Precautions and Prompts

Yesterday the school entered a shelter in place drill due to a unique danger: wildlife. Yes, no one was allowed to leave the building because of one bear, roaming around the Park Meadows area. This past week it has been spotted by civilians and police men all around Park City, from Jeremy and Pinebrook to Main Street and Park Meadows.

Last night it was assumed to be in Park Meadows still, which is where I was having dinner with family friends. It is also where, wether the bear caused it or not, the power went out. Everyone pulled out candles and flashlights, waiting for the lights to come back on. All of the neighboring houses were out as well, but we weren't sure how widespread the blackout was. I called my sister and confirmed that the power was still on by main street- she had no idea what had happened.

After waiting for nearly an hour we decided to go home. It was about 9:30 at night, and I was driving. Of course I didn't even consider the fact that the blackout might have effected the street lights or stoplights, which it did. All of the lamplights were out and when I got to the big intersection by Alberto's and Maverick, the power was still off. Fun times!

Photo courtesy of ksl.com.
Read more about the bear here.

Now that I've updated recent events, let me get the assigned prompt out of the way. "How have you changed this year?" This can go many different ways. How has my writing changed? How have my academics changed? How have my friends changed? How has the weather changed? An so on. Instead of talking about some deep, sentimental changes I've made this year, I'm going to talk about my shoes. (it counts)

I began this wondrous school year with some white high tops. I wore them a lot, which is an understatement. (Visit their website here). They were pearly white the first couple of weeks, but they didn't stay that way for long. Eventually the brown creeped in, and despite many suggestions to wash them, I simply couldn't. They were the only shoes I wore. Soon after they became brown converse I was given Birkenstocks for Christmas.

Some of you may know how great these shoes are. They are amazing for your feet and posture, and incredibly comfy. I got all black classic Arizona sandals, but there are many more styles and colors. If you want to order Birkenstocks, visit their website here. I also got Uggs around the same time. My mom and I were in Jackson Hole for one of my ski races, and while I was warming up on the mountain my mom decided to look around the shops in town. She stumbled upon a shoe store with some incredible deals and ended up getting me some short blonde Uggs for around $100.

My converse were still a wreck, however. My mom decided that she wouldn't have me walking around in canvas shoes covered in dirt/whoknowswhatelse. So we stopped by a shoe store on the way home from a lacrosse game and ended up continuing the tradition. I got another pair of white converse, but this time they were the low rise ones, not the high tops. WOW! A lot has changed in the past year.

PC / Olympus Game

Last Tuesday was senior day for PCHS Girls Lacrosse, as well as JV's final game! The ceremony and games were held at Dozier field, and the games were both against Olympus.

The varsity team got to the field at 4:15, and warmed up until 5:15, which is when the senior ceremony began. There are a total of nine seniors on Park City's lacrosse team: Ellie Meyer, Hannah Hyatt, Maike Wells, Luisa Frankenburg, Maime Graham, Kendall Derber, Kate Cier, and Reilly Falter.

Seniors with their families at the ceremony. Photo courtesy of PCLO.

After the ceremony, varsity finished their warm up and started the game at 6:15. They played really well and beat Olympus 12-3. Their next game (and last season game) is today at Jordan, and playoffs will begin soon after! The first playoff game is at Dozier field on May 8th. Be there to support the team- the game starts at 6:15!

PCHS' JV team started warm up at half time, and began playing at 7:30. We started out the game pretty nervous, and had a messy first half. Olympus scored the first couple of goals, which woke PC up. We cleaned up the second half with better passes and smarter plays, increasing our new lead steadily.

After a tough game we came out on top 15-6. We then took pictures and hugged the Regina's (two sisters moving back to Mexico) goodbye. We had a great season! Below is our record.

vs. Jordan  W  10 - 5                         @ Riverton  W 11 - 4                    

@ Bingham W 7 - 3                            vs. Juan Diego W 11 -1 

vs. Davis W 11 - 2                             @ Skyline W 11 -1                                  

@ Pleasant Grove W 13 - 7               vs. Cache Valley W 11 -1            

@ Brighton W 9 - 5                             vs. Olympus W 15 - 6

The JV team after our last game. Photo courtesy of PCLO.

