Month: June 2025

The post Mammoth rumors: Utah preparing for ‘serious’ Sam Bennett push appeared first on ClutchPoints.

The Utah Mammoth, formerly the Utah Hockey Club, had a feisty squad in their inaugural season in 2024-25, but it wasn’t enough to truly contend and make a run at the playoffs. While the talent is lacking in some areas, the Mammoth have an incredible fanbase and in-arena atmosphere already, and now it’s time to give those fans a team to cheer for.

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The Mammoth will certainly be big players in free agency this offseason, and there’s no question that they will be trying hard to land a big fish. Insert Florida Panthers star Sam Bennett, who is making his agent very happy with an excellent postseason run for the defending champs.

If Bennett hits the open market this summer, the Mammoth could be one of the suitors for the forward’s services according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

“Utah is looking to take a big swing. It’s listening on the No. 4 pick, but you just don’t see top-five picks traded very often, and while I think GM Bill Armstrong is genuinely fielding calls on it, I don’t think that pick moves,” LeBrun wrote. “But Utah absolutely wants to be aggressive in upgrading, and I believe it would be among the more serious suitors for Sam Bennett if he goes to market.”

Bennett has become a household name during this postseason and is a contender for the Conn Smythe with the Panthers just two wins away from winning another Stanley Cup. During this postseason, Bennett has 14 goals and six assists to lead Florida in scoring and has made his mark in each and every series so far.

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Bennett is a great playoff player as someone who can muck it up in the crease and create some of those greasy goals. With scoring so hard to come by in the postseason, someone like Bennett would be a perfect addition to the Mammoth.

Utah will have to shell out a hefty bag of cash to get its hands on the 28-year old, but they have the space to do just that. Bringing in someone who can produce on offense at the rate that Bennett can could be just what the Mammoth need to take the leap into playoff contention in the Western Conference next season.

Related: Mammoth rumors: Why Utah is a team to watch in NHL free agency

For more than a third of her life, Tina Hunt has made a tradition of visiting the Southwest for her birthday. When the 59-year-old started daydreaming about this year’s 10-day trip last fall, she felt called to return to St. George, Utah, where she and her husband enjoy mountain biking, hiking and sightseeing.

Yet when the Vancouver, Canada, residents boarded the plane in April, it was bound for Costa Rica. And at no point would they touch down on United States soil. Hunt made sure of that.

“Just with the things going on, we thought, ‘Nope,’” Hunt said. “We’re just part of those Canadians who are ‘Nope. Not until things change.’”

Canadians, who have a reputation for being some of the most polite people in the world, have been putting their foot down this year when it comes to traveling to the United States. Infuriated by President Donald Trump’s threats to make the U.S.’ northern neighbor its 51st state, concerned about the effects of tariffs on their economy and shaken by border detainments and airplane crashes, they have been changing or canceling trips in droves.

And perhaps nowhere is their absence felt more keenly than in Utah, where Canadians account for nearly half of the state’s foreign tourists. The Salt Lake Tribune explored data and spoke with tourism officials and small business owners to find out how declining numbers of tourists from Canada are impacting Utah.

“The trend seems to be that they’re going away, right?” said McKay Edwards, working partner at Moab Springs Ranch, a collection of bungalows near Arches National Park. “They’re canceling instead of coming.”

‘Canada is a critical market’

Perhaps unsurprisingly given their proximity, similar mountain terrain and propensity for adventure travel, Canadians generally like visiting Utah. In 2023, 40% of Utah’s foreign tourists — more than 270,000 people — hailed from Canada, according to the Utah Office of Tourism. The French are the next most likely to visit the state, accounting for 7.3% of its foreign travelers, followed by Germans at 6%.

Relative to the nearly 10 million Americans who visit the state annually, the number of Canadians coming in is small. But their spending power is mighty.

Edwards said they tend to stay longer and spend more per visit than Americans. They are also conscientious visitors, he said, who tend to respect the surrounding environment and his ranch’s rules.

The Canadian market is of such importance that the Utah Office of Tourism has market representatives in the country to help promote the state. Last year, the tourism agency extended its contract with a consulting firm to spearhead strategies to draw even more visitors from the north.

“Clearly,” said Natalie Randall, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, ”Canada is a critical market to us in Utah.”

From the day Trump reentered the White House, however, luring in Canadian visitors became exponentially more difficult.

On his first day in office, Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. In February, he made the first of numerous suggestions that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state, prompting calls for boycotts within the northern country. By early March, according to a study released by the not-for-profit research institute Angus Reid, 58% of Canadians planned to cancel or delay travel to the U.S. That movement only gained momentum earlier this month when Trump told newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, “Never say never” after Carney remarked that Canada is not for sale.

Amidst those already roiled waters, stories about Canadians being detained by U.S. immigration officials — including actor Jasmine Mooney — make people like Hunt, who lives just 20 minutes from the border, think twice about crossing over.

“Just the disrespect, you know?” Hunt said. “We’re a sovereign country. We have our ways of being and doing, and just the repeated threats of annexing us? Honestly, most are saying ‘No effing way.’”

Randall said her office is aware of the downturn in Canadian tourism nationwide. Ticket sales for summer flights from Canada to the U.S. are down 21% when compared with the same time in 2024, the biggest drop from any country, according to an analysis of Airlines Reporting Corporation data by The New York Times. Statistics Canada reported car travel from Canada dropped 35% in April compared to April 2024, marking the fourth straight month of year-over-year decreases.

That visitation void is seeping down into the Rocky Mountain states, including Utah.

Each of the past four weeks, bookings and revenue from Canadian tourists at U.S. mountain destination towns have fallen precipitously when compared with the same week the previous year, according to Inntopia, which tracks lodging. A month ago, reservations for arrivals between May 1 and Dec. 31 of this year were down 40.1%. As of last week, they were down 46.6%.

Meanwhile, European bookings are down 30% year over year, said Tom Foley, senior vice president for business intelligence at Inntopia.

When he first noticed the downward trend in Canadian bookings in January, Foley said it was unlike anything he and other market monitors had seen over the previous two years.

“But as those declines have steepened and the data have become more clear in the ensuing months — including supporting data from other researchers,” Foley said. “We’ve been able to directly attribute these steep declines to both trade and annexation events on the calendar.”

Randall, the Utah tourism director, said her office has only seen hints of that downturn. At Salt Lake City International Airport, for example, industry sources show bookings from Canada to the U.S. have begun to slow, according to an airport spokesperson. Still, last week the airport added service by WestJet, a Canadian carrier, offering direct flights to and from Edmonton, Alberta, in the summer.

“We’ve been able to hear a handful of sentiments from Canadians, and that handful isn’t positive. They’re either delaying or not coming,” Randall said. “But again, it’s a handful.”

Still, Randall acknowledged that even a handful of cancellations can add up, especially for Utah’s small-business owners.

“Those small mom-and-pop guides and outfitters or bed and breakfasts,” Randall said. “Any type of economic impact that happens always hits them first.”

