Skyridge head coach Jeff Gardner and his players celebrate after the Falcons’ 60-58 win over the Pleasant Grove Vikings on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, at Pleasant Grove High School. The victory clinched Skyridge a tie for the Region 4 championship in their first year in what is generally considered the toughest region in Utah.

February has ended, and with it, so has the seasons of high school winter sports.

The shortest month of the year may have had an extra day this year, but the month felt many days longer. Days were packed with work, but, fulfilling many roles can also be satisfying. Much like the sports I covered throughout the month, as the month got nearer to the finish, the intensity ramped up. High school boys/girls wrestling, swimming and basketball state tournaments played out, and as always, Utah County teams were very much in the thick of the competition. I sat cross-legged on the floors of athletic facilities most days of the week, but despite being busier than ever this month, I found myself calmer and more able to stop and smell the roses than I've been in a good while.

Amidst a month of big changes in personnel at the newspaper, I have become more on the senior than the junior side of the spectrum in terms of how long I've worked at the Daily Herald. It's sad to see good people and hard-working journalists leaving the newspaper, but fortunately those that have on the newsroom side of the office have done so on their own terms and are moving on to new and exciting things. For me personally, February was a month where I felt I really invested in self-care. Doing so sincerely has made my personal and professional lives more positive, and has also made me more receptive to the never-ending flux in professional skills I'm learning and state of the photo industry in general. 

Jakell Smith, 15, of Santaquin and a sophomore at Salem Hills High School, snowboards down a hill at the Peteetneet Museum and Cultural Arts Center on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, in Payson. The Alpine, Nebo and Provo school districts cancelled school on Monday due to a snowstorm.

Pete Buttigieg, Democratic presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, greets the crowd during a town hall meeting held at The Union Event Center on Monday, Feb. 17, 2020, in Salt Lake City.

A vehicle drives past water pooling on the side of a degraded section of road in a Pleasant Grove residential neighborhood on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. Cities in Utah County that charge residents a transportation utility fee to fund road maintenance and construction projects are contemplating the future of such fees after a judge ruled that Pleasant Grove’s fee is technically a tax and is therefore being collected illegally.

Maple Mountain’s Andrew Jensen celebrates his win over Mountain View’s Radi Stafford in the 170-pound weight class during the UHSAA 5A State Wrestling Championships held Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, at the UCCU Center in Orem.

Springville guard Austin Mortensen (2) gets pumped up with his teammates before the 5A boys basketball state championship game between the Timpview Thunderbirds and the Springville Red Devils held Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Lone Peak guard Corbin Zentner (10) passes the ball around Davis forward Jax Pearce (22) during a semifinal game in the 6A boys basketball state tournament between the Lone Peak Knights and the Davis Darts held Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Lily Brown, 13, poses for a portrait with the game she helped co-create, “Betcha Can’t,” on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at her family’s home in Alpine. Brown, a seventh grader at Timberline Middle School, co-created the game with twelve-year-old Tait Hansen, who’s living in Evanston, Illinois, and the game is currently being sold at Target stores nationwide.

Architect and associate Ben Edwards, right, looks over plans, details and sections with project manager James Moore as they work on a project together at FFKR Architects on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City. Edwards, who is deaf, communicates with his co-workers primarily through written notes.

Jade Viveiros, a junior at Timpview High School, poses for a portrait in the school’s lunchroom Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, in Provo. Viveiros is hoping to raise $17,000 to pay off students’ unpaid lunch fees in the Provo City School District.

Timpview head coach Kevin Santiago calls out a play during the 5A boys basketball state championship game between the Timpview Thunderbirds and the Springville Red Devils held Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Sloane Preysz, 6, of Draper, passes a ball from one hand to the other without bending her elbows as she demonstrates an exercise with the help of her mother Kacie, founder and director of clinical services, during a mock occupational therapy session Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, at Strides Pediatric Therapy in Eagle Mountain.

Lone Peak guard Luke Sutton (13) reacts after the Knights fell to the Davis Darts in a semifinal game during the 6A boys basketball state tournament Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Attendees walk hand-in-hand past an advertisement during the 2020 RootsTech Conference held Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

Olive O’Mara, a veteran who served as an engineer on a naval ship as part of the U.S. Navy’s WAVES program during World War II, poses for a portrait Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at River Meadows Senior Living in Alpine, Utah. O’Mara was born on Saturday, Feb. 21, 1920, and will celebrate her 100th birthday on Friday.

Brigham Young University guard TJ Haws (30) takes a shot while contested by Santa Clara University guard Jalen Williams (24) during a game between the BYU Cougars and the Santa Clara Broncos held Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, at the Marriott Center in Provo.

Springville head coach Justin Snell reacts after a last-second bucket by the Red Devils to end the third quarter during a semifinal game in the 5A boys basketball state tournament between the Springville Red Devils and the Woods Cross Wildcats held Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Springville's Lauryn Deede (32) and her teammates react after they were defeated by the Highland Rams in the 5A girls basketball state championship game Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.