Preps of the week

LEIF ARRHENIUS. Mountain View: He is already in elite company with his father, Anders, and brothers, Dan and Nik. All four have thrown the discus over 200 feet. Mountain View coach Dave Houle said no other family in America can lay claim to that. Now, he is working to be the best of them all, and he has one more year to catch them.

"Each brother has held the state record in the shot and discus until the next brother came up," Houle said.

At a meet in Arcadia, Calif., this year, Leif reeled of his best discus throw of 209 feet. Nik holds the national record at 234 feet.

Last week at the BYU Invitational he won the discus with a throw of 191-3 and the shot at 60-11.

Along with being a stellar athlete, Leif is a 3.7 GPA student.

GAYLE EWER, Juan Diego: Maybe it's all the gear, but catchers are awful easy to overlook -- especially when they're as good as this senior.

"One of the reasons we have such outstanding pitching is because of Gayle," said Soaring Eagle coach Paul Rainaldi. "She calls all of the pitches. She's basically the quarterback of the infield. She's a real leader out there."

Ewer, a four-year starter for the three-time 2A champions, went 4- for-6 two weeks in a row with a triple and two doubles. She's picked off three base runners in four games and caught 28 scoreless innings. In addition to overseeing 2A's most efficient defense, she organized a Hit-a-Thon at Juan Diego that benefited cancer patients. The softball team raised more than $3,000 in the event.

To nominate a prep of the week, contact Deseret News prep editor Jay Hinton at 801-237-2114 or at jhinton@desnews.com.

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