It’s already bludgeoning Moab Springs Ranch, Edwards said. A big, red, maple-leaf flag flies outside the historic ranch house-turned-front desk. Pretty soon, he said, it will be the only sign of Canada on his property.

Drowning in cancellations

An oasis among the red rocks, Moab Springs Ranch sits where Moab’s first non-Native settler, Black frontiersman William Grandstaff, homesteaded in the late 1880s. Located just south of Arches National Park, it’s now a collection of 20 well-appointed bungalows and townhouses nestled among two springs. Edwards humblebrags that the ranch has been TripAdvisor’s No. 1 Traveler’s Choice hotel for Moab for the past five years.

“We’re independent. We’re not part of a national chain, or anything like that,” Edwards said. “So, I think we drive the big boys crazy because we’re sitting in that number one position all the time.”

Due to the ranch’s small size and the outsized number of American tourists who visit Utah, Edwards said foreign tourists make up a small fraction of his guests. In an average year, he said, international tourists comprise less than 10% of guests at the ranch. Canadians account for about 2% of his business.

Still, his profit margins also are not more than 8%. So, losing that clientele could be crippling. And Edwards said his booking numbers show that’s a real possibility.

Year to date, bookings are down $170,000, he said. Foreigners account for 44% of cancellations.

And in August, Edwards doesn’t show a single booking from Canada.

“If you‘re treading water and your nostrils are just above water, 5% can be a big deal,” Edwards said. “So those of us who operate on thin margins are hurting from that.”

National Park cuts pile on

The rub, he said, is that international bookings were just bouncing back from the post-COVID lag. Plus, as was the case in 2020, Americans are not making up the slack, especially when it comes to trips to National Parks. The U.S. Travel Association reported declines in National Park trips among Americans’ otherwise consistent travel patterns. With uncertainty over staffing at National Parks amid Department of Government Efficiency cuts, some visitors and park advocate groups have voiced concern that conditions at the parks will falter, in ways such as overflowing trash cans, bare toilet paper rolls and reduced programming.

“People don’t know if the park is going to be open, if toilets are going to be overflowing,” Edwards said. “The National Park Service is getting just hammered and people are rightfully concerned.”

When the parks faced a similar scenario in 2020 and during a government shutdown in 2023, Edwards said state leaders helped alleviate much of the uncertainty by guaranteeing they would keep the state’s Mighty 5 parks open and operating mostly as usual. Legislators have made no such promises to cover the gaps made by federal cuts.

“There’s been crickets. Nothing. And it’s because they don’t want to seem disloyal to the current administration,” Edwards said. “There’s a lack of understanding at our state level of how big an industry tourism is.”

Even if the state stepped up and provided some sureties, Hunt indicated the damage has already been done. She and her husband canceled a trip to New Mexico planned for later this year and will be going to Europe instead. And her next birthday trip? Maybe she’ll look at Guatemala instead of St. George.

She doesn’t know when, or if she will be back to the U.S. If it’s up to her husband, it won’t be in the next four years.

“What it comes down to is just kind of lost trust in the States at the moment,” she said. “And losing trust takes over twice as long to regain back.”

This story was produced by The Salt Lake Tribune and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

Slightly below-average snowfall and the ski patrol strike at Park City Mountain likely contributed to fewer skier and snowboarder visits at Utah resorts this ski season compared to the previous two.

A smidge fewer.

Skiers and snowboarders made 6,503,635 visits to Utah’s 15 public resorts during the 2024-25 season, according to Ski Utah data shared with The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday. That’s the third most in state history, trailing last season by just under 250,000 visits, or roughly 1,250 visits per day. However, it’s 700,000 more (3,518 per day) than in 2021-22, which at 5.8 million saw the next most visits in state history.

Far and above the rest, of course, is the 2023-24 season. In addition to a record 903-inches of snow, Utah drew 7.1 million visits that season.

Visits is a measurement of the number of times skiers, snowboarders, snowbikers, etc. used a day, season or comp pass to access a ski resort. It does not reflect the number of visitors to Utah’s slopes during the season. According to Ski Utah’s data, skiers made up 79% of the visits. Snowboarders accounted for 17% of visits, while the rest were made by telemark skiers and “other.”

Nathan Rafferty, president and CEO of Ski Utah — the marketing arm of the state’s ski industry — said he found “no huge surprises” in the final numbers from a season that received 538 inches of snow between Nov. 1 and April 30. The 44-year average for that period, as measured from the National Weather Service’s Alta-Collins study plot, is 548 inches.

Despite what could be perceived as a down year snow-wise, Rafferty said Utah resorts remained attractive largely due to their investments in snowmaking and grooming.

“Snowmaking is not very sexy to put in the brochure,” he said, “but man, when you don’t have it, you’re just out of luck.”

Four of the state’s resorts added or improved their snowmaking heading into the season. They put it to use almost right away, as the skies dried up in December, just in time for the busy — and usually lucrative — holiday stretch.

But snow on the ground isn’t all that’s needed to open terrain and get people on the slopes. That was the lesson learned at Park City Mountain, which is owned by Colorado-based Vail Resorts, when its ski patrol went on strike two days after Christmas. Despite being one of the resorts to add extensive snowmaking, Park City Mountain opened just 18% of its trails during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The prior season, with a base depth 10 inches lower, it opened 39% of its trails.

The ensuing long lines and frustration prompted a class-action lawsuit against Vail Resorts and calls for nonpassholders to boycott Park City Mountain — the largest ski area in the United States in terms of lift-served terrain — during the strike.

It’s “impossible to put a number to that, but also hard to believe that that didn’t impact things in some way, shape or form,” Rafferty said of the strike. “I mean, they physically couldn’t put as many people on their lifts as they could [during] a regular Christmas.”

Though it is not necessarily correlated, spending at Utah resorts in 2024-25 also dropped after consecutive record highs the previous two years. This season, visitors spent $2.51 billion, compared to $2.64 billion in 2022-23 and $2.67 billion last season. However, those numbers, and perhaps skier visits overall, may have been affected by a steady decline in foreign tourism to Utah in reaction to policies enacted by president Donald Trump’s administration.

In its quarterly shareholders meeting last week, Vail Resorts reported that guest satisfaction scores at its mountain resorts were “strong” and consistent with the previous season — except at Park City Mountain. Rob Katz, who recently was reinstalled as the Vail Resorts CEO, said the company took some lessons from the strike.

“A resort like Park City, of course, is critical to our overall company and our network,” he said. “And we think it’s incumbent upon us to continue to listen to the feedback from our guests, from our community partners, and continue to drive improvement … in the way that we deliver an experience for our guests, the way that we deliver for our employees and the way that we deliver for our community members.”

Online, some have vowed not to return until Vail Resorts sells Park City Mountain. Yet Rafferty said he doesn’t expect to see a ripple effect from the strike on next season’s visitation numbers. Again, he explained, snow is the axis around which the ski industry revolves.

“If it snows early and often coming into this year and everything’s open, “ he said, “skiers have a very short memory.”

That confidence is bolstered by a glut of capital improvements planned at Utah resorts next season and in the years leading up to the 2034 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Utah.

