8 minute read
Payson Student Places 2nd in State Track Meet
By Anderson and Arianne
Brown
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High school athletes from around the state attended the 2021 state track meet May 18 at Davis High School/ For many athletes, including Payson High School senior Colby Orton, it was a day he had looked forward to for two years.
With the COVID 19 pandemic cancelling last year’s state meet, it left Colby without the chance to compete against the best in the state. But this year would change all that. This year, he would have his moment that would materialize in a second place finish in the 800 meters at state.
According to Colby, his love for running began as a child.
“I started running in my early years of elementary school with my dad,” Colby recalled. “He would take me to 5Ks all over the county and run them with me (he’d of course let me beat him at the end, being the great man he is). In sixth grade, my teacher, Dan Hansen, had the entire class run a mile nearly every day, and I would sometimes lap the others, and this is what truly crafted my love for running. He encouraged me to run cross country the coming fall, and that is where my path to state truly began.”
Colby’s path to state, like any other athlete, would require that he run a qualifying time or place in the top four at region. He did both. Colby was able to qualify for state in the 800 meter by over four seconds with a time of 1:53.86. Additionally, he won each of the 400, 800, and 1600 meter events at the region meet. And while he was able to qualify for state in five total events, it was the 800 meter that he said he was gunning to win at the state meet.
Going into the race, he knew what and whom he was up against, and he figured he had really good odds. He knew he had endurance and speed and was going to use them to his advantage.
“My plan was to draft behind the top runner the first 700 meters, and swing around the last curve, sprinting home,” Colby said. “This all went according to plan until the last 20 meters, Henry (the leader) found something left and surged, leaving me .25 seconds behind for a second place finish.”
Even though he wasn’t able to reach his goal of becoming a state champion, Colby says that it was one of the best experiences he has ever had.
“The 800 is probably the most difficult race in all of track and field,” he said. “If you go out too fast, or too slow, there’s no way to recover. Perfect pacing, speed, endurance, a strong kick, and smart racing tactics are all required to be a good 800 runner. This makes it the hardest, yet the most fun race. Winning state had been my goal since my sophomore year, and when I came into state being seeded second, I felt well prepared. Even though I couldn’t run away with the win, my placement wasn’t disappointing, and state was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
The second place finish at state was a very respectable 1:55, and Colby says he hopes to improve if given the chance to run in college.
“Running never turns its back on me,” he said. “No matter how I’m feeling, what’s going on in my life, or where I am, I can hit the road and clear my mind. … With friends, by yourself, or racing, the feeling after completing a run is not to be competed with. That is the best feeling in the entire world, whether you PR, or just jog with friends.
“I’m attending UVU in the fall, and would like to run there, but I’m planning on coaching Payson starting this fall and for years to come.”
Courtesy photo
Payson High School’s Colby Orton (center) places second in 800 meter at state meet.
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Student Earns International Recognition in Science
By Lana Hiskey
Jesse Shepherd competed in the International Science and Engineering Fair in May. He won Second Place in Animal Sciences, earning $2,000 and a full tuition to the University of Arizona.
Approximately 1,900 students qualified and competed at the 2021 Virtual Regeneron ISEF. Jesse finished in the top 40 students.
“I am so excited to represent Spanish Fork and the State of Utah for the third time,” Jesse said.
Jesse’s project studied the quantity of antibodies in egg yolks compared to the antibody count of sera for Infectious Bronchitis Virus, Newcastle Disease Virus, Avian Encephalomyelitis, and Mycoplasma gallicepticum, all of which are viruses of concern in the commercial poultry industry.
He collected more than 1,500 data points and was able to create a procedure to accurately test egg yolks for antibodies for the aforementioned viruses, a procedure that could potentially revolutionize antibody testing in poultry throughout the world, making it easier for farmers, veterinarians, and laboratories.
It would also prove to be a satisfactory procedure for animal rights and anti-vivisection groups.
Jesse received more than $7,000 in funding from the Western Poultry Scholarship and Research Foundation of the California Poultry Federation and Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, Farm Credit and National FFA and various private donors.
Recently, Jesse received the opportunity to publish a paper for the project through the Western Poultry Disease Conference. He was also able to present his research at the conference, which was made available to poultry veterinarians throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Jesse is the youngest person to ever attend or present at the conference in its 70 years of running.
He presented among leading poultry veterinarians from throughout the world.
Awards attributed to his project included the Utah FFA Agriscience-Animal Systems 1st Place Winner. The project will advance to National FFA in October. He placed first at the Nebo School District Science Fair and received the Nebo Distinguished Award of Excellence for devoting more than 100 hours to STEM research, using a mentor in the field of study (Dr. Mark C. Bland, DVM, MS, Diplomate, American College of Poultry Veterinarians and Dr. David D. Frame, DVM, MS, Diplomate, American College of Poultry Veterinarians) and for qualifying for the International Science and Engineering Fair twice.
Jesse will be continuing his research this summer and will publish in Poultry Science, the leading journal in the poultry and agriculture industries. (Serve Daily submission.)
Jesse Shepherd
ASK ASPEN
What social media apps are teens using and what for?
By Aspen Brown
This month, a parent of two teenage boys asked me about social media apps that teens are using, and what they are using them for. It’s true that social media apps have different uses for different teens.
This isn’t an everybody take on things; It’s a me take on things. So, take it for what it’s worth.
Tik Tok
Tik Tok, formerly known as Musically, is an app that has a lot of funny videos. I’d describe it as the new and improved Vine.
It isn’t a bad app, but it has some things on it that some teens shouldn’t watch, but you see what you want to see like on any other app.
Teens use it to post funny videos and watch funny videos.
There is a funny side, a dance side, a political side. I like it for the funny videos, but it’s got something for everyone, really.
It can be a waste of time, but it’s so funny. I feel like this app is where you can be yourself and not care what people think.
Instagram is where you post what you want people to see to get a lot of likes. It’s kind of like your main account where you can’t really be yourself, but where you have to show a more serious self.
I don’t post much on Instagram because I don’t want people to get annoyed by me. I try to like things that people post because I don’t want them to feel bad about themselves.
Instagram can be a happy place if you get a lot of likes, but you feel stupid if you don’t.
It’s not my happy place.
Snapchat
Snapchat is an app where you snap pictures while texting. You can have streaks with people, which means that you have kept up an amount of consecutive days that you have snapped each other.
The picture you snap goes away after it’s opened, which can be a bad feature if you use it that way.
I like Snapchat because It’s like my journal.
I take videos I take and save them to memories, but people don’t have to see them.
There are so many features to the Snapchat app that I like, and it’s my most used app, and probably the most used teen app next to Tik Tok.
Courtesy photo
Teens do not usually use Facebook. I bet you we all have it for family reasons, but we don’t use it. It’s for old people. (Aspen Brown is a sophomore in high school. She enjoys cheering on her high school cheer team, running track and spending time with her friends and family. Her monthly column, “Ask Aspen” is an advice column for parents raising teenagers.)
