ST. GEORGE – It’s been a remarkable year for southern Utah’s newest high school and with the recently completed school year, Desert Hills has proven once again that its athletic program is second to none.
For the third straight year, the Thunder have claimed the All-Sports Award, a list compiled and calculated by Deseret News prep sports editor James Edward. The list includes 12 sports (football, cross country, golf, basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, track, soccer, tennis, volleyball and softball), both boys and girls and schools are awarded points for top eight finishes. Ten points are awarded for first, eight for second, six for third, five for fourth, four for fifth, three for sixth, two for seventh and one for eighth. Points are divided when teams tie.
Desert Hills was awarded 10 points each for its state championships in boys track, volleyball and girls golf. Additionally, the Thunder got top three finishes in baseball (second place, eight points), boys tennis (second, eight points), and girls basketball (second, eight points) as well as football (5.5 points for being a semifinalist), boys cross country and swimming (third place for both and six points each).
The Thunder finished with 53 points on the boys side and 39.5 on the girls side for a school total of 92.5, 11.5 points better than Wasatch’s 81.
“Our school will never be all about sports,” Desert Hills principal Rusty Wilson said. “We look at sports as an extension of our classrooms and have asked our coaches to treat it that way, to focus on teaching and learning and wins and losses will take care of themselves.”
Wasatch had championships in boys and girls swimming and boys soccer, while Park City finished third in the all-sport awards with 79 points and had state titles in boys golf and girls cross country and track.
Snow Canyon was the next highest Region 9 team, placing fourth overall. The Warriors won state championships in baseball and girls soccer and finished with 63 school points.
Dixie was sixth with 44.5 points, just behind Spanish Fork’s 47. The Flyers won state titles in football and girls basketball.
Though Pine View and Cedar did not win any state titles, they did finish ninth and 10th overall. The Panthers got a second-place finish in girls golf and a third in boys golf.
Canyon View came in 16th among the 26 3A teams, while Hurricane finished 21st.
The winners in the other classifications were 5A Bingham, 4A Mountain Crest, 2A Richfield and 1A St. Joseph.
See the chart here: Deseret News All-Sports Chart
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