In 2025-26, Deer Valley Resort alone intends to install nine lifts — one of which is a 10-person gondola — and add at least 100 trails as part of its East Village expansion. Park City Mountain also has a gondola in the works for next season on the Canyons Village side of the resort. Meanwhile, Powder Mountain expects to add a new private lift and expand its terrain, while Alta Ski Area and Snowbasin each plan to replace a lift this summer.

“I think,” Rafferty said, “we’re in for a busy nine years.”

6 Busiest Utah Ski Seasons

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INDIANAPOLIS — Scot Pollard unbuttons the top of his shirt and stands up, bearing his chest which inside beats the heart of Casey Angell.

With tears in her eyes, Angell’s widow walks over to Pollard, puts a stethoscope in her ears and places the tiny monitor to Pollard’s skin.

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Pamela Angell hears thumping. Strong and steady. Thump-thump … thump-thump … thump-thump. It is a beautiful sound.

Angell may no longer be with Pamela but, inside this room, he is with her. Living inside Pollard.

Soon, it’s not just Pamela crying, but Angell’s sister, Megan Tyra, Pollard’s wife, Dawn, and Pollard, too. He is meeting the family of his heart donor for the first time, the people who loved the man who saved his life.

The emotional scene plays out in the ESPN “E60” film, “Heart of Pearl,” which debuts 1 p.m. Sunday for Father’s Day. It tells the story of former Indiana Pacers player Pollard who received a heart transplant in February 2024.

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The film also examines the impact Pollard’s father, Pearl “Poison” Pollard, had on his life. The elder Pollard died waiting on the transplant list in 1991 when Scot was 16.

ESPN followed Pollard as he waited on a heart at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and as he received his new heart and then as he recovered. The film ends with Pollard meeting the family of the donor who gave him another chance at life who, in turn, received their own gift.

“We’re grateful, yeah, we’re grateful that Scot’s here with Casey’s heart,” Pamela tells Pollard and Dawn in the film. “And William has another person to look up to as a father figure.”

William Angell was 12 when his dad died.

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“I feel for you. I know what it was like. I was 16 when my dad died,” Pollard says to William. “And I was the last one in my family to see him alive.”

‘God, I’m going to grow up without a dad’

Pollard had gone surfing the morning of Oct. 28, 1991, for a physical education class he was taking at Torrey Pines High in San Diego.

As he was coming up off the beach, his dad drove by in a white truck. Pearl was a public works director for the city of Solana Beach who made sure the roads were taken care of and the sand was raked.

When Pollard spotted his dad, he raised his hand and waved. Pearl stopped and asked, “What are you boys doing?” Pollard told his dad they had just finished a surfing class. Pearl said, “Get back to school.”

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“I said, ‘Alright, dad,'” Pollard says. “He said, ‘Take care.’ That was the last thing he said.”

A couple of hours later, a friend of Pollard’s called him. “Scot, I just saw your dad’s car. It’s crashed, and there are paramedics working on him.”

Pearl Pollard had died. He died when his heart failed him as the truck he was driving rolled gently through a stop sign and into a parking lot, then came to rest against some parked cars. Pearl died waiting on a heart transplant.

The autopsy said the cause of death was cardiomyopathy. He was 54.

One year before he died, Pearl was diagnosed with heart issues, but he had been sick much longer. The family noticed he was falling asleep a lot, passing out. Pearl would be talking to them and the next thing they knew, his skin was gray and he was out.

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They finally convinced him to go to the doctor, who told Pearl he needed to be put on the heart transplant list. But at 6-9 and 380 pounds, doctors said, it would be tough to find a heart big enough.

“We knew it was a death sentence,” Pollard says in the film. “So, obviously, 16 years old, that kind of stuck in my brain.”

Pollard was still 16 as he stood at his father’s funeral, unable to believe and accept the man he loved and looked up to so much was gone.

“He was a giant of a man in every single way possible. Everybody loved my dad,” said Pollard. “Everywhere I went in Utah when I was a little kid. ‘You’re Pearl’s son, aren’t you. Is that Poison’s kid?'”

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Now, Pearl was gone and Pollard was facing a dark reality.

“I was just thinking, ‘God, I’m going to grow up without a dad,'” he said. “On the other hand, I was mad at him for not taking better care of himself.”

Pollard’s sister, Lyne Jorif, says in the film she remembers hugging her brother a lot, trying to comfort him, trying to make him feel better.

“And just the look on his face. Nothing was going to console him,” she said. “His worst fear of losing his dad had just happened.”

‘I’m going to honor my dad’

That basketball season at Torrey Pines, the team wore black bands in memory of Pearl and as a way to show their support for Pollard. He changed his jersey to No. 31, his dad’s number.

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“He said, ‘I’m going to honor my dad,'” said Jorif. “‘I’m the son of Poison.'”

Pearl Pollard had been a standout basketball player in high school and at the University of Utah, nicknamed “Poison” because he was so lethal on the court, it was as if he was poisoning his opponents. Playing basketball was something Pollard had done for his dad. Now, he was gone.

“It hurt too much to pick up a basketball and not have his dad. We just both kind of hit the wall and we slid down to the floor and we cried and cried, and it took him a while,” said Jorif. “I told him, ‘It’s OK. You don’t have to. Dad would never push you. Dad would tell you to do what you need to do.”

Pollard knew what he had to do.

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“The real reason I was ever successful at basketball was because my dad died. That was the catalyst. My dad passing just sharpened everything inside of me and made me angry,” said Pollard. “And I went bat(expletive) nuts.”

Pollard took his anger and turned it into a passion and fierceness on the court as he played at the University of Kansas and then in the NBA. He was known for his relentless, competitive drive. Just like his dad.

And 15 years after Pollard retired from the NBA, he found himself re-living the exact same health journey his father had lived.

“We’ve got to talk about transplant,” Dr. Sunit-Preet S. Chaudhry, a specialist in congestive heart failure at Ascension St. Vincent, told Pollard in September 2023. Pollard had been short of breath, his skin was gray and he was sleeping all the time.

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“I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to die,'” Pollard told IndyStar inside his Carmel home in December. “I was 16 when my dad died on the transplant list because in 1991 you couldn’t transplant a giant. That’s it. I’m going to die just like my dad.”

Doctors tried to encourage Pollard that medicine had come a long way in the more than three decades since his dad died from cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease that weakens the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively. There was a good chance they could find a heart big enough for Pollard’s monstrous body.

“I very seriously considered just letting it ride,” said Pollard, who played in the NBA 11 years, including for the Indiana Pacers from 2003 to 2006. “You know what? I’ve had a wonderful life and family. Maybe it’s just … let’s just ride this out because I don’t want to die in the hospital.

“And thank God, (Dawn) talked some sense into me.”

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Pollard couldn’t give up on his failing heart. He couldn’t leave behind Dawn and his four children. He might be the son of Poison, but he was going to take a different road than his father had.

In February 2024, Pollard got his new heart. Angell’s heart. When he woke up, he realized how close to death he had been. He was so very grateful. And he knew, he had to meet his donor’s family.

