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Early in February, the outstanding seniors of Payson High's Sterling Scholars were announced.

            These students have put in a lot of hard work and effort to achieve their goals. The Payson High Sterling Scholars of 2012-2013 include: Katelyn Hannifin, Business and Marketing; Justin Wride, Computer Technology; Lexie Ward, Dance; Jacob Humpherys, English; Meerlay Gomez, Family and Comsumer Sciences; Itsareny Garcia, Foreign Language; Heather Sorensen, Mathematics; Becca Brimley, Music; Brandon Peterson, Science; Rachel Rowley, Skilled and Technical Education; Rachelle Wilkenson, Social Science; Austin Perry, Speech/Drama; and Tayler Brown for Visual Arts.

            There is more to being a Sterling Scholar than getting scholarships. 

            “I wanted to be a Sterling Scholar because I knew it would push myself outside of my box and get my science ideas outside to get other people's reaction,” Brandon Peterson said.

            The process of getting the final Utah Sterling Scholars is quite the lengthy process. In a sense, there are a few different ‘rounds.’ The first ‘round’ would be the school Sterling Scholars. Next, are the school semi-finalists.

            The Payson High semi-finalists are: Katelyn Hannifin, Justin Wride, Meerlay Gomez, Becca Brimley, Rachel Rowley, Rachelle Wilkinson and Tayler Brown.

            “When I found out I was a semi-finalist, I was pretty shocked,” Rachelle Wilkinson said.

            The competition is between three areas in the Wasatch Front Region: North, Central, and South. The Regional Semi-Finalists, ‘round’ three, from Payson High were chosen through extensive interviews on February 12.

            Through this process, 2/3 of the region semi-finalists were eliminated from being a state finalist.

            State finalists will be chosen on February 27, one student from each department.

            Applying for a Sterling Scholar is an opportunity that every senior is presented with. You never know if you'll make it all the way to a state finalist and be offered a scholarship that will make your collage life quite a bit easier.

It was the goal of the Payson track team to win a state championship by the year 2020. They proceeded to do just that earlier this month. On February 1-2, they made the trek up to the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City to compete against other Utah schools for a shot at the state title.

            Of the thirteen 3A teams competing at the meet, Payson won by a landslide, amassing 103 total points. Second place had only 68. Dalyn Lowe won the triple jump and Joe Nettleton was the leader in the shot put. The boy’s 4x200-meter and both the girls and boys 4x400-meter relay teams were also victorious in their events. Other medalists included Trevor Golding, Dakota Lange, Gunnar Mortensen, and the girl’s 4x200-meter team.

            “We all ran our races and did really well,” said hurdler and relay runner Jake Makin. “We have worked hard and just had a lot of good athletes.”

            On February 8, some of Payson’s runners again competed at the Olympic Oval in the Distance Challenge, a meet specifically for longer distance events. They ran exceptionally well and set a lot of personal records.

            Payson also competed in the Simplot Games, the national indoor championships, held at Pocatello, Idaho on February 14-16.

            Payson’s track team also held a Heptathlon, a competition with a variety of events, to determine the best overall athletes on the team. Andrew O’Malley and Allyse Thomas were the winners.

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After a game against Bear River, Payson’s boys basketball season came to an end this past month. Despite the season-ending loss, it has still been a successful season for head coach Dan Lunt and the roaring Lions.

            Payson’s team had a rough start to their season, struggling to a 1-6 record. After a team meeting with only the players, the Lions decided what they needed to change. Before each game, they began chanting the phrase “Perform”, with each letter standing for something that would help them win. They were able to fight back from the early season slump to make the playoffs. They dominated in region play, defeating teams by as much as 50 points, and posting an 8-2 record. Their only losses here came against Spanish Fork.

            On February 15, the team hosted the Bear River Bears in the first round of the playoffs. The Bears pulled to a lead in the first quarter, and were able to hold out until the end to win 67-60. Daniel Reno, this year’s leading scorer, led the team with 26 points. Kaleb Wright added 18 more in the loss.

"One of our keys coming into the game was handling pressure and that’s where the game was decided," Coach Lunt told the Deseret News following the game.

            This marked the final high school game for Wright, as well as fellow senior Jacob Humphreys. Both have made valuable contributions to the team throughout the season.

            “I played my best for my team and school and tried to represent Payson well,” said Wright.