With the final whistles being blown and the last outs being made in the 2007-08 season, it's time to take a look back at the year in high school sports that has finally drawn to a close.

10 Traditionally strong sports have struggles

Softball and wrestling have always had local teams near the top in the past few years but this past season saw some unanticipated difficulties in those areas.

Although individuals had some great success, none of the boys wrestling teams seriously threatened at the state tournament with Payson getting third in 4A and Spanish Fork coming in fifth in the 5A ranks.

In softball, Spanish Fork and Springville had great seasons but ran into difficulties in the tournament, falling in back-to-back games midway through the contest to be eliminated before getting close to a championship.

9 Utah County rules cross country and girls track

Four local teams brought home crowns from the state cross country and track and field competitions and none of them were surprising.

For the third time in four years, the Spanish Fork girls brought home the top trophy from the 5A track and field meet, while Mountain View girls showed a resurgence in the 4A ranks as they won state in cross country and track.

The Timpview boys are also returning to their great cross country tradition as they won the 4A title for the second straight year.

8 Lone Peak volleyball returns to the top

It's very hard to argue that one of the most consistent teams in the county and in the state over the last five years has been the Knight volleyball squad.

After winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004, Lone Peak had to settle for the runner-up spot in 2005 and 2006.

Not this season, however. Behind a solid team effort, the Knights didn't drop a single match to in-state competition and lost very few games on their way to the 5A state championship.

7 Timpanogos rolls through baseball tourney

The Timberwolves didn't exactly have the season they expected during Region 4 action, dropping clear down to the No. 4 seed from the league heading into the 5A state tournament.

But when the playoffs roll around, expect Timpanogos to play its best. The T'Wolves hammered Viewmont, knocked off Alta and defeated Bingham before escaping Riverton to make it to the title game. The Miners hoped they could get the Orem powerhouse in the rematch but Timpanogos was too much, winning 8-4 to earn the title.

6 Football coaches on the move

With the football season only a couple of months away, gridiron fans across the Valley are going to be seeing new faces on the sidelines. Five of the 13 Utah County schools (Payson, Salem Hills, Springville, Provo and Lone Peak) will have new men taking over the top spot for those Friday night games.

Some went in-house (Saia Pope at Provo and Jared Woolstenhulme at Payson), others looked locally (Tony McGeary to Lone Peak from American Fork, Monte Morgan to Salem Hills from Lone Peak) and Springville hired a legendary alumnus in former NFL star Scott Mitchell.

5 Soccer continues to build success stories

Utah Valley has often had difficulties keeping up with some of the northern schools in the sport of soccer but local teams proved that they're no pushovers.

In the fall, the Lone Peak girls again made it to the title game before losing to Alta for the second straight year, but the 4A girls had even more success.

Orem and Mountain View girls played a classic semifinal, then the Tigers rolled to the state title by knocking off Highland.

Though the 5A boys teams struggled, the 4A tourney saw Springville and Mountain View in the semifinals with the Bruins returning to the state title game before losing in a tight contest to Bountiful.

4 Multi-year stars end prep careers

Hundreds of Utah County athletes will graduate during ceremonies in May and June, but four of them had phenomenal success in all four years of competition.

Lone Peak basketball star Bracken Funk aided the Knights to three titles in his four years of action, using his valuable shooting and personality to lift his team time after time.

On the track, twins Nachelle and Natalie Stewart led the Spanish Fork girls to three state titles and a second-place finish, winning dozens of individual and relay state titles.

But perhaps the most successful athlete of all was Springville wrestler Jason Chamberlain. His accolades included four straight state titles, national titles, national rankings and the 2008 Dave Schultz High School Excellence National Award presented by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.

3 Timpview continues dominance in multiple sports

The Thunderbirds probably received the most attention for winning their third 4A football championship in four years, dominating Pine View 50-7 in the championship, but the school enjoyed success in other sports as well.

The T'Bird cross country team won its second straight title and the boys golf team earned second place in October, while the girls swimming took third place and the girls basketball team returned to the state title game for the third time in four years in February.

But the most dominating Timpview squad was the boys tennis team, which won it sixth straight 4A championship -- and eighth in 10 years -- in dominating fashion with a nearly perfect 25-point score.

2 Football issues rock local schools

The gridiron holds a prominent place in the pantheon of high school sports but in the fall of 2007, football went beyond the action on the field.

In October, a sideline altercation at Lone Peak resulted in a rare mid-season transfer of the player involved and at the end of the season, Knight head coach Monte Morgan stepped down.

The rivalry between Provo and Timpview also played out in controversial fashion in the final game of the regular season as the Thunderbirds poured it on in a 63-0 shutout.

Later in the month, American Fork -- who had accepted the transferred player from Lone Peak -- experienced more controversy.

It began in a first-round playoff game where some students let a pheasant loose onto the field and an opposing coach stepped on it.

The worst, however, came in a quarterfinal victory over Hunter that ended in a bench-clearing brawl. Officials elected to end the game early and the ramifications included suspensions and some criminal charges.

1 Utah Valley boys basketball dominates state competition again

Provo and Lone Peak placed themselves on the pinnacle of the prep basketball world in 2007 as they won state championships. The question coming into the 2007-08 year was whether they could return to the top.

Both teams won their respective regions, but the path through the state playoffs would not be easy.

Lone Peak and Davis met in a classic double-overtime thriller in the 5A semifinals with the Knights eking out the narrow 57-55 win, and then went on to win the 5A crown.

Provo's big test came in the finals as the Bulldogs squared off against Bountiful in another exciting game that came down to the final possession before the Bulldogs earned the 55-52 win and the 4A title.

• Other memorable stories: Springville boys win 4A swimming title; Springville girls basketball experiences complete turnaround; American Fork girls basketball reaches 5A state championship; Lone Peak baseball surprises with win of Region 4; girls golf has its first season as its own sport; teams prepare for next realignment possibilities.

• Jared Lloyd can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it