“Thank you guys for making that decision (to donate Angell’s organs),” Pollard tells the family in the ESPN film. “Because if you hadn’t made the decision, I may not be here.”

“Heart of Pearl” premieres 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN. Streaming will be available after on ESPN+

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers’ Scot Pollard’s ESPN Father’s Day doc will bring you to tears

On Tuesday afternoon, the University of Utah announced the school’s men’s basketball roster for the 2025-26 season, and it included a name that previously hadn’t been linked to the school publicly.

The Runnin’ Utes, who will look vastly different in Alex Jensen’s first season as head coach due to roster turnover, have added German shooting guard Jacob Patrick for next season.

Who is Jacob Patrick?

Patrick is a 21-year-old shooting guard who hails from Ludwigsburg, Germany.

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The 6-foot-6, 192-pounder played five seasons with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga, Germany’s top pro basketball league.

This past season, he averaged 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 23.9 minutes per game.

During the 2023-24 season, he was one of two players in the BBL to shoot better than 50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from the free-throw line.

Patrick suited up for the German Senior National Team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers, and while playing for the German U16 team at the 2019 FIBA European Championships, Patrick averaged 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

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Patrick will be a freshman at Utah this season.

Two summers ago, he committed to and signed with VCU, though that ended up being short-lived, as he decided to stay in Germany. At that time, ESPN rated him as a four-star basketball prospect, with an 81 scout grade.

Patrick is the son of John Patrick, who played collegiately at Stanford before going on to a 13-year pro career in Japan and Germany. He coached MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg for nine seasons.

How is Utah basketball’s 2025-26 roster shaping up?

With Jacob Patrick’s addition, the Utes officially have 12 players on the roster for next season as of now, including nine newcomers.

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That’s a group that also includes Terrence Brown, Babacar Faye, Jahki Howard, Don McHenry, Elijah “Choppa” Moore, James Okonkwo, Kendyl Sanders and Seydou Traore.

Keanu Dawes and Ibi Traore are returning, as is Jerry Huang, a walk-on at Utah the past two seasons who previously had entered the transfer portal.

Last week, Elmeri Abbey, a Finnish point guard, announced his commitment to Utah, though he does not currently appear on the roster for Utah next season. KSL Sports’ Steve Bartle reported that Abbey is currently fulfilling mandatory service in the Finnish Army and will join the Utes later this summer.

With Abbey’s expected addition, that would make 13 roster spots filled, with the possibility of two more scholarship players.

Other roster news

In announcing Utah’s basketball roster, it’s also noted that Dawes became the first University of Utah student-athlete to sign a revenue share agreement.

Last Friday’s watershed House vs. NCAA settlement paved the way for schools to directly pay athletes. The settlement goes into effect July 1.

The post Mammoth rumors: Why Utah is a team to watch in NHL free agency appeared first on ClutchPoints.

The Utah Mammoth are fresh off a surprisingly successful inaugural season in Salt Lake City. They were in Wild Card contention late in the season and got a solid crowd for most of their games. Now, with their new name in tow, the Mammoth are heading into NHL free agency. The Athletic’s James Mirtle was at the NHL Combine and heard that Utah could be in on Mitch Marner and Nikolaj Ehlers this summer.

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“Their young core up front is only going to get better, but supporting [Clayton] Keller with better veteran depth will be priority No. 1, especially considering they seem set in goal and, if healthier than this past season, on defense too. The Mammoth have 21 NHL players signed (11 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goalies) and more than $20 million in cap space, so don’t be surprised if they’re in big on Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers and/or any trade targets who can put the puck in the net.”

For their entire existence, the Arizona Coyotes lacked a superstar. Shane Doan became a franchise icon, Keith Tkachuk scored a lot, and they developed a few solid young players. But outside of one Western Conference Final with Doan, they never made a lot of noise. The Mammoth have to solve that problem early in their existence, even with the cupboard of young talent Arizona left them.

While the Mammoth will have over $20 million to spend, they may not spend it all this summer. Nick Schmaltz, Matias Maccelli, and Barret Hayton are all entering the final year of their respective contracts. Even with the salary cap exploding over the next three years, Utah has to budget for keeping its young stars.

The Mammoth have already signed Karel Vejmelka, Olli Maatta, and Ian Cole for the 2025-26 season. Could they add their first superstar in free agency?

Utah’s biggest university wanted a bigger platform for its sports.

Utah Valley University officials say the Big West Conference will be just that.

After a decade in the Western Athletic Conference, the Wolverines will join the Big West on July 1, 2026. UVU Athletic Director Jared Sumsion says the move makes sense for the Wolverines, as they look to elevate their brand and level of competition.

“We really feel like the Big West elevates our profile,” Sumsion said. “It elevates who we are. And we feel like we help elevate the profile of the Big West as well.”

Here’s what you need to know about the Wolverines’ move.

How does UVU stack up?

With one season left in the WAC, Sumsion said the Wolverines will use their remaining season to prepare for what is to come with the Big West, both competitively and financially.

“We need to get better, competitively in some sports, and we have a couple facilities that could use some upgrades,” UVU’s AD said.

“It’s a more competitive league, and a lot of our sports are going to have to ramp up. That comes down to fundraising, building our facilities and getting ourselves ready for this opportunity.”

UVU will become the largest university in the conference with more than 46,800 enrolled students.

How does UVU stack up financially?

The Wolverines had $19.49 million in total athletic department expenses in 2024, compared to a total revenue of $18.44 million.

That would put UVU among the smaller budgets in the Big West, according to 2024 data:

Cal Poly — $35.9 million (includes football)

Cal State Bakersfield — $18.6 million

Cal State Fullerton — $26.3 million

Long Beach State — $29.6 million

Cal State Northridge — $22.8 million

UC Irvine — $31 million

UC Riverside — $20.9 million

UC San Diego — $24.6 million

UC Santa Barbara — $24.9 million

UVU’s biggest expenses of the year came from coaching salaries ($4.29 million), game and travel expenses ($3.87 million) and athlete financial aid ($3.79 million).

Are there Big West benefits?

The Wolverines’ basketball program could benefit most from the move. In March, the Big West fell short of being a two-bid league in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament when UC San Diego beat UC Irvine in the conference title game. If the Anteaters had won, both programs likely would have been in the Big Dance.

UVU failed to earn a bid into March Madness last season after it was defeated by Grand Canyon University in the WAC title game. With a win, the Wolverines would have played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

The Wolverines’ recent success in men’s basketball could eventually help the Big West become a multi-bid league.

But Sumsion said the Wolverines will be better positioned in other sports, too.

“We’ve been interested in joining a league that’s really strong,” he said. “The Big West is one of the premier mid-major leagues in the country.

“It’s a great baseball league and a great soccer league. It has a lot of sports with a lot of history. … We feel like we are going to be able to come in with some sports and immediately be competitive.”

Is more expansion to come?

The Wolverines will join as the only non-California school in their new conference. Big West commissioner Dan Butterly is excited about expanding his league’s regional footprint, citing new opportunities for future expansion.

