a two-year Caldwell, DeFuentes, En- had as a coaching staff in
mission for the Church of glert and Rasmussen. that the team "proved the
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in Phoenix, Ariz.
(Spanish speaking), Nich-
ols plans to attendBrigham
Young University.
THANKS OFFERED
Lovell Athletic Direc-
tor Joe Koritnik opened
the awards night by thank-
ing numerous individuals
for their assistance with
the athletic program in-
cluding LHS principal Scott
O'Tremba, school sec-
retary Suzie Winterhol-
ler, administrative secre-
tary Cheryl Bowers, school
counselor Tawnya Teter
and Bulldog Booster Club
Underclassmen's GPAs
were not completed yet as
the semester had not end-
ed for them at the time of
this ceremony, so they will
be awarded after school
starts in the fall, O'Tremba
said.
Coaches Nick DeWitt,
Joshua Sanders, Edwards
and Craig Lundberg pre-
sented athletic letters to
77 athletes: 16 freshmen, 10
sophomores, 27 juniors and
24 seniors.
DeWitt and Edwards
presented the weekly Bull-
dog of the Week Award
winners for the winter and
naysayers wrong:' He said
the team entered the re-
gional tournament in River-
ton as the third seed out of
the Northwest but knocked
off favored Big Piney in the
first round while holding
down leading scorer Grace
Tanner, then beat Greybull
in a double-overtime thrill-
er. He called the semifinal
"one of the most intense
games I've been inY
At State, Edwards said,
the Lady Bulldogs defeat-
ed tall and talented - and
heavily favored - Pine
Bluffs in the first round as
Mandi Jo Baxendale used
of our third-place finish at ment her abilities and ex- track, presenter Doug Ha- President Tashie Lund- spring seasons, her quickness against tall-
State last year (2016) and 15ressed their appreciation zen noted, berg, adding that Lundberg SPECIAL AWARDS er opponents to score 19
our state appearance this of how hard she competed Nichols plowed through and the club have done "a Coaches for the LHS points, then gave a valiant
year. We wouldn't have had on the floor:' opponents all season as a tremendous job over the winter and spring sportseffort against Sundance in
the success we had without McIntosh also becamespeedy and powerful run-last several years" includ- spoke about their seasons the semifinals.
her on the court. She is one a strong jumper and sprint- ning back. A team captain, ing raising money, helping and presented individu- Edwards presented
of the best liberos in our er for the Lovell track team he gained 1,314 yards on purchase supplies for ath- al special awards for their three individual awards in-
class, if not the state. She the last two seasons, plac- 205 carries, with 14 touch- letic programs, providingteams as follows: cluding Baxendale as the
is also very versatile and ing seventh at State in the downs, averaging 6.4yardssnacks and drinks and mak- Indoor track - Coach Lovell Offensive Player of
played different positions long jump as a junior andper carry and 146 yards per ing senior posters. He also Joshua Sanders thanked the Year for "giving teams
when asked, fifth at Regionals as both a game, second in Class 2A.thanked the Lovell Chroni- his assistant coaches Ca-
fits" by using her quickness
"She also led our team junior and senior. She was He also caught eight passes cle staff for their coverage leb Sanders and Chad Lind- against fellow post players
both years in serve-receive also a member of Lovelrs for 85 yards and two touch- of the athletic teams, say and noted that the to outmaneuver them. He
and digs, and she was very first-place 400-meter relay downs and averaged 23.1 Koritnik announced team was made up of ath- gave the Blue Blood Award
coachable and was willing team atStateasajuniorand yards per kickoff return.Wyoming High School Ac- letes from not only LHS to Mikkel McIntosh, say-
to play wherever we need- the fifth-place 1,600-meter As an outside linebacker he tivities Association Aca-but also from Rocky Moun-ing she "got the job done
ed her. Her team voted her relay squad a year ago. She also led the team with 122 demi :Achie ement Awards tain High School and Powell on both ends of the floor.
as our defensive player of also qualified for State in defensive points on 23 asfor five LHS teams in twoHigh School. He recognized He also named Madison
the year last year and our the 400-meter dash as aju- sisted tackles, 29 solo tack- categories: DistinguishedLovell seniors Dalton Nix- Bryson as the Lovell De-
MVP this year:' nior with a fifth-place fin- les, three tackles for a loss, Award, with a cumulative on, Porter Nichols, Jessica fensive Player of the Year,
In basketball Mclntosh ish at the regional meet.two sacks, two pass break- team grade point average Caldwell, Will Lillard, Logan though she was unable to
was a three-year letter win-
ner, one of the team cap-
tains, all-conference her
junior and senior year and
all-state her senior year.
"She had an attitude
that she was going to work
hard every day and encour-
age her teammates to do
the same ' Edwards said.
"She led the team in points
per game (11.3), steals per
game (3.6) and assists per
Mclntosh plans to at-
tend Northwest College
this fall and play basketball
for the Lady Trappers un-
der new head coach Cam-
den Levett.
Nichols, the son of Tra-
vis and CaMee Nichols, was
a punishing football player
and a decorated track and
field athlete for the Bull-
dogs. He was a seven-time
letter winner at LHS -
ups, two fumble recoveries,
one interception and one
blocked kick.
