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Can Park City High’s student section stake their claim as the most hyped in Utah?

Park City High School’s senior Student Body President Charlie Lowsma cheers for the Miners as the third quarter of the game against Ben Lomond begins at Dozier Field Friday evening, September 14, 2018. The Miners defeated the Scots 45-7. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

 

Spectators and players at Friday’s football game between Park City High School and Ben Lomond would have been hard pressed to miss the presence of the Miners student section, a phalanx of face paint, Hawaiian shirts and noise occupying the Dozier Field’s east stands.

On a ladder facing the student section stood Charlie Lowsma, Park City High School student body president. Donning red, black and white face paint, and an open Hawaiian shirt, the senior urged his constituency on and coordinated chants, cheers and jeers as, a few hundred feet behind him, the football team demolished the Scots 45-7.

Lowsma, 18, said his position as student body president allows him to do what he loves: talk to people.



“My favorite thing is just to be involved and to be social with everyone,” he said during halftime. “I don’t know, it’s kind of neat.”

It’s no secret that — for anyone, much less teenagers — putting oneself in front of a crowd is difficult. Lowsma said it’s a matter of being the first to break barriers and that the results might be better than expected.



“I was telling the student council class that you just have to learn to be embarrassed, because in the end, if you’re the one who’s willing to put yourself out there, no one’s going to care,” he said. “People are going to be so much more excited to see that they can be comfortable around you, so I don’t know, I kind of just worked up my guts for the first game, and I got such a good reception from the student body that I just kept doing it since.”

And while the student section has been present at each football game so far, Lowsma said he wants to bring the energy to the girls volleyball matches and beyond.

“I know football games are exciting, but the girls volleyball team — new state champions — they’re killing it,” he said. “Our basketball team and all of the other sports deserve a ton of recognition too.”

Lowsma says based on the turnout and enthusiasm of the Park City students Friday, he thinks the section has the potential to win the “Battle of the Fans,” an annual Utah High School Activities Association competition, by shooting and sending in a video package showcasing the fan experience. The video will include footage from when the Miners host Ogden on Oct. 5 for homecoming.

The student leader says he anticipates that game to be “the most exciting, biggest game we’re going to have all year.”

The organization determines which Utah high school student sections have the most school spirit via a public vote on videos submitted by each school. Last school year, Maple Mountain took the top honor after receiving the majority of votes in a Twitter poll.

“It’s so exciting to know that we have the potential to be one of the most hype and exciting student sections in all of Utah, you know?” Lowsma said. “The homecoming game is going to be something else.”

As for the rest of the community who aren’t current Park City High School students, Lowsma said he wants the students’ enthusiasm to infect everyone in the bleachers.

“We aren’t an exclusive group, I’d love to see the parents get in on the chants too,” Lowsma said. “I’m looking to make this year one of the most hyped up, exciting years PCHS has seen in a long time. … It involves the entire community.”


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