This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
While cheerleading is not a sanctioned sport, Utah's cheer squads perform some amazing athletic stunts at nearly every competition.
A state cheer event is scheduled for this coming Saturday at Salt Lake Community college at 4600 S. Redwood Road. The competition begins at 10 a.m. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children 5 years and younger.
According to long-time Utah cheer and drill team organizer Lori Rupp, many cheer teams in Utah have a competitive component to their programs and compete in regional and national competitions.
These competitions are held throughout the country and Utah cheer teams have done well.
This year's meet is the third annual for Utah. Teams qualified in region competitions held earlier in January.
Utah coaches honored
Alta's Lee Mitchell has been named the National Federation State High School Associations 2014 National Coach of the Year for boys' soccer.
Mitchell coached Alta to the quarterfinals in 2014. The Hawks boys' team won state titles under Mitchell in 1990, 1992, 1997, 2006 and 2011.
He has also won eight championships as Alta's girls' soccer coach.
Several other Utah high school coaches were named Section 7 coaches of the year. That section includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
Section Seven coaches of the year include Desert Hills' Laurie Dyer for girls' golf; Syracuse's Brett Higgins for boys' golf; Pleasant Grove's Allyce Jones for volleyball; Timpview's Michelle Landers for girls' tennis; Copper Hills' Shannon Mortensen for girls' spirit; Juab's Gary Nielson for boys' track and field, and Davis' Jay Welk for boys' basketball.
Davis takes interim tag off Gladwell
The winningest football program in Utah state history already had its 17th head coach. Davis just needed to announce it. Tyler Gladwell was officially stripped of his interim status and hired as the next coach of the Darts.
Gladwell guided the Darts to a second-place finish in Region 1 with an overall record of 7-3 before losing in the first round against Jordan.
"I wanted to make sure our seniors last year had a good experience," Gladwell said. "I didn't make it about the interim coaching job, I wanted to make it about our team. I felt that we did that. As a program, I felt we had a really good year, and our seniors went out on a good note."
Gladwell spent seven years as an assistant under former Davis coach Ryan Bishop, including four seasons as the defensive coordinator, before accepting the top position at his alma mater, Bonneville, in 2012. After posting an overall 3-7 record with the Lakers, he returned to Davis in 2013 as the offensive coordinator.
He was named the interim coach in 2014 after Bishop accepted a position with the Utah High School Activities Association.
Gladwell highlighted seniors-to-be Connor Taylor (105 tackles, one sack and two interceptions) and Griffin Hill (31 receptions for 481 yards and seven touchdowns) as the top returning contributors. Davis has exited the playoffs in the first round two consecutive seasons.
In addition to football, Gladwell teaches health and physical education. The Darts will run the spread-option offensively while operating out of base 4-3 scheme on the opposite side.
Jorgensen resigns at Carbon
Former BYU and Carbon High star Jan Jorgensen, who returned to Carbon High as its new football coach this past season with much fanfare, has resigned both as coach and as a teacher for a different job, school officials confirmed Tuesday.
According to Castle Country Radio, Jorgensen was Carbon's sixth coach in the last 10 years.
The former Dino star brought great optimism to the moribund football program, especially when Carbon began the season with a 3-0 record. But Carbon lost its last seven games, including all its league games.
Twitter: @tribtomwharton