Punishing Permit Test

Before you come to conclusions and assume that I'm not smart because I thought the permit test was hard, let me explain.

If you ask almost any fifteen or sixteen year old about the permit test, most would say that it was a piece of cake.

"It was annoying cause it took forever, but it's super easy," an anonymous 9th grader stated.

"And how long did it take you to finish the test?" I asked them.

"45 or 50 minutes, probably."

Well, that wasn't the case for me. That morning I asked my mom to pick me up from school so we could go straight there. The place closes at 5 pm and it says on their website that all tests have to be done by 4, so I wanted to get there earlier. School ends at 2:25, so by 2:30 I figured we would be driving down to the DMV in Heber.

Wellll, after not being able to find my social security card, we ended up leaving for the DMV at 4:15. We got there, filled out the forms, and took my picture. After all of that the guy entering everything asks one of his co workers what time I had to take the test by. Luckily he said that it had to be done by 4:50, which left me at that time fifteen minutes to start and finish it.

I said that I would take it, and after warning me about the time and so on, he finished entering my stuff. I ended up starting the test at 4:40. Yep. I only had 10 minutes to take the permit test, which, by the way, is 50 questions.

And yes, I failed. I ended up with a score of 38/50, which was the cherry on top of my wonderful evening. Why? The score that was required to pass was a 40/50, which meant I would have passed had I gotten just two more questions right.

My permit!

If you live in Utah, are about to turn fifteen (or already have), and wan't go get your permit, study the Utah Drivers Handbook. Most people have them on hand from past tests, or you can find them at any DMV. I found a PDF version online that I've been using to study. Click here to open it.

PC / Brighton Game

Last Tuesday both of the Park City Girls Lacrosse teams played Brighton, and they were both close and intense games. They were away games for PC, held by Brighton's high school. It was a perfect day for lacrosse. (Oh and it was also my birthday)

Varsity started first half with strong playing, but so did Brighton. They quickly scored the first two goals against Park City, which left all the spectators and players on the edge of their seats. They wouldn't give up that easily though. By half time Park City made some great shots to goal and were beating Brighton 4-3. After that they didn't let up. They made six more goals and only let another in from the other team, beating Brighton's varsity team 10-4. For more details on the varsity game visit Morgan's blog.

The Park City JV team watched their team play for the first half, and despite wanting to see the game through, started warming up. You could tell from everyones warm up that we wanted to win this game. We had recently beat them in the Gathering of the Tribes tournament 10-6, so we knew that they would also come out wanting the win more than ever.

Park City Miners v.s. Brighton Bengals
Photo courtesy of PCHS and BHS

Varsity's game ended and we quickly took the field to warm up on the goal with some 2 v 3s. We ran through that a bit then practiced our free position shots with rapid fire on the goalie. The referees called us up for stick check, and then we gathered into our huddle. The line up was read and our coach and captains riled us up again with some encouraging phrases and plans for the game. We cheered and jogged onto the field, suspense hanging in the air.

Both teams started the game intensely, yet Park City couldn't quite get comfortable. Hail mary's were thrown and we threw the ball away many times, which led to a half time score of 3-3.

We huddled and talked about the first half. Everyone clearly wanted this win, yet we were using that as carelessness and need to get to the goal. We decided to reign it in for second half and use our intensity as focus. Slow it down and make smart passes, cuts, and shots. The team went out onto the field second half with a fresh mindset, ready to win. We worked together and played smarter, which led to a victory. Park City made 6 more goals and only let in 2 from Brighton. The final score was 9-5, and we remained undefeated!

Real Soon Races

Now that champs are over, skiing is slowly coming to a halt. Before we head into the summer season, however, skiers like to drag on whats left of the winter. One way to do that is by holding some small races.

This weekend there will be a PCST Club Dual Race at Park City Mountain Resort! All levels of athletes will be participating, including U-16s, U-14s, U-12s, and even Devos. The U-16s will be the team captains/coaches for the race. This is a fun way to get together as a ski team and send the winter off on a good note.

