On Thursday December 2, 2010, the Spanish Fork High School Cross Country team left for California, where they ran the All-West Region Footlocker Race at Mt. San Antonio College. The SFHS Cross Country team shared a charter bus with two other high schools, Salem Hills and Springville. The bus ride was long and arduous; however, it was merely an obstacle in the way of the ultimate goal of racing in the All-West Region Footlocker race. It is a privilege and an honor to compete in the race. Runners from across the country come to participate.

Spanish Fork High School wrestlers competed in the Layton invitational wrestling tournament this past weekend. This was the first match for these wrestlers this year. Coach Sheperd said that he was pleased with the team and was impressed. He also said that they have room for improvement, but the team has potential. Two wrestlers that competed very well at the tournament were Cody Duncan and Branson Ashworth. Cody Dunc an, a senior at Spanish Fork High School, and a returning state placer, brought home first place. Duncan said he was very happy to start the season off with a tournament win.

Spanish Fork High School's Production of the Phantom of the Opera was a giant success. The hours spent in labor over this grand project paid off in the end. With a sold out audience on closing night, this play was a smashing hit. Out of four performances three were full houses and the fourth nearly so. The play was presented by only thirteen high-schools in the nation; and even with their work cut out for them, the Spanish Fork Drama Department came through with a standing ovation and a wondrous performance.

The Dixie Six has wrapped up for cowboys and cowgirls in the state of Utah. The Dixie Six is three weekends in Hurricane, Utah, where contestants compete each Friday and Saturday for a total of six rodeos. Spanish Fork High is very fortunate to have multiple contestants in these rodeos. They include Lashae Peterson, Leslie Beck, Savannah Pratt, Ryli Sutch, Riley Winters, Haden Barber, Dallin Kemp, and Dustin Haskell. Many of these contestants competed very well.

Last week, the Utah Career Based Transition students held their own talent show. The UCBT class is for students with special needs. The talent show was combined with all the other schools in the region excluding Uintah because they didn’t want to make the drive. The teachers love to put on the talent show so their students can perform their special talents in front of students who are just like them. This was the second annual talent show, and it has been held at Spanish Fork both years.

An addiction is never easy to overcome. Students in Spanish Fork High School’s AP psychology class learned this the hard way. The assignment was to live an addiction for 48 hours. Each student was required to have a three foot long piece of twine touching their skin at all times for the length of the simulation. This was to signify the outward signs of addiction such as needle marks. Not to mention, it was a constant reminder of the addiction, because it was uncomfortable.

On Tuesday, December 14, Spanish Fork High School will hold the annual Christmas Choral Gala. This festive evening will be filled with music, treats, and elegant decorations. The Gala will feature award winning choirs from SFHS as well as a flute soloist from BYU. This event is the main fundraiser for the choir program as well as their annual tour. Patrons should arrive to the dessert reception at 6:30 p.m. in the commons to enjoy hot cocoa, tasty desserts, and live music; the concert will begin at 7:00 in the auditorium.

On the day of October 18th, Spanish Fork's very own, talented Elliot Naulu placed 2nd in the 4A state golf tournament. The tournament took place at Sunbrook Golf course in St George. Elliot was asked to recount his experience at state and how he felt about the tournament. On the first day, he shot a 75 and the leader was only three strokes ahead with a 72. On the second day, he was 3 under going onto hole 16. Coach Rogers looked at the scores and said Elliot needed to birdie those next three holes to beat the leader. Elliot got up to the green and ended up with a par.

Spanish Fork PTSA students gave a little back on Tuesday, Nov. 22 to one of their proud sponsors “Jaxies”. While cleaning Jaxies, the students came to know the manager and the business. While the students were sweeping, dusting, and cleaning all around, the manager came to serve the students with hot chocolate. As Jaxies has only been in Spanish Fork a couple of years, they are known for their sandwiches and hot drinks. The students would like to send a special thanks to the managers, Roger and Dee for all their help during the service project.

SFHS Swimmers Excel at Competition by Golden Money The Spanish Fork High School swim team recently participated in a region swim meet at Springville on Monday, November 29. The team did extremely well at this meet. They came in second place and held close to Springville who led the competition. Among the individual swimmers at the meet, Jesse Roberts did very well and placed first in the majority of his matches. The Dons continue to do well as they traveled to Cedar City for a two -day meet.