The lady lion’s softball team is making their way to the top this year to accomplish one goal: win a region championship. The girls have only had one game of region play so far, but they have been very successful. With a win against Richfield and a score of 19-4, the team is feeling very confident about their abilities. Shaylee Larsen, the starting pitcher of the winning game, is feeling very positive for the upcoming season.

                “This season is going to be fantastic,” Larsen said.

Ready, set, gunfire.  You take off out of the blocks as fast and as hard as you can manage.  Your arms pump hard, you breathe steadily and try not to notice the quick movement in the opposing lanes.  You zone in on the finish line, you have to reach the finish line.  By now you're in a dead sprint to the finish, giving everything that you’ve got.  You cross the line, feeling like death it’s self.  Forget walking off the track, you can’t even stand anymore.  You hurt and ache, and love every second of it.

Friday February 7, the 2014 Sweetheart's candidates participated in the FFA/Sweetheart Cake Auction.

Our Payson High basketball team has been doing well this year.  With quality wins over teams including Cedar City, Maple Mountain and Provo the quest for a State Title is in reach.   This month I decided to spotlight the senior leaders of the basketball team and get to know them better.

If you could play any sport professionally, besides basketball, what would it be?

                Brycen: Football              

There is a question no one’s been willing to correctly define, well, until now.  The question:  is cheer a sport?  This topic has been a heated debate ever since cheerleading began.  Reporters before me who have tried to answer the question have been afraid to offend the cheerleaders and risk the torture of being thrown up into the air and be the butt of demeaning unified cheers.  Critics say cheer isn’t a sport because there is no true competition, while supporters believe that cheer is more than just saying chants and waving pom-poms. 

Thirty Payson High School students had the opportunity to attend the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, January 24. PHS attended as part of the Sundance Student Screenings Program, a new offering from the festival committee. Students attended the film The Last Days in Vietnam, followed by a question and asnwer session with the film director. 

                 Our school is home to many unique and interesting sports and activities. One of many being a small club called Winterguard. A seasonal sport, they rotate from Color Guard in the spring and summer months, to Winterguard in the fall and winter seasons. They perform alongside Payson High’s marching band, creating formations using flags and batons.

 “We practice year-round and make up a lot of the visual aspect of marching band.” Sierra Ellertson said.

            Have you ever listened in on somebody’s conversation and just got bits and pieces of what they are talking about? It can get really confusing really fast.  Stories can get mixed up and you can misinterpret what is being said. You miss important parts of the story, causing you to become confused. That’s what is happening in the up and coming play, “See How They Run”.  The characters are becoming chaotic as they hear different parts of different stories.

On Saturday, January 16th, the Paysetters took a trip to 3A Region. The most important Drill competition of the season.

“Region was nerve wracking and exciting all at once. I was just ready to take the floor and leave everything out there,” Hannah Marin said.

Sweat, desire and dedication are just a few of the attributes you have to have to be on the Payson High basketball team. One dream, one team, one desire, to get that state championship trophy. All of the boys are extremely dedicated, we can see that when they step on the court, but who is that one player that stands out? That player that even at the worst times still seems to give it his all and fight until the very end? That player that always seems to have a positive attitude on, and off the court.