With the latest addition of UVU, the conference will only have 11 programs by 2026. Butterly hopes to expand to 12 member institutions in the future to ease conference scheduling.

“We’re named the Big West,” Butterly said. “We’re excited about adding the state of Utah back to the footprint in the Big West.

“We still have institutions that we’re speaking with. There are institutions that want to join the Big West as they see the strength of the strategic plan moving ahead.”

The WAC is crumbling

Once the thriving home of the Utes and the Cougars, the Western Athletic Conference is struggling to hold on to members right now.

Seattle University is leaving to join the West Coast Conference next month.

UVU and California Baptist will leave for the Big West next year. Grand Canyon University is set to join the Mountain West then.

That would leave the WAC with just five full-time members, including Utah Tech and Southern Utah, in 2026.

As they took turns presenting their plans to comply with state-mandated budget cuts, each of Utah’s public university and college leaders Friday made some version of the same remark: It’s been a hard process under the tightest of timelines.

“I think we’ve learned a lot through this, but it’s been difficult,” said Shane Smeed, the president of Utah Tech University.

UVU’s Vice President of Finance Jim Mortensen echoed him, calling it “challenging.” And University of Utah President Taylor Randall said it has forced the school to quickly adjust to a “moment of reinvention.”

The eight schools have had less than three months to come up with millions of dollars in cuts — the largest reduction to the Utah System of Higher Education in at least the last decade.

State lawmakers cut 10% of the instruction line item from each school’s funding, for a total of $60.5 million. Their directive: Focus on eliminating “inefficient” majors — or programs that have few graduates and lead to lower paying jobs — to come up with the money. At the University of Utah, for instance, the reduction is $19.6 million.

Schools can eventually get the money back — but only if institutions show it will be reinvested in high-wage degrees that lead to jobs the state needs.

On Friday, school leaders for the first time formally and publicly presented their plans. They will have three years to make the changes.

Overall, the plans showed 32% of the money would later be reinvested in health care, specifically, and 19% in engineering.

Here’s a breakdown of each plan, in order of the highest to lowest amount of cuts.

University of Utah

• Amount cut: $19.6 million.

• Employee reductions: Not at this time, but expected later.

• Courses eliminated: 484.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 94.

University of Utah President Randall shared fewer details than other school leaders. That’s because, he said, the U.’s plans are still in flux due to federal funding uncertainties under the current presidential administration — which has significantly cut back on research money that the U. relies on.

“We’re seeing grants move back and forth,” he said. “That affects staff and faculty decisions.”

The flagship school has settled on a first phase of cuts, but has tentative plans at the moment for years two and three which Randall called “our best guess right now.”

The U. is cutting about $2 million from administrative costs, which Randall said aligns with the Legislature’s intentions. But he didn’t specify exactly what would be slashed there.

The university will also sunset 484 courses, some of which had no students enrolled, and 94 programs; the specific majors and minors were also not listed. But the school noted the largest share of the program cuts — 27 — will be from the College of Humanities. Previously, U. Provost Mitzi Montoya said the focus was on majors that graduate fewer than 40 students.

The school is also eliminating a graduate center it had been operating in St. George.

If it earns the money back in the reallocation process, the U. wants to reinvest largely in programs in artificial intelligence, engineering, nursing, biotechnology and behavioral health.

The school also said it’s looking at bolstering its required general education courses to focus on civic discussion and debate, which has been a large push from Utah leaders.

Utah State University

• Amount cut: $12.6 million.

• Employee reductions: The equivalent of 120 full-time positions.

• Courses eliminated: Number not included in the school’s presentation.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 14.

USU in Logan was the first school to announce a voluntary retirement program. It’s unclear how many of the eliminated positions were satisfied through that, but of the positions cut, 67 were faculty, 38 were staff and 15 were administrative.

Interim President Alan L. Smith said overall the school found $3.4 million in cuts related to “administrative efficiency.”

Eliminating programs — and making what remains more efficient — amounted to $5.8 million. Most eliminated programs were bachelor’s degrees under USU’s College of Education and Human Services. A handful of similar majors were combined to be more effective, and there were also department mergers within the humanities as well as the sciences.

The decisions, Smith said, were based on programs that had low enrollment, low graduation rates and “less successful” professional outcomes. He did not provide details on what that meant, but lawmakers instructed schools to look at job wages.

Smith intends to reinvest money back into “community needs in light of our land-grant mission.” That will include the areas of: technology and careers for the future, health and wellbeing in the workforce and student access and success initiatives.

Specifically, the school wants to expand its engineering, aviation, nursing, social work and physical therapy programs. And Smith said he’d like to improve online instruction.

Utah Valley University

• Amount cut: $8.9 million.

• Employee reductions: 45 positions, 13 of which were already vacant.

• Courses eliminated: Number not included in the school’s presentation.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 68.

Mortensen, UVU’s vice president of finance, said the school with the largest enrollment in the state braced early for expected cuts by setting aside $2.7 million last year as a contingency, which “softened the blow for us.”

Notably, five staff positions were eliminated with the school’s decision to shutter its Center For Intercultural Engagement as part of the cuts, eliminating the affiliated support programs for LGBTQ students, multicultural students and women. That came under HB265, but also in response to the Utah Legislature’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher education.

The school also slashed some faculty positions in favor of lecturers, which Mortensen said allows UVU to offer more classes for less money.

For program cuts, Mortensen said the school looked at majors, minors and certificates that had low enrollment or that were expensive to teach. Those eliminated included a master’s degree in nursing education, a specialized business associate degree and a certificate in woodworking.

The school didn’t say how many courses it would cut, but a large portion will be reduced through streamlining classes. “We started eliminating where there was significant overlap,” Mortensen said. “We want to make sure we’re putting students in courses that land them in jobs.”

UVU is unique among the institutions in that all of cuts will be effective July 1, instead of rolling out over the three-year period. Mortensen said he didn’t want to “prolong the pain.”

The university plans to reinvest in engineering, artificial intelligence and health and wellness programs, as well as more tutoring. It also wants to start a laptop checkout program, so students who can’t afford one could borrow one to complete their coursework.

Weber State University

• Amount cut: $6.7 million.

• Employee reductions: 49 positions.

• Courses eliminated: 89.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 31.

Weber State University came up with most of its cuts through eliminating positions. That includes 11 administrative, 10 staff and 28 faculty posts, amounting to $6.2 million.

All of that came from voluntary resignations, said President Brad Mortensen, or positions that had been left vacant; there were no layoffs. A few of the administrative cuts were done by consolidating colleges to reduce the number of deans.

That included a major move to overhaul the Ogden school’s College of Education — which trains a significant portion of the state’s K-12 teachers — and fold those programs into other studies at Weber State. There had been 31 education programs at Weber State, which Mortensen said included a lot of duplication or unnecessary “hyper-specialization.” Many of those were among the cuts and consolidations.

Overall, the school eliminated 31 programs, which had 209 students across all. Most were in the humanities and liberal arts, Mortensen said. The president had been an early and strong proponent in protecting those programs for the value they provide to students and the community, but said he was left with few other choices. Most of the faculty and staff cuts were also in the arts and humanities, with seven positions reduced there.

