Silver Wolves finish fifth at national meet After dominating the girls cross country scene in the state of Utah this past season, Fremont got a chance to rub shoulders with the nation's elite. Originally selected as an alternate, the Silver Wolves got a chance to travel to Portland, Ore., on Saturday to race in the first-ever Nike Team Nationals cross country championships. Fremont, which ran as a club team under the name Kamatae, finished fifth overall in the 20-team meet with a score of 221. Saratoga Springs, N.Y., which ran as Kinetic, won the meet with a score of 51 to cement a season-long No. 1 national ranking. "It was a really amazing experience to be part of what Nike put on," Fremont coach Amber Tingey said. "Each and every one of these girls will remember the experience for the rest of their lives. I think we surprised a lot of people; we were pretty much a no-name coming in, and I think we Justin Johnson Prep Notes showed that we're capable of competing with anyone in the nation." Cassie Ricks, who was the state 5-A individual champion for the Silver Wolves in October's state championship meet, finished 18th in the meet with a time of 19:20.44. Overall the times for all runners were slowed down by a course that had seen significant rainfall over the previous week. Natalie Shaw, Cassie Ricks, Lexie Meyer, Katie Chugg, Lindsey Slater, Katie Pluim, Jessie Chugg and Heidi Krebs were the Silver Wolves' representatives in the meet, which was paid for in its entirety by Nike. Nike paid for each team's flight, hotel, meals, racing shoes, uniforms and team warm-ups. Fremont is currently ranked No. 20 in The Harrier Magazine's Nike-Foot Locker Super Top 25 national rankings, but is expected to jump into the top 10 when the final rankings are announced later this month. The Silver Wolves were also one of three West region teams to finish in the top five the NTN meet. Wrestling weekend Box Elder established itself as the team to beat in Region 4, and a possible state 4-A championship contender with a respectable second-place finish behind national powerhouse Wasatch at the Layton Invitational Saturday. The Bees' Casey Fromm (145 pounds), John Johnson (152 pounds) and Brett Boyce (189 pounds) all took individual championships. Three other Box Elder wrestlers advanced to the finals, and 11 were medalists. "Wasatch has a really good team, and for us to even be in the same category was a compliment," Box Elder coach Mike Ripplinger said. "We weren't really sure how good we would be at this time, and to be second at Layton is a real plus. One of our goals was to finish in the top three." Morgan finished fourth and Weber seventh at the prestigious Evanston Invitational over the weekend. Weber's Shay Warren, the state 5-A champion at 103 pounds, took first in the 112-pound weight class, and teammate Clayton Ashdown took second in the heavyweight division. Morgan's Josh Wilson finished first at 145 pounds. "I'm pleased with how we did. We have a very young team, and they have to devlop and mature in a hurry," Weber coach Jody Warren said. Hall committs to BYU Clearfield junior guard Haley Hall has verbally committed to play at BYU beginning the 2006-07 season. Hall, a Standard-Examiner All-Area selection last year as a sophomore, averaged 19.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 4.8 assists for the Falcons during the 2003-04 season. Although Hall has given a veral committment, she will not be able to sign with the Cougars until the early signing period next November. "This takes a little pressure off. I can just go out and play and not worry about who's watching. I don't have to worry about having a bad game either," Hall said. Standard-Examiner Prep Insider coordinator Tony Reyna contributed to this report. Deborah DeVries '93 is director of senior services for Volunteers of America, Utah. She oversees Weber State University three Senior Corps programs in Alumni News six counties in Utah. Deborah recently received a Foster Grandparent grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to provide services to low-income seniors in five counties.