Dragon Doings/Sports

Dragon Doings

By The Malad High School Journalism Class

Malad Women’s Cross Country Team. Cally Coleman 1st place, and Cortlyn Coleman 4th place

Cross Country By: Cally Coleman

“The body achieves what the mind believes.” - Napoleon Hill. Way to run Dragons! Malad Women’s Cross Country team placed 2nd at Districts in Malad. The women athletes are very excited to head to the Idaho State Cross Country Championships in Lewiston. Our Cross Country team worked hard all season and prior to the season beginning. We had four athletes medal at Districts. They are Brycen Talbot, Cally Coleman, Cortlyn Coleman and Brynlee Bastian.

Taking first place for the District Champion is Cally Coleman with a time of 20:41, Cortlyn Coleman with a time of 20:51 in 4th place, Brynlee Bastian with a time of 21:10 in 8th place, Brooke Isaacson with a time of 21:23 in 11th place, KayLee Nalder with a time of 21:54 in 13th place, Hadlee Summers with a time of 22:53 in 19th place, Oaklie Hebdon with a time of 23:29 in 20th place, Adi Scow with a time of 23:58 in 25th place, and Madelyn Shaw with a time of 29:36.

The Malad Men’s Cross Country team placed 3rd at Districts in Malad. The men’s team raced hard and pushed themselves to the limits amongst hard competition. For the Men’s team we have Brycen Talbot with a time of 18:01 in 5th place, Baylor Bean with a time of 18:27 in 13th place, Austin Jacobsen with a time of 18:38 in 16th place, Boston Burbidge with a time of 18:38 in 18th place, Porter Allen with a time of 19:06 in 19th place, Colt Coleman with a time of 19:49 in 23rd place, Levi Angell with a time of 20:15 in 31th, and Caden Jeppson 21:01 in 35th place. Brycen Talbot will be traveling to Lewiston to compete at State.

Congratulations! The Malad Women’s Cross Country Team will leave Thursday to head for state in Lewiston. Their sendoff will be Thursday morning. The athletes will race on Saturday at the Idaho State Championship in Lewiston at 11:00 am. Come and support the cross country team! Good luck to the athletes! It’s time to race for 1st place!

Volleyball

By Brylee Oglesbee, Katie Coatney,

Marinn Brown and

Kylee Tanner

The Malad Dragon volleyball team had their district tournament on Wednesday against West Side and Bear Lake. They lost to West Side in four sets. They fought hard but were super tired. Right after that game they played Bear Lake and they beat them in three sets. On Thursday they played West Side again for the chance to take district but lost in four sets, taking second place.

Then on Saturday they had a state playin game against Firth. They played super good and fought hard, winning in three sets. Camia Bean stated, “this season, how can I even describe it? This season and team have contributed to one of the best experiences I've ever had. It has been amazing to see how we have transformed from the beginning of the season to now. Not only have we grown individually, but we have also grown as a team. Throughout the season we have been able to show that we can compete and now, we are ready to show that at State.” The volleyball teams play in Shelley for the state games on the 28th and 29th. Show the volleyball girls some support and go watch them at state!

The MHS Girls Basketball team

Malad Girls Basketball By Beth McClain

Malad Girls basketball is right around the corner and the girls are working hard in the gym. This year we have a new coaching staff. Coach Trevor Jones, Coach Tyson Daniels, Coach Bri Adams, Coach Alex Probst, and Coach Joe Miller. This year we have most of our players returning along with two seniors. We also have plenty of freshmen joining the team as well. Tryouts are held on Monday, October 31, and Tuesday, November 1. We have our first away game at Ririe on November 11 and our first home against Bear River on November 29.

4TH & 5TH FOOTBALL

These young dragons have been playing in the Southeast Idaho Youth Football League. There are two teams. The 4th / 5th grade finished the season 6-1. The 6th grade finished their regular season 4-2 and clinched their way to the playoffs. The teams are coached by Haydon Montgomery, Joe Miller, Bill Ball, Trevor Jones, Brian Thomas, Laren Nalder, Kade Price and Joey Barnes. They defeated West Side on Saturday to earn a chance to play in the Championship game in Holt Arena in Pocatello. That game was played on Wednesday, October 26, at 6:00 p.m.

The combined 2022 Football teams

WRESTLING

The Knights wrestling team have started their season. “We have a great team with wrestlers of all skill levels, some are just starting this year and learning the sport while others have been competing for several years. It is fun to watch these boys help each other and grow as athletes”

The Knights kicked off the season with a takedown tournament against all of the other schools in our districts. The purpose of a takedown tournament is to help kids build their confidence and learn the basics of wrestling.

Wednesday the Knights dueled with Soda Springs, American Falls and Grace in American falls. The Knights did a great job and wrestled really well against the other schools.

Thursday the Knights dueled West Side in Westside. The Malad wrestlers had several pins against the Pirates and also won a handful of matches by points.

“They are doing great. We try to keep things fun and exciting for the middle school team while they learn the basics and develop their wrestling skills.”

