Recognition Assembly Honors Personal and Team Achievements

From girl’s wrestling to robotics, the recognition assembly on Thursday, March 30th showcased several teams and classes and what their students have accomplished. Several important individuals were highlighted: Lee Mitchell, Serena Jefferson, Ava Semchuck, Cali Jeppson, Lucy West, Kimmy Ha, Erica Lloyd, Austin Woodley, Alix Aguilar, Lizzy Carlton, Noah Harkness, Colin Pettry, The Varsity Smash Bros. team, the boys basketball team, and a band called the “Dirty Dogs”, who played the National Anthem at the beginning of the assembly.

Ava Semchuck, a member of the girl’s wrestling team who finished 2nd in the state competition, was the first student to take the stage, accompanied by Coach Webb. According to Webb, Ava is only a sophomore, but it’s incredible that she  managed to finish in such a high position.

The next person to be introduced was not a student, but rather a former Alta Soccer coach named Lee Mitchell. He was described as “one of Alta’s most decorated coaches”. In his career at this school from 1983-2018, a whopping 36 years, he had an outstanding 841 wins, and he led both girls and boys soccer teams to 8 state championships each. He was named the national coach of the year 3 times, and he will have a place in the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in April.

Three students in the yearbook staff were featured: Cali Jeppson, Lucy West, and Kimmy Ha. The specific page in the yearbook they created, called “Cars of Alta”, was recognized nationally. The idea of the page was to show certain students’ cars.

In a DECA state tournament, out of 12 students that made it to nationals, two finished in impressive places. Austin Woodley came in 1st place in the Business Finance Series competition, and Erica Lloyd was a finalist in School-Based Enterprise.

Students in an FCCLA competition, Alix Aguilar and Lizzy Carlton, were able to take high spots at the state level. Lizzy was 1st in Career Investigation, and Alix was 2nd in Fashion Construction. We wish them luck as they move on to nationals.

For the Sterling Scholar Program, a competition promoting scholarship, citizenship, and leadership, 2 of our students were state finalists: Noah Harkness in English, and Colin Pettry in Computer Tech. Colin was also one out of 150+ finalists for the Governor’s Award.

The Super Smash Bros team, Talmadge Johnson, Andrew Li, Kingston Ruby, Cameron Wright, and Evan Wright won the championship at the Utah’s first Esports competition, as well as first place in Fall Riegonals.

The Robotics team, despite being absent due to attending a competition in Idaho, was praised for winning the Engineering Inspiration Award, which congratulates success in appreciation for engineering. We wish them the best in their current competition.

Serena Jefferson, a National Merit Scholarship finalist, was described by counselor Sandy White as a good student in general. A high PSAT score and strong description of her achievements qualified her for the Scholarship.

The boys Basketball team was heralded for their stunning victory against Timpview in the USHAA 5A state final, with a score of 64 to 53. After a highlight video was shown, Basketball Coach Travis Ohrn was welcomed to the stage. His leadership led the boys Basketball team to such an incredible season.

To conclude the assembly, the Dirty Dogs band played Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5, their award-winning song. It was a big hit among the audience, and the Dirty Dogs received an enthusiastic round of applause.

The recognition assembly was a great way to praise our school and individual students in their talents, and maybe inspire others to work just as hard to accomplish something extraordinary.