A first-team all-con-
ference and all-state selec-
tion, he was voted the team
MVP and was third in Class
2A in all-purpose yards. He
of 3.0 to 3.49 and the Out-
standing Award for a team
GPA of 3.50 to 4.0. The fol-
lowing teams were hon-
ored: boys basketball team,
3.08 GPA; boys track and
field team, 3.16; girls in-
door track team, 3.24; girls
was selected for the W - basketball team, 3.43; girls
oming Shrine Bowl a l- track and field team, 3.50.
star football game and will Principal Scott O'Trem-
play in the game June 9 in ba presented a number of
Casper. academic letter awards, as
Hitz, Antonio Garza, Dylan
Hereth and Frank Minchow.
Sanders listed the
team's top finishes at the
state meet: Lillard sixth in
the 55-meter dash, Me-
gan Cornia fourth in the
triple jump and the four-
some of Lillard, CJ Lindsay,
Nixon and Nichols third
in the sprint medley relay
and sixth in the 800-meter
relay.
attend the event to accept
the award.
He noted all-state play-
ers Baxendale and McIn-
tosh and all-conference
picks Paige Bischoff, Bax-
endale and Mclntosh,
Cheerleading team --
Coach Renae Miller noted
that the team placed third
SEE 'SENIOR
ATHLETES' page tt
Variety of keys to
BY SAM SMITH
Depth, talent, hard
work and overcoming ad-
versity. All of these factors
played a big role in helping
the Lovell Bulldog boys track
and field team capture their
second straight team title
at the Class 2A State Track
and Field Meet May 17-19 in
Casper.
The Bulldogs won the
team title with 134.33 points,
51.33 points ahead of Big
Horn with 83. Pine Bluffs was
a close third with 82 points.
A strong senior group
of seven combined for 90.33
points in a variety of events
for the Bulldogs. Help from
younger athletes placing
high in their events also add-
ed to the team total and most
importantly to the state title.
"We overcame a lot of
adversity and had a lot of
jumpers, sprinters, throwers
and long distance runner '
Nixon said.
Nixon placed seventh
in the 400-meter dash with
a time of 52.81, sixth in the
800-meter run, coming in at
2:00.75, and was a member
of the winning 1,600 meter
and 1,600 sprint-medley re-
lay teams.
"It's pretty important
because we were seniors '
Nixon said. "It was cool to
finish on a high note:'
Logan Hitz placed eighth
in the high jump, clearing
5-8, fourth in the long jump
by jumping 20-91/2 and sev-
enth in the triple jump by
jumping 40-9.
"I think our coaching
staff was one of the keys"
success helped Lovell
peat as track champs
Ben Comia Dylan Hereth Logan Hitz Will Lillard
Hitz said. "They worked a lot
with us this year and made
sure we had the technique
and were not going into a
meet blind.
"I think as a senior it's
pretty cool, because not very
many people can say they've
won a state championship
their senior year."
Dylan Hereth took sixth
in the shot put with a throw
of 44-8, and fourth in the dis-
cus with a throw of 136-10.
"I think everyone com-
ing together and doing their
best regardless of the con-
ditions ' Hereth stated as a
Porter Nichols
Dalton Nixon
or team champion ' Hereth 1,600-meter relay team and
said. the third-place 3,200-meter
Ben Cornia placed relay team.
fourth in the 300-meter "I think just having a lot
hurdles, coming in at 40.95 of depth in a lot of events '
seconds, and fifth in the high Cornia said of the key to
jump, clearing 6-0. He was the title. "We had a lot of
a member of the winning kids that were good in their
key component of the Lovell
championship.
Hereth has signed with
the Rocky Mountain College
track and field team to throw
the hammer and the shot.
"This title means that,
no matter what kind of ath-
lete you are, with hard work
and determination you can
become a state champion
Brent Snyder
events.
"It's really cool to be able
to repeat as state champs.
It's something I've always
wanted to do since middle
school. We got our first ti-
tle my junior year and to be
able to repeat was an amaz-
ing experience:'
Brent Snyder won the
pole vault, clearing 13-0, and
placed fourth in the triple
jump by jumping 41-7.
Asked the key to suc-
cess, Snyder replied, "I think
everyone who participated
in their events whether they
scored points or prevented
others from scoring points
helped us win State. I'm glad
to end on a bang and on a
good note:'
Will Lillard won the
100-meter dash, zipping the
straightway in 11.67 seconds,
and he placed third in the
200-meter dash, crossing
the finish line in 23.58 sec-
onds. He was also a mem-
ber of the 1,600 medley re-
lay team.
"I think the key to our
success was showing up to
practice, working hard and
learning to improve in our
events;' Lillard said. "Since
we won last year, it was just
another thing we wanted to
win this year and we finally
got it:'
Porter Nichols placed
third in the 400-meter dash,
finishing the lap in 50.89
seconds, and second in the
800-meter run, finishing the
two-lap race in 1:58.34. Nich-
ols was also a member of the
winning 1,600-meter and the
1,600 medley relay teams.
Nichols said hard work
was the key to the team's
success this year.
"It's like a dream that
became a reality because to
do it once is luck but to do
it twice it takes talent, hard
work and skill;' Nichols said.
