Wrestlers (left to right) McKayd Gordon, Phillip Sorensen, Chase Wilson, Derek Mangelson, Spencer Davis              These Manly wrestlers grappled their way to victory. But for these few the season is not over yet, they must compete in state. These wrestlers are not newbies to state wrestling tournaments, They have all been to state and have extreme success. There is much expected of these young men. But Salem Hills wrestling team and their head coach T.J. Brindley believes in them strongly. These Salem Hills Wrestlers will go to state with confidence or as the Skyhawks from Salem Hills would say, they are going with SPIRIT, HEART, HONOR, AND SUCCESS.     Go fight win Skyhawks.  

                The game between Payson and Salem is always excitedly anticipated by parents and students alike; this game ended with the Skyhawks flying high, and the Lions crawling back to their lonely den.               The game stayed very close, the two teams stayed within 4 points of each other. Until the 3rd quarter when the Skyhawks pulled ahead by 13 points making the score 43- 30. The 4th quarter started to look better for the Lions when they shortened the Skyhawks lead to 45-40.               In the 4th quarter Salem Hills student Brendan Thayne was asked about the game he said, “We can win this game, we are a lot better than them.”               The 4th quarter was filled with fouls, the Payson Lions had 7 fouls and the Skyhawks of Salem Hills had 5.               The outcome of the game could have ended in a Payson victory; however, the lions had 3 of their 7 fouls in the last minute of the game. This gave the Skyhawks a chance to change the score from Payson 46 Salem 48, to Payson 46 Salem 51.               This may have been a low scoring game but it was intense to the end and was a rip roaring, high flying, cold clocking game of Basket Ball.

SHHS vs. SFHS

 

In their first region game on January 12th, the Salem Hills Skyhawks played Spanish Fork High School. The game was highly anticipated by both student bodies, resulting in a large turnout that filled the bleachers. This was Salem’s opportunity to redeem themselves after a hard loss to SFHS during the last football season.

Much like Salem’s previous games, they remained in the lead until the fourth quarter when the Dons caught up, adding to the excitement in the packed gym. The Dons missed key free-throws in the last moments in the game which motivated the Skyhawks to stay on top of their game and make their last foul shots.

London Simonson and Jake Skinner combined for 37 points and led their team to a victory with a score of 63-60. Spanish Fork also played well with Ren Williamsen as their leading scorer with 11 points.

 

The Skyhawks varsity wrestling team comes home from the Highland Duals with the first place trophy on Saturday. Lots of tough teams including Brighton and Highland attended the two day dual style tournament this weekend in hopes of bringing home the trophy. But the Skyhawks did not let disappoint when they dominated throughout the tournament to bring home the very first First Place Trophy for varsity. Salem had a very solid first day with wins against Hillcrest(69-12), Park City(57-6), and the home team Highland(56-10). With ten out of the fourteen Skyhawk wrestlers going undefeated the first day, the first place trophy looked very promising. When the second day came around the Skyhawks had to face many of their teammates from the JV All Star Team. Some of the matches were pretty close, but the Skyhawks varsity team proved why they were on the varsity team. When they forfeited two weights and won all the other matches either by pin or major decision. Next round the Skyhawks faced the tough team of Brighton which came down to Taylor Thorpe’s match which he won(1-0) to make the final score 36-30. The Skyhawks rounded off the day with two more victories over Ogden(72-12) and Clearfield(48-33). “I think that we came both days ready to wrestle. I’m glad that I was on the team to bring home the first varsity first place trophy. “ said J.T. Atkinson(171).

 

Sub-for-Santa By: Sammi Magoffin                 The Spirit of Christmas is thriving at Salem Hills High School during the holiday season. Two weeks ago the Dance Company at the High School started a Sub-for-Santa fundraiser to provide Christmas for 76 local kids from Springville to Payson. Including fifty dollar donations from Smiths, Fast Gas, Chevron, Gas-n-Go, Boothe Bros., MVP Sports, and Salem Family Dental, the school raised $3,200 – enough money to buy Christmas for all 76 kids on their list. On Wednesday Dec. 16, the Dance Company took a group of students on a several hours shopping trip. The following Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, the Company took more students to deliver the gifts.                  “It’s been an amazing opportunity to serve these people,” said Sammi Magoffin, the Service Coordinator on the Dance Company,   “They’re complete strangers, but the love that is felt when we are helping out is so strong.”                   Alesha Erdmann, the Dance Company Captain said, “Some of the families we delivered to didn’t speak English, but they didn’t need to for us to understand their gratitude. Kindness is the Universal Language.”                 Many of the teachers at the school put in a lot of dedication and support to the cause. One teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought all of the books needed for the kids. “Sub-for-Santa is a good program because it gives us the opportunity to help people who need just a little help to provide Christmas for their families.”                 The Sub-for-Santa program didn’t only help those who couldn’t afford Christmas, but it provided deep insight for many of the students involved.                 “This whole experience just makes me appreciate what I have.” –Kandalyn Russell, a dancer on the Dance Company.                 The Dance Company plans on making Sub-for-Santa a yearly tradition to help bring the true Christmas Spirit to the High School.  

 

The Salem Hills Boys Basketball team went down to St. George on December 10th through December 12th. They participated in 3 games against Hurricane, Desert Hills, and Pineview. In the first game of the 3-game road trip Salem Hills played against Hurricane High School, in which SHHS had a hard fought 1 point loss, 55-56. Jake Skinner was the leading scorer for Salem Hills with 24 points. In the second game Salem Hills played against Desert Hills High School, and won by 6 points, 76-70, with London Simonson scoring 27 points. In the third and final game of the road trip SHHS played Pineview High School and once again won, by 4 points. Jake Skinner was the leading scorer with 15 points. Overall it was a good road trip for the Skyhawks, winning two out of the three games. By: Patrick Dulaney and Caline Hoover 

 

WINTERTIDE A holiday choral and orchestra concert   On Wednesday, December 16, 2009 the Salem Hills High Fine Arts department hosted a concert at Salem Hills. Concert Choir, Serendipity, Men’s Camarata, Salem Hills Singers, Philharmonic Orchestra, and Dance Company all performed. A lot of people showed up, it was a very successful concert and really brought out the Christmas spirit. They sang songs such as The First Noel, A Holly Jolly Christmas, and Do You Hear What I Hear,  but those are just a few of the 21 songs performed. It happened to be Mr. Bills’ birthday, and his Choir students surprised him during the concert with a gift and everyone sang him Happy Birthday. Conductors: Justin Bills, Mike Larsen, Paul Wells “This holiday concert is one that I hope you will make part of your family’s holiday traditions, long after your students have left the halls of Salem Hills High School,” said the choir director Justin Bills “I love singing and am very excited to perform in this Christmas concert” said choir member Ivan Bijil  

 

 

To start off the Christmas season, Salem Hills High school held a fine arts assembly on December 18. It began with an amazing reminder of the joy of giving. Porter, the boy whose wish was granted through Make-A-Wish and Salem Hills’ fundraising, was greeted with a standing ovation from the student body. He expressed his thanks and shared the experience he and his family had while in Disney World.  The assembly continued with several performances and presentations from different art groups in the school. These included the several choirs, orchestras, bands, and Dance Company. After the room had been filled with classical music, the assembly was wrapped up with the Jazz Band. They received another standing ovation and left the students overjoyed, as they received candy canes on their way out of the auditorium.