The race will be going on for most of the day, so feel free to stop by the resort and come watch! There is always a BBQ at the bottom (courtesy of the parents) so you don't need to pack a lunch.

The next race to look forward to is the Last Chance at Snowbird, which is one of the bigger spring season races. This is a really great race to earn points, since there are usually some college athletes there (which means really good penalties on points) and all age groups from U-14s to U-21s (because it's an open race).

This race will be held the weekend of spring break, and will continue into school the next week. It will start on Saturday, April 11th, and continue until Wednesday the 15th the following week. There will be 2 GS races, 2 SL races, and 3 SG races. I don't know the order of them yet, but SG is likely to be first, followed by GS and then slalom.

You can also come by Snowbird to cheer on the Park City Ski Team athletes. While you're there, also take time to enjoy Snowbird's awesome terrain and snow conditions. They have a huge mountain with a wide selection of different difficulty trails.

One of Snowbird's trams. Photo courtesy of .luxuryskitrips.com

To look into more detail about the Park City Ski Team, click here for the website.

PC / Skyline Game

Yesterday Park City Girls Lacrosse had games against Skyline. They were both wins, with huge leads and some interesting plays.

It all started out with the bus ride down there. Everyone met in one of the hallways next to the parking lot after school. Most people changed into their uniforms, did their hair, and more lacrosse prep things. When the bus came, everyone loaded with and underlying eagerness.

When we all got to the field, varsity immediately began getting ready for the game. They started with a warm up lap and stretches, then headed into drills. JV, however, settled into a spot by the sideline and hung out. Some slowly got ready, others watched varsity warm up and just hung out, and some passed a ball around.

Varsity started the games off strong with a quick win against them. They had some great interceptions and really interesting plays.

After varsity's halftime, JV started warming up. We did a huge warm up lap around the other field and another around a 5 year old soccer practice, mid huddle. Next we all did movement prep and shuttles. These are great because they not only get your stick warmed up, but also your lungs and legs!

Ali Baker with the ball. Photo courtesy of PCLO.

The first half of the game we couldn't stop scoring, and after a 10-0 lead with 20 minutes left of the game, Kelsey initiated the 2 rules. This meant that our team had to complete 6 passes before shooting and once we did that, we had to shoot lefty. If you didn't follow the "2 rules," Kelsey would pull you out right away.

Good job PC! Still undefeated!

Solid Ski Racing Part 3

We undressed in the lodge once again and loaded our stuff in the van, driving back to the hotel. Since we had two runs that day, we got back around 3-3:30. This meant we had a lot less time than previous days, so we quickly prepped and waxed our skis, did a little recovery, then got ready for the banquet. At 5:30 we met in the lobby for a quick meeting about the last race day. However, Tina wasn't giving us our bibs until after the banquet.

After the meeting some people ran and grabbed their team jackets (for a photo), and we all loaded the vans. A couple minutes later we got to the place where the banquet was held. We walked into the hotel and down a set of stairs, which led into a large, dark room with glow sticks and stuff everywhere.

The banquet was sort of fun- a couple people made speeches, we ate, and then we got awards. Surprisingly, I got 10th in SL! My friend Shaye also got the bibbo award. This is when you start with a late bib number, and end up finishing in a much higher place. They gave a bibbo award for each gender and for every day. They each got a mug.

That night we had to pack everything, since we would load everything the next morning and leave straight from the mountain to PC after the race and awards for Sunday. So after we got back from the banquet we scraped our skis and threw everything in our duffels and ski bags, sad that it was our last night but glad to be done with the race.

The last day held the worst weather. It was snowing, windy, and most of all, foggy. The GS hill was super long, and for much of it all you could see were the gates. Thank god for the dye at least. They ran pretty quickly, and after second run IMD was looking pretty good. We took up at least half of the top 15!

After second run, Shaye ended up in 8th and many other IMD girls podiumed, including Katie Hensien (3rd) and more. The awards were also outside in the dumping snow, which made for some cool pictures.

I ended up driving back to PC with my Dad, which was really nice. Most of all, I had room. The plan was to stay in Boise, but we ended up stopping in Ontario due to a huge storm. It was an awesome weekend and race!