Football
Casey Crofts, Mountain Crest (Jr.)
There was just one upset in the high school football quarterfinals last weekend, and Mountain Crest quarterback Casey Crofts was a huge reason why there was at least one.
The junior competed 11 of 17 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for another score as the sixth-seeded Mustangs traveled to St. George to upset No. 3 Dixie.
“Casey is a great kid and has grown exponentially throughout the season. He’s a very level-headed QB that makes the needed play,” said Mountain Crest coach Ryan Visser.
For the season, Crofts has passed for 1,999 yards and 11 touchdowns, eight of which have come in the past four games as he’s started to hit his stride.
Girls soccer
Liv Flint, Davis (Sr.)
Davis has a long history of success in the playoffs over the past decade with five state titles, and senior Olivia Flint helped write another chapter in that storied success.
Flint was instrumental in leading the seventh-seeded Darts to the 6A state championship as she scored three goals in four games. That included the overtime golden goal in Davis’ 3-2 quarterfinal win over No. 2 seed American Fork.
“Liv was instrumental in our run to the 6A title,” said Davis coach Souli Phongsavath. “She has been a consistent goal scorer all year for us and has been a great leader to our relatively young team.”
The senior finished the season with 17 goals and four assists.
Volleyball
Elly Argyle, Rich (Sr.)
Elly Argyle had been a three-year starter at outside hitter for Rich High School, but her coaches needed her to move to middle blocker this season to help fill a void and she didn’t hesitate. Her willingness to learn a new position while still being a great leader and teammate were big reasons the Rebels went on to claim the 1A state championship last week.
“She stayed after practice every single day this season to better her position, and never missed a day. She helped her teammates whenever they needed anything, they felt like they could ask Elly and she would help them with their game,” said Rich coach Wendy Lamborn.
During the state championship match, a 3-2 win over Panguitch, Lamborn said Argyle had the “dig of her life” that helped swing momentum and ultimately help Rich claim the state title.
Girls cross-country
Emma Page, Cedar (Sr.)
After finishing as a state runner-up last season, Cedar’s Emma Page set a goal for herself this season to win an individual state championship.
She did just that at the 4A state championships last week at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City. The senior ran her 5K in a time of 18:58.2, just enough to edge Desert Hills’ Addison Pettingill by five seconds.
“Emma is one of most consistent and hard-working runners we have on our team. She is constantly looking for ways to get better and is a great example to the other runners at Cedar High. Her goals to win state as a team and individually were set last year and she has worked hard since then to achieve them,” said Cedar coach Greg Harris.
Boys cross-country
Ashton Arnold, Altamont (Jr.)
A year after settling for a runner-up finish at the 1A state championships, Altamont’s Ashton Arnold took the elusive next step he worked so hard to achieve at last week’s state meet.
Arnold ran the 5K in 17:19.5, beating Water Canyon’s Theil Cooke by 10 seconds to win the individual state championships.
Arnold said the motivation and teasing he received from his teammates for his second-place finish last season help motivate him to the finish line every week.
“My friends always made fun of me for it, so I was thinking about that most the time today. There was a picture taken of the first-place person and you could see me in the background, and they like to show me that picture a lot,” said Arnold about the extra motivation he’s been given by his friends.