Vanessa Riggs and Cori Nielson didn't play high school basketball together, but they hope to find chemistry together as they will suit up for the same college team next season.
Riggs, a Mountain View senior, and Nielson, a Springville senior, both signed with Snow College this week.
"I went on a visit down there and just felt very comfortable," said Riggs. "I liked the girls, the coach and they just had a high standard. I'm way excited."
Nielson said her new coach, Cindy Lawrence, worked hard to help her in balancing the demands of Nursing School with a collegiate basketball schedule.
"She worked everything out for me, and it seems like she really cares about the girls," Nielson said of Lawrence. "I'm excited."
Riggs and Nielson are looking forward to continuing their basketball careers while earning college educations.
"I don't feel a lot of pressure," said Riggs. "I'm excited to go on to something new and develop my ability to play basketball."
Riggs' Mountain View teammate, senior guard Maylene Ornelas, committed to the College of Southern Idaho this week, as well.
WHY WOULD ANYONE IN HIS OR HER RIGHT MIND WANT TO OFFICIATE? Find out at an open house hosted by the Utah High School Activities Association on Monday, April 24, for anyone interested in officiating high school sports. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the UHSAA office, 199 East 7200 South.
"A lot of people just don't know how to start," said Jerry Bovee, assistant director of the UHSAA. "We'll have our leadership there, and we'll answer any and all questions. We'll have rule books there, and just talk about what it takes to become an official and what to expect afterward."
The UHSAA is in need of officials for all sports, but especially in soccer, football, basketball and volleyball. Officials have a variety of reasons for quitting, including the time spent away from family and bad sportsmanship among fans, players and coaches.
UHSAA is revamping the way officials are assigned and hoping to not only recruit new officials but better train and retain current officials.
"Part of the problem is that people just languish for about a year before they figure out how the system works," he said. -->
Jeff Francom, Utah County's official in charge of training for basketball, said they estimate they lose 50 percent of new officials after the first year.
Officials recently received a pay raise and UHSAA staff are studying going to five person crews in football and three person crews in basketball.
ANOTHER AWARD: Stanford-bound Michelle Harrison earned another award this week when she was named a Parade All-American. The 6-3 Mountain View senior was named to the magazine's third team in the 30th annual award. The article will appear in this weekend's edition.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Four AAU boys basketball teams were crowned state champions last week. Alta High won the 17-and under Scholastic Championship, while Brighton High won the 16-and-under title.
In the 17-All-Star Division, Old School won the title, while the 16-All-Star Division was won by the Utah Swoosh.
Girls AAU basketball championships are played in May.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com