Cowboys Season comes to an end

Grantsville took the field against Park City as they continued with the Class 3A State Tournament. They defeated the Miners 2-1 to advance to the next round against the 3-time defending state champion Juan Diego Soaring Eagles. Their season came to an end in a disappointing 14-6 loss to the Eagles.

The loss caps the high school careers for Dalen Erickson, Drew Sutton, Connor Turner, & Jake Ortiz.

Grantsville 2 Park City 1
In the first game of the day the Cowboys started fast putting up 2 runs in the top of the first inning. Kelby Landon drew a lead off walk. He moved to second on an infield single by Skyler Cloward and scored on a ground out. Dalen Erickson came up with a key 2 out RBI single to score Cloward and give the Cowboys all the runs they would need.

Cloward got the nod on the mound and held Park City to 1 run on 1 hit striking out 6 in 6 innings of work. Erickson came in to retire the side in the 7th striking out 2 to earn the save.

Juan Diego 14 Grantsville 6
The Cowboys gave the defending champions all they wanted in an elimination game but the Soaring Eagles took advantage of a couple of mistakes and eliminated the Cowboys.

The Cowboys threatened to take the lead in the 4th inning but had a runner thrown out at the plate. With the score tied at 6-6 and 2 outs in the 6th inning Juan Diego took advantage of a couple of Cowboy errors and posted 5 runs to take control of the game. They would put up 3 more in the 7th to eliminate the Cowboys.

Grantsville was led offensively by Ky Fisher with 3 hits, Kelby Landon with 2 doubles and 2 walks, and Dalen Erickson with 2 hits including a double and 2 RBI's. Wyatt Smith & Dallin Williams also had hits for Grantsville.

Cowboys Split on the Opening Weekend of the State Tournament

The Cowboys began the State Tournament this past weekend & split their 2 games. Delta defeated the Cowboys in the first game. Grantsville came back to beat Union in the 2nd game to stay alive in the tournament.

There was a scary moment in the 2nd game when Manny Begay took a foul ball to the face in the on deck circle. He is doing well though. He had to have some surgery and now has 6 plates and... 29 screws inserted into his cheek. His jaw was broken and is now wired shut for the next 4 weeks.

He was able to come back home Monday morning and showed up at practice in the afternoon. He is doing well. Talking about getting back on the field sometime this summer. WOW!!!

On behalf of Cowboys Baseball we would like to thank everyone for their thoughts & prayers. Manny is a great kid & we wish him a speedy recovery.

The Cowboys will continue playing in the state tournament this Thursday at 11:00 AM. They will take on the Park City Miners at Taylorsville HS. A win will propel the Cowboys to the 4:30 game at Gates Field located on the Kearns HS campus.

Playoff Schedule

The schedule has been set for the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. The Cowboys will travel to Cedar City and play in the Canyon View pod. The games are set as follows:

9:30 Grantsville vs Delta @ Canyon View HS
12:30 Canyon View vs Union @ Canyon View HS
3:30 Union vs TBD @ Cedar City HS
3:30 Canyon View vs TBD @ Canyon View HS

The full state tournament bracket can be viewed at http://uhsaa.org/baseball/2011-12/3A.pdf

Game Schedule vs Judge

Following is the schedule for the games with Judge Memorial for Tuesday May 8.

• Varsity Game CANCELLED
• JV Game 4:00 @ St Ann's
• Fresh/Soph 3:30 & 5:30 at Grantsville

Stansbury 13 Grantsville 3

Grantsville took on the Region 11 champions in their home finale, falling to the Stansbury Stallions 13-3.

Things started fast & furious for the Cowboys as they took a 3-0 in the first on a walk by Kelby Landon, an RBI double by Skyler Cloward, & a towering 2-run HR by Connor Turner. That would be the last highlight for the Cowboys as the Stallions dominated the game from the third inning on, scoring 13 unanswered runs.

Turner paced the Cowboys offensively with 2 hits while Cloward, Quinton Smith, & Ky Fisher also netted safeties for Grantsville.

The game marked the final home regular season game for seniors Dalen Erickson, Connor Turner, Drew Sutton, & Jake Ortiz.

The playoffs are next up for Grantsville as they earned the 2nd seed out of Region 11. The first 2 rounds will take place on Saturday May 12th. Details will follow as soon as they are finalized.

Grantsville 7 Tooele 1

The Cowboys took down county neighbor Tooele 7-1 in a key Region 11 battle.

Grantsville got started early as they posted 1 run in the first & 3 more in the second. Dalen Erickson paced the Cowboys attach as he wrapped out 3 hits while Ky Fisher had a big RBI triple. Kelby Landon contributed 2 hits including a double while Connor Turner also swung the bat well.

Skyler Cloward went 6 strong innings on the mound to pick up the win, allowing 4 hits while striking out 9. Landon Hammond came in to close out the game in the 7th.

Your Cowboys will be back in action on Thursday, as they take on Stansbury at 3:30 at Cowboy Field. It'll be Senior Day so come on out & pay tribute to the 4 seniors.