The Knights have a busy week ahead of them, they travel to Snake River on Wednesday, Bear Lake on Thursday and head back to Idaho Falls on Saturday for the Bonneville Duals.

Krey Keetch pinning his opponent from American Falls

Dragons fight to stop the run

Malad Ends Football Season against West Side

After a season plagued by injuries, the Dragons ended their season on a 6-60 loss to the West Side Pirates last Friday. Despite a lot of play on both sides of the ball, especially from players who stepped up to fill for unexpected injuries, the Dragons had a frustrating season, ending with a 1-7 record overall, and a 0-4 record in the conference.

Over the eight weeks of the season, a number of Malad players put forth their all for the team. Kole Willie, Brady Showell, Ryan Hubbard, Sawyer Poulsen, Braylen Tripp, Hesston Harrison, Zade Scott, Jaden Ward, Joe Daniels, Hunter Wray, Blaiz Wright, Dylan Moss, Roper Higley, Mayson Brees, Timmy Jensen, Semaj Walker, Blake Williams, Caleb Williams, Cael Seamons, Preston Bird, and Thad Hawkes should all be congratulated for their hard work this season.

After a long, hard fought road, the Lady Dragon volleyball team has their ticket to the state games following the District 5 double elimination tournament held in Malad over the previous week. The MHS team played a series of five matches as they played teams from Aberdeen, West Side, Bear Lake and Firth.

Malad’s opening game was played Saturday, October 15 against the Aberdeen Tigers. The Dragons easily swept the match, winning the three games 25-8, 25-4, and 25-7 to advance to their next match. Adley Kimberling stood out from the service line as she alone tallied up seven aces against the Tigers. In the back court, libero Brylee Oglesbee covered the court earning 14 digs to lead the team for the night. With their win over Aberdeen, the Lady Dragons were set to face off against the West Side Pirates.

The two teams had played each other several times throughout the season but their game Wednesday, October 19, was sure to be a tough match. Malad jumped out to a quick lead in the opening game. The Lady Dragons worked to keep every ball alive as the Pirates kept attacking, taking the win with a score of 25-20. Throughout the night, Riglee Peterson stepped up on the back row and at the net as she led the team in digs with 19 and added 17 kills. West Side came out in the second game intense, focused and driven to win, stealing the second game, 15-25.

Unfortunately, that drive was kept alive as West Side won the final two games of the match. Throughout the games, the Lady Dragons would pull ahead and seem to take control of the game and then just as quickly, the Pirates were back again, inching past the Malad lead.

Directly following their loss against West Side, the Lady Dragons were set to play Bear Lake. Despite having already played four intense games with West Side, Malad was up to the task and quickly defeated the Bears in three games. By no means was it an easy game, but the Lady Dragons never gave up and continued to push to the end. Outside hitter Hallie Horsley led the team with 18 kills, followed by Peterson with 9, Kimberling 5, Camia Bean and Abby Rosenquist with 2 each and Izzy Haycock with 1.

Defeating Bear Lake put the Lady Dragons back on track and in the championship game Thursday night, to battle it out against West Side. There was no doubt that Malad would have to play at the very top of their game to win over the Pirates. From the very first serve, the two teams competed for every point, switching leads on and off throughout the night. West Side took the first game, leading 21-25. The Lady Dragons answered back in the second game, winning 26-24. West Side wasn’t giving up and managed to win the third (21-25) and fourth (20-25) games to win the match and come out as the District 5 champions.

With the Lady Dragons second place finish, came a final opportunity to win a spot in the Idaho State 2A Volleyball tournament in a play-in match against the Firth Cougars in Pocatello on Saturday, October 22. Malad had previously played Firth in the regular season in a tri-meet along with Grace High School in Malad. Having bested the Cougars before, the Lady Dragons were confident that they could once again, come out on top.

Malad came out Saturday afternoon, ready to play and ready to win. Hitters across the net stepped up to attack, as Kimberling set up their game against the Cougars. Middle hitter Bean moved across the front line well as she not only brought in 8 kills, but also 11 digs and 6 blocks. From the outside, Horsley had 24 kills with her counterpart, Peterson, bringing in another 15. It was this sort of intensity that led Malad to win the first game, 25-22.

The Lady Dragons pushed on in the second game, covering the court as the Cougars refused to give up. Peterson tracked the ball well to earn 28 digs with Horsley and Journie Tovey passing up another 26 digs each helping Malad win the second game, 25-20. Down two games to none, Firth wasn’t ready to give in yet and rallied back in the third game to win, 22-25. The last few points lasted several minutes as each team was able to keep the ball alive and bring the attack over and over again.

To no surprise, the fourth game was a dog fight to the end, but through it all the Lady Dragons came away with the victory. The final set featured long rallies, big digs and unpassable hits. The MHS volleyball team watched their opponents closely and found ways to tip the ball to the open spot, push it to the deep corners and force the Cougars to send the ball out.

