Canyon Media, Summit Athletic Club award sports psychology student $10,000 for Summit Rock 3

Eric Belair won $10,000 Thursday by finding the Summit Rock at the Snow Canyon ball fields in Santa Clara, Utah, June 15, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Summit Athletic Club, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — If you live in the St. George area and haven’t noticed the large groups of determined people walking about the community wearing a red Summit Rock T-shirt, the rock you’ve been living under shouldn’t be confused with the very specific rock those people have been searching for: One of three Summit Rocks. The last of three rocks in the 2017 Summit Rock Hunt was found by Eric Belair, of Washington County, Thursday at the Snow Canyon Little League Fields in Santa Clara.

Belair was presented with a $10,000 check Friday morning at Canyon Media offices.

Each of those who have found one of the three tan, engraved triangular Summit Rocks this year have found themselves $10,000 richer – had they not been wearing the Summit Rock T-shirt when they found their rock, their prize would have been only $5,000.

Canyon Media and Summit Athletic Club have been running the Summit Rock Hunt for the last five years.

Belair, who studied sports psychology at Dixie State University, said he had been telling his wife for the last three days that the Summit Rock was probably at a baseball field based on the clues they had been given.

Summit Rock Clue 3:

Summit Rock Hunters how can this be, some of you have been right next to me. Some will boast and others might POST, and then find out they’re not even close. Use the shirt for double the prize, a visitor might help you, use your eyes! The rock is ready to come back home, some will focus and others just roam. Many are out just for fun, others are there just for the run.

“A lot of it to me made sense with baseball like ‘home,’ ‘double,’ ‘gap,’” Belair said. “Visitor’s section was a big thing for me, like trying to find ‘home’ and ‘visitor’ section of a baseball field. So, when we got that clue yesterday and they were talking about ‘some dance,’ I was thinking High School Musical filmed over there so, baseball was really what I was sticking with.”

When Belair and his wife initially arrived at the ballfields, Belair said, he went for the only field that said “visitor,” noting that the other fields said “guest.” Belair said he was thinking of a home run so, he went searching near left-centerfield without any luck. He wasn’t detoured, and kept searching.

“When I got over there, I saw a T-post over in the grass,” Belair said, “so I really did feel strongly it was there. I told my wife, ‘I really believe it’s here.’”

He knew the post couldn’t be a coincidence, Belair said, so he began looking in the grass surrounding the post. When he couldn’t find the rock there, he decided to look at other areas nearby.

“(I was) just casually walking up the hill, saw a little tan rock, picked up a dark rock that was covering it and there it was,” Belair said, adding that he couldn’t believe it, at first.

Belair said he just graduated from Dixie State and will use most of the money to pay off student loans after having some family fun.

“We’re going to go on a vacation, that’s about it,” he said, “and the rest is going toward my education.”

This year’s “Summit Rock Hunt” began on May 30 and ended with Belair finding the last of three rocks.

Read more: Sitting on $10,000: Newlywed finds 1st Summit Rock, 2 to go and Canyon Media’s 2nd Summit Rock found, timely for baby

Clues for rock hunters were shared on Canyon Media radio shows and their Facebook pages as well as Summit Athletic Clubs Facebook page.

The Summit Rock Hunt idea came about after Joe Levine, owner of the Summit Athletic Club, and his wife heard of a similar event on the radio years ago in Las Vegas, Levine said in an earlier interview with St. George News. The two liked the idea and wanted to apply it to the athletic club as well as the community.

“It’s the neatest form of exercise,” Levine said. “Exercise doesn’t have to be horrible and hard. This is something you can enjoy and have fun with.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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