“Certainly those areas did take more of a cut as we pulled things out at Weber State,” he said.

Faculty spoke out against those decisions during a heated town hall meeting in April, specifically pushing back against eliminating the minors for queer studies and women and gender studies.

The school will also shutter its West Center in Roy that offered some courses, test administration and a computer lab.

Moving forward, Mortensen said he will reinvest money in efforts to increase student enrollment and retention, including expanding academic advising.

Salt Lake Community College

• Amount cut: $5.2 million.

• Employee reductions: 50 positions, 15 of which were already vacant.

• Courses eliminated: 237.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 48, with 12 programs consolidated.

Salt Lake Community College’s plan stands out for cutting more from its budget than what it was required to by the Legislature. President Greg Peterson said he came up with an additional $581,620 in reductions for a total of $5.8 million in cuts.

He said the school regularly cuts programs that have low enrollment, but the process under the mandated cuts “was on steroids just because of the amount.” The school is eliminating 237 courses that it says were not directly tied to a degree.

The biggest share of the programs cuts — 18 of the 48 — were centered in the business school. Peterson said there were too many offerings there, and it was confusing students. “Really, more isn’t better,” he said.

The college also eliminated entirely its School of Arts, Communication and Media, which was its smallest. Those programs will be folded into other schools and departments.

It’s cutting or shifting some programs so they will only be taught at Salt Lake Technical College. That includes certificates for those wanting to become emergency medical technicians and firefighters, as well as programs in car repair and manufacturing technology.

SLCC is permanently closing its long-standing Community Writing Center and slashing the library and testing services at its smaller Miller Campus in Sandy.

It will eliminate 50 positions, including five administrative, mostly through layoffs and voluntary retirements.

The school plans to reinvest in film and hospitality programs; the Utah Board of Higher Education raised some questions about that, based on enrollment, but Peterson said there is a high industry demand for both. SLCC will also add 29 positions with the money it gets back.

Southern Utah University

• Amount cut: $3.2 million.

• Employee reductions: About 25 positions.

• Courses eliminated: Number not included in the school’s presentation.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 24.

Of the positions cut at SUU, 6.5 were administrative, 13.6 were faculty and 5.25 were staff. Some of that came through repositioning and retirements, and a handful were layoffs, said President Mindy Benson.

Benson said she looked first at her office. There, she chose to eliminate a vice president post and an assistant to the president for special projects. Those two spots alone amount to $302,947, she said. And the administrative cuts, overall, account for 48% of the money the Cedar City school had to come up with.

For its plan, SUU is eliminating 24 academic programs. Of the four majors and two minors among those for undergraduates, all are in the liberal arts. That includes art history, French and philosophy.

It’s also abandoning its culinary and uncrewed aviation programs. Those are already offered at nearby Southwest Technical College, and Benson said enrollment didn’t justify both schools having them.

The school hopes it can reinvest in 23 new positions, with time, if it earns its share of the cuts back. Those plans focus on expanding psychology, nursing, business and engineering programs.

It also wants to invest in expanding internship opportunities for students, Benson said.

Utah Tech University

• Amount cut: $2.6 million.

• Employee reductions: Number not included in the school’s presentation.

• Courses eliminated: Number not included in the school’s presentation.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 17.

The St. George-based school is cutting majors for students who want to become educators in Spanish and theater, as well as a theater directing emphasis. It’s also eliminating its standalone College of Arts, merging those programs into other departments at the school.

Like SLCC, the school will also end its program for those training to become EMTs, with that already offered at its partner institution, Dixie Technical College.

Utah Tech President Smeed said there had been some “small student protests” over those decisions, but he defended the moves as necessary to come up with the required money.

With employee reductions, the school is coming up with about $700,000. Utah Tech did not provide specific numbers, though, for how many people are impacted. It did note that it will cut one administrative position in athletics and another in the president’s office.

The university plans to reinvest in business, engineering, psychology and health sciences, as well as some in digital media arts with growing film industry needs in southern Utah.

Snow College

• Amount cut: $1.7 million.

• Employee reductions: 11 positions.

• Courses eliminated: Number not included in the school’s presentation.

• Majors, minors or certificates slashed: 8.

As the smallest school in the state and a community college without many specialized degrees, Snow College President Stacee McIff said coming up with the budget cuts was particularly difficult. Snow College mostly offers certificates and more general associate degrees, which means it didn’t have many programs to eliminate.

It’s discontinuing only a handful of offerings, including French, Italian and media studies. It will no longer have a student newspaper or radio station.

And the college won’t be holding annual convocation ceremonies due to decreasing attendance, McIff said. That, in particular, will save $62,000 a year.

The bulk of the money will come through having fewer faculty and staff — but none of the reductions are coming through layoffs, McIff said. There are 25 employees at the college who have opted for voluntary retirement. A few of those positions will need to be filled, but not all of them, resulting in a total of 11 eliminated positions and cost-savings by refilling at lower salary rates.

McIff said the hope is to keep Snow College “accessible, affordable and relevant.” With the reinvestment money, the school will expand its education program at the nearby Gunnison Prison. And it will add to existing programs in elementary education, biology and automation technology. The school is also creating new programs in behavioral health and rural entrepreneurship.

Snow, like most schools, got a green light from the board. The U., Utah State University and Weber State University were each granted conditional approval and asked to provide more details to the board over the next few months.

The schools will next seek final approval from the Legislature in August and September.

The hard work of Utah’s best high school athletes was on full display Monday night.

Nearly 170 student-athletes were honored at the third annual Deseret News High School Sports Awards presented by The Larry H. Miller Company.

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The event, hosted at the new Ballpark at America First Square, celebrated Utah’s most exceptional high school athletes for their athletic accomplishments over the past school year.

“The talent has gotten better and better in this space,” Deseret News editor Sarah Jane Weaver said.

Deseret News columnist and BYUtv broadcaster Dave McCann served as the event’s master of ceremonies.

The night’s honors included most outstanding athlete awards for each of the 25 sanctioned sports as well as male and female honors for player, coach and humanitarian of the year.

The top overall athletic programs in each of the six classifications were also honored with the All-Sports Awards.

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In addition to their awards, the male and female athletes and coaches of the year each received a $1,000 check from America First Credit Union. Other sponsors of the evening included Minky Couture, SymbolArts and Eye Care4 Kids.

Male Athlete of the Year

Male Athlete of the Year and Mr. Soccer winner Lewis Knecht expressed his gratitude for the Deseret News recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of Utah’s high school athletes.

“They work hard to make sure we feel like we’ve succeeded, because we have,” Knecht said. “It’s not easy doing what we do. Whether you get an award or not, to be here, it’s really important to each of us, and it’s really nice to feel important to the community, so I’m just very grateful for them and all they do.”

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The American Fork High forward was caught off guard when he learned he’d been named male athlete of the year. Knecht was impressed as the winner’s stats and achievements were read off and was surprised when he realized they were his.

The future Utah Valley Wolverine considers the award his proudest accomplishment of his high school athletic career alongside American Fork’s back-to-back state championships.