After setting her teammates across the net all game, Kimberling took a hit for herself as Firth sent an overpass Malad’s way, earning the kill and bringing her team to game point. With Oglesbee up to serve, the Lady Dragons were set to receive what they hoped would be their final rally. In what seemed like one simple and powerful play, Peterson dug the Cougar hit, sending a great pass to Kimberling who set the ball high and outside for Horsley to come in swinging for the kill and the winning point of the game.

With their win over Firth, the Lady Dragons advance on to the Idaho State Volleyball Tournament set to be played in Shelley, Idaho October 28 and 29. The team’s first game will be against West Side Friday morning. Looking ahead to the state games, Coach Camie Tripp shared, “We are excited to be back at state and we’re going to work hard to take our game to the next level.” Coach Tripp continued that although the team didn’t play their best through the district tournament, they still competed well and that gives them confidence that they will be strong contenders in their upcoming matches. Leading up to the state tournament, they plan to address those weak areas so they can come back stronger than ever as they meet up with West Side.

CROSS COUNTRY

Malad High School had the honor of hosting the District V Cross Country Meet on the beautiful fall afternoon of Wednesday, October 19. The Dragons played host for both the 2A schools- Malad, Soda Springs, West Side, and Bear Lake, and 1A schools- Rockland and Grace. The runners from the six schools put it all on the line to see which teams and individuals would qualify to move to compete at the Idaho State Cross Country Meet.

The meet began with Women’s 5000 M run with both 1A and 2A runners racing together. The course began atop Malad’s soccer field, wound down and around the track and up onto the South Cherry Creek Woodruff Road. The runners then went across the fairgrounds and back again before returning up the road, over to the soccer field where they ran the length of the field and found the finish line part way up the far side of the field.

As the racers came into view of the finish line, it was Malad’s Cally Coleman leading the way and taking first place with a time of 20:41.08. Teammate and sister, Cortlyn Coleman followed just seconds behind in 4th place with Brynlee Bastian coming in not long after in 8th place. The places and team points were tallied up as the racers continued to run in across the finish line. Malad was hoping for a victory over Soda Springs who had won the district race the previous fifteen years, but unfortunately fell short by just four points as they trailed Soda with a total of 37 points. The top two teams, Soda Springs and Malad, qualified to race at the state meet, as well as the top ten individual racers.

Following the women’s race, the MHS Men’s team took to the course. Brycen Talbot led the way for the Malad Men’s team, taking fifth place with a time of 18:01.81. Baylor Bean and Boston Burbidge set new personal records as they raced the course, earning 13th and 18th place respectively.

The Dragon race team trailed behind Soda Springs and West Side with a total of 77 points to earn third place. Talbot, with his top ten finish, alone qualified to race at the state meet.

As every race and every course is run differently, the Malad Cross Country coaches could only hope that their runners would give it their all and do their very best. After the races were run, Coaches Tia Talbot, Tylee Skinner and Erin Hawkes shared how proud they were of their racers and how they were right where they needed to be as they worked their way around the course.

The Idaho State Cross Country Championship meet will be run October 29 in Lewiston, Idaho.

Cally Coleman took 1st place in the Women’s District race

District V 2S District Meet October 19

Men’s Varsity 5000 M Results

3rd place out of 4 teams, 44 racers 5. Brycen Talbot 18:01.81 13. Baylor Bean 18:27.26 PR 16. Austin Jacobsen 18:38.23

18. Boston Burbidge 19. Porter Allen 19:02.57 PR 19:06.73

23. Colt Coleman

19:49.54 31. Levi Angell 20:15.62 35. Caden Jeppson 21:01.65

Women's Varsity 5000 M Results

2nd place out of 4 teams, 42 racers 1. Cally Coleman 20:41.08 4. Cortlyn Coleman 20:51.66 8. Brynlee Bastain 21:10.52 11. Brooke Isaacson 21:23.12 13. Kaylee Nalder 21:54.63 19. Hadlee Summers 22:53.58 20. Oaklie Hebdon 23:29.14 25. Adi Schow 23:58.20 37. Madelyn Shaw 29:36.93

The MMS Cross Country teams had an amazing year!

Middle School XC

The Malad Middle School Cross Country teams competed October 7 at their District Championship in Malad. This race proved to be an exciting accomplishment for the Boys and Girls MS Cross Country teams. Fourteen Malad runners medaled in the top 20. These runners are Braun Nalder, Brex Martinsen, Dawson Beutler, Jeremiah Peterson, Carter Smith, Lily Coleman, Aezlyn Summers, Halie Palmer, Paige Talbot, Aleah Seamons, Jenna Talbot, Brielle Bastian, Kallee Talbot, and Ellie Angel.

Two Malad runners, Braun Nalder and Lily Coleman, reached their personal goal of winning 1st place as District Champions. Braun finished his 2,500 meter race with a time of 8:54. Lily finished with a time of 9:56. As impressive as the individual results were for this meet, the crowning achievement and excitement of the day ended with both the Malad MS Boys and Girls teams sweeping the District title and trophy!