State semifinal appearance caps a special year for Mid-Prairie athletics

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 8/10/22

When Will Cavanagh stepped on home plate and received his final high-fives on his way back to the dugout in the seventh inning of the state semifinal, it added the final touch to an outstanding …

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State semifinal appearance caps a special year for Mid-Prairie athletics

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When Will Cavanagh stepped on home plate and received his final high-fives on his way back to the dugout in the seventh inning of the state semifinal, it added the final touch to an outstanding athletic year for Cavanagh and the rest of the Golden Hawk senior class. 

In the fall, Cavanagh threw for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as Mid-Prairie won a first-round playoff game to reach the round of 16. In the winter, he scored 23 points in the substate final as the Golden Hawks took a 24-0 record to the state quarterfinals. He competed in four events at the state track meet, and on July 19 he was a member of the first Mid-Prairie squad to reach the baseball state semifinals since 2007. 

“It was a hell of a run,” Cavanagh said. “I’m just so proud of everything that my senior class did and my teammates did. My goal going into my senior year was just to leave everything in a better place. I know everybody says that, but I actually really wanted to do it, and not just accomplish things, but be a leader to the younger guys. It means so much after a heck of a run here in Carroll, all the younger guys are coming over to me crying, saying they’ll miss me. It means a lot that you leave such a big impact on everybody.”

The Golden Hawk boys also finished sixth at the 2A state cross country meet led by senior Thaddeus Shetler, who finished 14th individually. Gannon Callahan represented the Golden Hawks at the state wrestling meet. He reached the state quarterfinals and finished with a record of 24-5, while fellow senior Cael Garvey earned an RVC championship at 195 pounds and finished 37-4. 

Senior forward Carter Harmsen was a second-team all-state selection for Mid-Prairie basketball team, which suffered its first loss of the season in the state quarterfinals.

In the spring, the Mid-Prairie boys were the state-qualifying meet champions and qualified for the state meet in six of the seven relay events. Football teammates Jack Pennington, Justice Jones, and Jarrett Hoffman led the Golden Hawks boys to another winning soccer season, finishing 11-4 with a postseason victory. 

While Cavanagh scored the final run of the state tournament for Mid-Prairie, it was senior Tyler Helmuth who scored the first run in Mid-Prairie’s 3-2 quarterfinal win over Cascade. He slid home on a Brock Harland bunt after his second-inning triple sparked the Golden Hawk offense. Helmuth rushed for 771 yards and 16 touchdowns as Mid-Prairie came up one win short of an appearance in the 2A football quarterfinals. He also competed in four events at the state track meet and saw his Golden Hawk athletic career end in the state baseball semifinals. 

“I think our senior class is pretty hard working,” Helmuth said.  “I can name a few guys that are very hard working, and made me be better at what I do. Will, he pushes me and we push each other in the weight room.

“It’s all about showing up — and that’s what our senior class did. All around, every sport for our senior class, it was great.”

Last year, Mid-Prairie’s baseball season ended when the No. 4 Golden Hawks were upset by Davis County 7-4 in the substate final. Mid-Prairie entered this season needing to replace four of its top six hitters from that squad. The same qualities that led the Golden Hawks to success on the football field were key for Cavanagh and Helmuth as leaders of a young and talented baseball team. 

“They’re just good athletes in the way that they lead,” Mid-Prairie baseball coach Kyle Mullet said. “They’re good young men. Their character is the best of the best. You couldn’t ask for two better seniors, especially having a small senior class in baseball — for those two guys to stick it out and do what they did is truly remarkable.”

The Golden Hawks girls put two more state championship trophies in the trophy case at Mid-Prairie, led by senior Mitzi Evans who won a pair of individual state titles in her final track & field meet. Sydney and Jaden Yoder also became four-time state cross country champions in the fall. Senior Madelyn Bender led the Mid-Prairie golf team during its state meet appearance and Bronwyn Brenneman was one of ten Golden Hawks to earn a win in the girls state wrestling tournament. She took home her second state medal with a fifth-place finish. 

Led by all-state forward Maddie Nonnenmann, the Mid-Prairie girls basketball team reached the regional final with its best record since 2016, while the Golden Hawk volleyball and softball programs each finished with a winning record for the first time since the 2014-15 school year.  

After the final game of a remarkable year for Golden Hawk athletics, Cavanagh paused for a moment to reflect. 

“I’m so happy that the whole community and all these young kids growing up are able to see so much success, because when I was growing up, there wasn’t much of it,” he said. “So I’m just really happy that we could be something that everybody can look up to and look to for all that.”