“It was unheard of for our program and to make a name for our program and to switch the narrative for us, it was really important for me to just build those memories with my teammates,” he said.

“There’s nothing I would trade for those two state championships for my team.”

Female Athlete of the Year

The day after she demolished her own national high school record for the two-mile run, Timpview’s Jane Hedengren was named the Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year.

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Hedengren was also honored as Ms. Cross Country for a third straight year and Ms. Track and Field for the second consecutive year.

“It’s awesome to come to this event. It’s been great the past few years, and I’m just really, really glad that they wanted to have me again this year,” she said.

Hedengren finished her high school career with nine national records to her name, and she’s excited to join the BYU Cougars this fall.

“I think that it’s gonna be a great opportunity, and I’m excited to gain some new relationships there and to just give myself grace for the development process and that it might take a few years to adjust and just get back into the rhythm of things, but I’m really hopeful for the future,” she said.

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Hedengren had many college options, but she chose BYU.

“I think it’s really just going to be a great place and great fit for me, so really looking forward to my time,” she said. “No negative nerves or energy coming in. Just looking forward to that process.

“I’m sure there’s going to be many learning curves but I’m ready for that and I’m excited for that because I think that will only positively affect me as a person and as an athlete, just with building my resilience and just learning to be adaptable within many different positions.”

Female Coach of the Year

The 2025 Female Coach of the Year, McHailee Danner, and her softball team made West Jordan High history by winning the school’s first-ever girls state championship.

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“Honestly, to get the award was kind of a bit of a shock, but I am so deeply honored,” she said. “I mean, my whole life, I’ve chased being a winner. I’ve chased being a champion, and I didn’t quite get it in high school.

“It kind of manifests in a way that I never thought, and it’s just 100% better, so I’m just grateful to be honored in that way, and just to show up for my players.”

This season was Danner’s second as West Jordan’s coach and her second year ever as a head coach. She actually interviewed for the job while on a family trip to Disney World. Now, she’s able to share her “one true love” with the next generation.

Male Coach of the Year

Adam Fager, this year’s Male Coach of the Year, led Layton High’s boy’s wrestling team to its highest national ranking and third straight state title, but the year was also bittersweet for Fager and the team.

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Fager’s father passed away in January, the month before the Lancers claimed their title. His father, a sports psychologist, had volunteered several free hours of his services to the boys on the team “to help them pursue becoming their best selves,” Fager said.

“To see us all be able to finish out that season with a lot of gratitude and persevere when we could have hung our heads and really choked, but we all kind of stepped up and decided to have a lot of gratitude for my dad and the things that he’s done for us and show that gratitude through our effort and our performance, so I mean, that more than anything, that kind of makes it most special,” he said.

While the night was full of special moments, the best moment was actually impromptu.

The event’s keynote speaker Travis Hansen, a former BYU, NBA and Euroleague player, advised the honorees to “give a piece of crust away and get a loaf back.”

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“When you do good, the unimaginable happens,” Hansen said.

Hansen showed the honorees what that looked like. Before his address, Hansen — without disclosing his reason — had asked the event organizers to find an athlete who had experienced a rough year. They chose Ben Hone, who plays volleyball at Orem High.

At the conclusion of his remarks, Hansen invited Hone out onto the field to share his story. Hone said he has Type 1 diabetes and his parents are going through their own health challenges. His father has cancer, and his mother has multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

Sports has served as an outlet for Hone to get away from life’s challenges, he said.

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Hansen then surprised Hone by telling him that he was giving him $5,000 “because you’re a fighter, because you’re disciplined, because your family is dealing with a lot of uncertainty.”

Here is the full list of honorees from this year’s Deseret News High School Sports Awards.

