rodeo field.

Uintah Basin athletes had a phenomenal 2022 year in several different sports.

The athletes won individual titles and made plenty of noise in the pro There were some close calls, like when the Altamont High School wrestling team placed second at the Class 1A state tournament.

The Union girls and boys cross-country teams put in solid efforts at the state race.

The Union girls soccer team won the school’s first-ever region

championship.

Altamont had a highly-successful season in Class 1A baseball.

Duchesne and Union placed several girls in the state wrestling tournament.

There were 10 that made the top sports stories list for 2022.

1. Duchesne wins first Class 2A softball title

A storybook finish is how Duch esne coach Kyle Grant described the Lady Eagles run to their first-ever state softball title.

The Lady Eagles did the improbable when Hallie Nielsen delivered the game-winning single, driving home teammate Kelsey Grant, to complete the comeback in the bottom of the seventh to edge Enterprise 5-4 in the Class 2A state championship game.

“When Hallie came up with the hit, I knew that we were in,” Coach Grant said. “She is a clutch player. She has come up big for us all year. She did a great job. “

Jaelee Farnsworth connected for a solo home run to jump-start the rally. Kelsey Grant added a double to keep the dream alive.

“The atmosphere and the crowd were huge,” Coach Grant said. “It was a fun and intense atmosphere. I’m 100 percent certain that we couldn’t have done this without our fans.”

2. Altamont’s Thacker wins three state track titles

Gold. Gold. Gold. That sums up the kind of day it was for Altamont’s Aspen Thacker after winning three Class 1A state track and field titles.

Thacker won the 100, 400-meter and the long jump at Brigham Young University in Provo.

“Winning three state titles was incredible,” Thacker said. “Winning one was something I’ve always wanted, but winning three was so much fun. Each medal means so much to me. I’m very proud of how I did.”

3. Union’s Riser races to two state individual titles

Individually, Union’s Aubrey Riser captured two titles at the Class 3A state track and field meet in Provo.

She won the 100 (12.59) and the 200 (25.36).

“Aubrey has worked hard for four years,” Union track coach Levi Wise said. “It was absolutely incredible to watch it all pay off.”

Riser, Kinslee Drake, Mia Rasmussen and Britney Ivie won a state title in the 4×100-meter relay in a time of 50.27.

“The 4×100-meter relay team ran very well,” Wise explained. “Their handoffs were very clean. Having smooth handoffs is crucial in that race. They were disciplined and handled them very well. “

4. Mullin twins and Ivie claim state wrestling titles

Altamont celebrated three individual titles in the Class 1A and 2A state tournament at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.

Altamont’s Dillon Ivie (113 pounds), Bryant Mullins (165) and Weston Mullins (190) all brought home 1A titles.

With a title match on the line, Bryant pinned Collin Stewart from Bryce Valley in 32 seconds.

Bryant pinned Nash Jensen from Panguitch in a time of 2:43 for his top spot on the podium.

Weston finished the tournament

with an 18-9 victory over Piute’s Jesse James.

The Longhorns finished second

in the Class 1A standings, scoring 123.5 points.

5. Altamont’s Arnold wins state cross country title

Altamont’s Ashton Arnold made school history after becoming the first runner to win the Class 1A

individual title at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City.

The junior finished the 3.1-mile

course with a time of 17:19.5.

“It felt good when I crossed the

finish line,” Arnold said. “It’s nice to know that I was the first one to

do it.”

Arnold said the win was extra special after he placed second last year in the state race.

“That is all I thought about during track season and during the summer,” he explained. “I put in a lot of time over the summer. I usually focus more on basketball season, but this summer it was all about the long runs.”

6. Frost/Richard place high in Wrangler National Finals Ro
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deo

Randlett’s Josh Frost finished

second in the world bull riding standings during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

It was the second straight year Frost placed in the runner-up position. Frost took home $409,629.74 from the season. He was also third in the all-around standings.

Frost placed second in the WNFR scoring average with 589.5 points on seven rides. Stetson Wright from Milford won the average title with 684.5 points on eight rides.

Rhen Richard from Roosevelt saved his best two rounds for the last few evenings during the WNFR.

Richard and his team roping partner, Jeremy Buhler, captured the ninth round with a time of 3.8 seconds. They won $28,914 each for winning the round. The pair followed up the performance by placing in a three-way tie for first

in the 10th round with a time of 3.7 seconds. They each collected a check of $23,007.

Richard finished ninth in the

header world standings to win $178, 454.15.

7. Taylor captures Class 1A golf tournament title Dicein Taylor delivered Al-

tamont’s first-ever Class 1A indi vidual boys golf title.

The junior fired rounds of 68

and 78 for a two-day score of 146 at the Glendale Golf Course in Salt Lake City.

“It feels fantastic, and it feels great,” Taylor said.

“I couldn’t have done without my coaches. They have helped me out so much. It means a lot to win the title. I have worked hard over this past summer. It felt good to have everything pay off. I spent a lot of time at the golf course.”

8. Union’s Bertoch wins 100-yard butterfly title Union’s William Bertoch snagged the Class 3A 100-yard butterfly title

during the state meet at Brigham Young University in Provo.

Bertoch was clocked with a time of 54.97 seconds against the other elite swimmers in the state.

The finish helped the Cougars

place fourth in the team standings. Union scored 184 points.

9. Tabiona’s Park captures track title in final race Senior Ethan Park knew he had one more chance to win his elusive Class 1A 100-meter state title.

The standout Tabiona athlete produced a memorable finish at BYU to capture the race in a time of 11.79 seconds in his final event of his career.

It was his first individual state

title in four years.

“It was pretty cool,” Park said. “That was my goal since my freshman year was to win that race.”

10. Altamont brings back football program

Altamont High School brought back football after not having a program since the 2018 season.

The Utah High School Activities Association Board of Trustees approved the addition of eight-player football for this past fall and the Longhorns will be one of those schools playing in that classifica tion.

“Altamont felt like they had enough interest to bring the program back,” Altamont coach Charles Woodhouse said.