2024-25 Deseret News High School Sports Awards Honorees

Athlete of the Year

• Male: Lewis Knecht, American Fork, soccer

• Female: Jane Hedengren, Timpview, track and field/cross country

Coach of the Year

• Male: Adam Fager, Layton, wrestling

• Female: McHailee Danner, West Jordan, softball

Boys cross-country

• Mr. Cross-Country: Kaden Evans, American Fork

Most outstanding athletes

• Kaden Evans, American Fork

• Hayden Hooper, Bountiful

• Kyle Steadman, Mountain View

• Jackson Spencer, Herriman

Girls cross-country

• Ms. Cross-Country: Jane Hedengren, Timpview

Most outstanding athletes

• Jane Hedengren, Timpview

• Lily Alder, Timpview

• Skye Jensen, American Fork

• Jaylie Rae Jenkins, Union

Football

• Mr. Football: Robert Young, Roy

Most outstanding athletes

• Top QB: Emerson Geilman, Bountiful

• Top RB: Kaden Vest, Spanish Fork

• Top WR: Jaron Pula, Timpview

• Top WR: Graham Livingston, Ridgeline

• Top OL: Zion Finau, Corner Canyon

• Top OL: Aaron Michael Dunn, Spanish Fork

• Top DL : De’Shawn Ioka Nofoa Toilolo, Skyridge

• Top DL: Viliami Moala, Bingham

• Top LB: McKay Wright, Crimson Cliffs

• Top LB: Nusi Taumoepeau, Westlake

• Top DB: Cyrus Polu, Desert Hills

• Top DB: Robert Young, Roy

Boys volleyball

• Mr. Volleyball: Trey Thornton, Maple Mountain

The Ultimate 6

• Trey Thornton, Maple Mountain

• Kilika Tafa, Westlake

• Corbin Batista, Alta

• Nesta James Vaitai, Mountain Ridge

• Ben Hone, Orem

• Ashton Shewell, Lehi

Girls Volleyball

• Ms. Volleyball: Taylor Harvey, Bountiful

The Ultimate 6

• Taylor Harvey, Bountiful

• Grace Fredrick, Skyline

• Ava Burgess, Lone Peak

• Halle Bills, Corner Canyon

• Kylie Buttars, Skyridge

• Sadie White, Mountain Ridge

Boys Basketball

• Mr. Basketball: Gavin Lowe, Olympus

Dream 5 starters

• Coleman Atwater, Davis

• Cale Barclay, Herriman

• Dean Rueckert, Timpview

• Gavin Lowe, Olympus

• Jude Haigh, Green Canyon

Girls Basketball

Ms. Basketball: Emilee Skinner, Ridgeline

Dream 5 starters

• Emilee Skinner, Ridgeline

• Taylor Harvey, Bountiful

• Skylie Barker, Copper Hills

• Olivia Hamlin, Snow Canyon

• La’u Pele Kylee Falatea, West

Drill team

• Ms. Drill: Caymbree Hodges, Bingham

Most outstanding athletes

• Caymbree Hodges, Bingham

• Harlee Ruoti, Copper Hills

• Taylor Crum, Duchesne

• Ellison Parkinson, Davis

• Reagan Tracy, Farmington

Competitive cheers

• Ms. Cheer: Avery Iorg, Bingham

Most outstanding athletes

• Avery Iorg, Bingham

• Ellie Baugh, Farmington

• Anistyn Barber, Timpview

• Preston Abilla, Bingham

• Ava Johnson, Corner Canyon

Boys golf

Mr. Golf: Kihei Akina, Lone Peak

Most outstanding athletes

• Kihei Akina, Lone Peak

• Bowen Mauss, Corner Canyon

• Jackson Shelley, Skyline

• Rawson Hardy, Park City

Girls golf

• Ms. Golf: Saydie Wagner, Lone Peak

Most outstanding athletes

• Kaylee Westfall, Orem

• Aadyn Long, Lone Peak

• Saydie Wagner, Lone Peak

• Whitni Johnson, Bonneville

Boys tennis

• Mr. Tennis: Braeden Johnson, American Fork

Most outstanding athletes

• Braeden Michael Johnson, American Fork

• Oliver Mesicek, Highland

• Calvin Armstrong, Skyridge

• Adam Miner, Crimson Cliffs

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Girls tennis

• Ms. Tennis: Bella Lewis, Skyridge

Most outstanding athletes

• Bella Lewis, Skyridge

• Fabiana Gonzalez, Hillcrest

• Emmy Richards, Woods Cross

• Bailey Huebner, Green Canyon

Boys soccer

• Mr. Soccer: Lewis Knecht, American Fork

Best 11

• F: Lewis Knecht, American Fork

• F: Jorge Beltran, East

• F: Jayden Cosper, Wasatch

• MF: Luis Velasco, Ogden

• MF: Demitri James Wallace Larsen, American Fork

• MF: Taylor Daniel Kogan, Dixie

• MF: Cole Simpson, Wasatch

• D: Elijah Robert Jaggi, Lone Peak

• D: Ben Hess, American Fork

• D: Ty Dutcher, Alta

• GK: Chase Radford, Alta

Girls soccer

• Ms. soccer: Hope Munson, Olympus

Best 11

• F: Hadli Barrera, Mountain Crest

• F: Kyleigh Hastings, Green Canyon

• F: Bella Devey, Lone Peak

• MF: Hope Munson, Olympus

• MF: Kate Denney, Lone Peak

• MF: Kate Fuller, Lone Peak

• MF: Brooklyn Phongsavath, Davis

• D: Ruby Lee, Lone Peak

• D: Cadence Packer, Davis

• D: Summer Cay Sofonia, Mountain Crest

• GK: Eliza Collings, Lone Peak

Boys wrestling

• Mr. Wrestling: Geronimo Rivera Jr., Layton

Most outstanding athletes

• Geronimo Rivera Jr., Layton

• Tucker Roybal, Union

• Austin Paris, Grand

• Jason Worthley, West Field

• Noah Bull, Layton

• Brad Farrer, Pleasant Grove

Girls wrestling

• Ms. Wrestling: Kristina Kent, Davis

Most outstanding athletes

• Keilikki Nau Rarick, Westlake

• Kristina Lynn Kent, Davis

• Aleena Navarrete, West Field

• Tevia Nau Rarick, Westlake

• Tilisa Matakaiongo, Canyon View

• Nia Hagler, Snow Canyon

Boys lacrosse

• Mr. Lacross: Austin Taylor, Brighton

Best 11

• Attack: Rome Swanwick, Judge Memorial

• Attack: Austin Taylor, Brighton

• Attack: Gabe Carrera, Brighton

• Middie: Braxton Horoba, Alta

• Middie: JT Rigby, Mountain Ridge

• Middie: Ashton Wood, Davis

• SSDM: Reece Jerrad Smith, Park City

• Defender: Mason Brady, Corner Canyon

• Defender: Carter Sant, Davis

• Middie: Kaydin Berry, Fremont

• Goalie: Rhett King, Corner Canyon

Girls lacrosse

• Ms. Lacrosse: Sarah Anné, Olympus

Best 12

• Attack: Catherine “Cat” Elsa Faucette, Corner Canyon

• Attack: Taya Chalk, Mountain Ridge

• Attack: Alexandra MacAulay, Farmington

• Middie: Sarah Anné, Olympus

• Middie: Lizzie Anné, Olympus

• Middie: Coco Crawford, Park City

• Middie: Cecelia Walton, Viewmont

• Middie: Hailey Larsen, Farmington

• Defender: Lily Yatkeman, Park City

• Defender: Brielle Fabert, Mountain Ridge

• Defender: Megan Magee, Park City

• Goalie: Elle Erickson, Farmington

Boys swimming

• Mr. Swimming: Abe Astle, Olympus

Most outstanding athletes

• Abe Astle, Olympus

• Luan Barnard, Brighton

• Kurt Morgan, Canyon View

• Sebastian Wrona, Olympus

• Gabriel Thomas Jones, St. Joseph

• Nash Stanford Hale, Skyline

Girls swimming

• Ms. Swimming: Roni Black, Highland

Most outstanding athletes

• Roni Black, Highland

• Jade Garstang, Skyline

• Taylor Bennett, Lone Peak

• Avery Bulkley, Payson

• Rainie Moran, Olympus

• Ana Diedrichs, Wasatch

Baseball

Mr. Baseball: CJ Mascaro, American Fork

Elite starting 9

• Cy Chrisman, Maple Mountain

• Mays Madsen, Lehi

• CJ Mascaro, American Fork

• Kameron Beck, Bingham

• Chase Johnston, Maple Mountain

• Andrew Wilson, Desert Hills

• Drew Smith, Pleasant Grove

• Easton Fry, Brighton

• Cache Poulson, American Fork

Softball

• Ms. Softball: Anne Wallace, Ridgeline

Elite starting 9

• Anne Wallace, Ridgeline

• Lulu West, Desert Hills

• Maile Larsen, Pleasant Grove

• Bella Douglas, Bear River

• Rita Leialoha Tavita, West Jordan

• Brecka Larson, Bingham

• Peyton Holly Sanchez, Riverton

• Maggie Amelia Hamblin, Riverton

• Katelyn Wilson, Bear River

Boys track

• Mr. Track: Davis DeGroot, Bonneville

Most outstanding athletes

• Ty Warnick, Riverton

• Davis DeGroot, Bonneville

• Matthew Christopher Bryant, Lone Peak

• David Konan, Corner Canyon

• Tayshaun Ogomo, Herriman

• Eli Connelly, Crimson Cliffs

• Josh Hamblin, Weber

Girls track

• Ms. Track: Jane Hedengren, Timpview

Most outstanding athletes

• Amelia Nadauld, Snow Canyon

• Jane Hedengren, Timpview

• Tia Brown, Snow Canyon

• Kinzlee J Riddle, Mountain Ridge

• Burklie Burton, Layton

• Lily Alder, Timpview

• Cadee Alder, Manti

Humanitarian of the Year

• Male: Sawyer Orgain, Rowland Hall

• Female: Lydia Wall, Salem Hills

All-sports winners

• 1A: Clint Barney, Panguitch

• 2A: Amy Robinson, South Sevier

• 3A: Kade Morrell, Morgan

• 4A: Mike Hansen, Ridgeline

• 5A: Wendy Anae, Timpview

• 6A: Nancy Warner, Lone Peak