Cowboys Spend the Night with the Bees

The Baseball playin Cowboys took an opportunity to spend the night at Spring Mobile Ballpark watching the Salt Lake Bees take on the Reno Aces. It's was a great time by all as they celebrated Kelby's birthday with him. Thanks Coach Landon. Oh, and thanks Lola for allowing Connor to attend with us. Here's a few more tidbits from our night out. Jessica don't answer the phone, trust me. Papi's finger and him worried about how coach was gonna pay for all this. Sky still hasn't stopped eating. The Dragon is pretty animated if you didn't know, we didn't. Someone buy DWill a coat please. YMCA on the big screen. Danny finally gets a ball, I think they thought he was five. Gum from the bullpen, to shut them up. The drunk guy falling on Winters, or was it Q. Coach Landon's wandering hands on the elevator. The Bachelor Party next door & Clay watching the Lingerie Bowl, not quite like TPang is he? The 7'1" pitcher. The shot over 420' backdrop, after Barrus claims no one will ever do it. The running of the bases after with the 6 year olds. Luckily no one got arrested or kicked out so it was a successful outing had by all. We'll see you all back on the field next week.

Bear River 2 Grantsville 1

The Bear River Bears came to town & left with a 2-1 victory over the Cowboys. Taylor Ramsdell sent the distance picking up the win while also leading off the 6th with a double and scoring the winning run for the Bears. Dalen Erickson limited the Bears to four hits but took the loss for Grantsville. Jake Ortiz came through with an RBI single in the 5th to tie the game but Bear River took advantage of a Cowboy throwing error to score the go ahead run. The Cowboys had 2 on in the seventh but couldn't come up with the key hit they needed to tie the game.

Grantsville 6 Ogden 4

The Cowboys were able to come from behind to pick up the win against Ogden to improve their Region 11 record to 7-2.

After the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first Grantsville came back to tie the score at 1-1 in the 2nd on Connor Turner double and then an Ogden error allowed him to score. Ogden took a 2-1 lead again in the third. In the top of the fourth the Cowboys took their first lead of the game scoring 2 runs. Dalen Erickson reached on a wild pitch, Drew Sutton sacrificed him to second and then Manny Begay drove him in with an RBI single. Begay moved up to 2nd on a groundout and scored on a Kelby Landon single. The Tigers answered back and tied the game at 3-3 in the their half of the fourth. In the 5th Connor Turner reached on an error, Erickson singled, and Begay came through again with another RBI single to put the Cowboys up 4-3. In the 6th they tacked on 2 more runs. Ky Fisher started things off with a single, stole second, and scored on a Landon triple. After a pitching change Quinton Smith scored Landon with a single putting the Cowboys up 6-3. Ogden came back scoring one in the sixth and loaded the bases. Erickson came in relieving Sklyer Cloward and came through getting a big strikeout and then a groundout to end the threat.

Cloward got the start on the mound and went 5 1/3 innings picking up his 5th win of the season with Erickson picking up the save. Landon led the Cowboys offensively going 3 for 3 driving in 2 runs while Begay also had 2 hits and 2 rbi's.

Grantsville will be back in action again on Tuesday April 24 as they host the Bear River Bears in another Region 11 showdown. Gametime is set for 3:30.

Grantsville 10 Ben Lomond 0

The Cowboys improved to 6-2 in Region 11. They scored 4 runs in the first inning and coasted to the victory. Brayden Hamatake got the start and threw a complete game scattering 4 hits and striking out 10 to pick up the win. Connor Turner led the Cowboys with 2 hits. Dalen Erickson & Kelby Landon belted doubles while Skyler Cloward & Ky Fisher each had a triple in the game.

Grantsville will travel back to Ogden tomorrow to face the Ogden Tigers in another Region showdown. Game time is set for 3:39

Grantsville 9 Morgan 0

Grantsville & Morgan squared off on the diamond in a key Region 11 game with 2nd place on the line. Thanks to some Morgan mistakes the Cowboys jumped on top early posting 3 runs in the first & second innings to take a 6-0 advantage. That would be all that Dalen Erickson would need as he was masterful on the hill holding the Trojans to 3 hits while striking out 6 to post the complete game win.

Kelby Landon led the Cowboys offensively with 2 hits and 3 runs scored. Quinton Smith also scored 3 times while Erickson helped himself out with 2 rbi's including an rbi double. Connor Turner also drove in 2 runs.

The Cowboys are scheduled to resume Region 11 action at Ben Lomond on Thursday. Game time is set for 3:30.

Fresh/Sophs vs Ogden

Games have now been cancelled. Ogden cancelled their bus & won't be coming down.

Ogden Games Today

The Varsity & JV games with Ogden have been rescheduled for Saturday April 14 starting at noon.

The Freshman/Sophomore games are still on for today.

Stansbury 4 Grantsville 1

Grantsville struck first on a Drew Sutton walk and a Skyler Cloward run scoring double to take a 1-0 lead in the first. Stansbury answered back in the 2nd scoring on a Cowboy error with 2 outs to even the game at 1-1. The Stallions took the lead in the 4th scoring on a wild pitch/past ball. They tacked on 2 more runs in the sixth on a HBP, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a fly ball to left, and then another passed ball/wild pitch. The Cowboys had many scoring opportunities early in the game, leaving 2 guys on base in each of the first 4 innings.

Dalen Erickson got the start on the mound and pitched well.

The loss drops the Cowboys record to 4-2 in Region 11. They will travel to Ogden to take on the Tigers in a key match up on Thursday. Game time is set for 3:30 at Ogden HS.

Davis 5 Grantsville 3

The Davis Darts earned the sweep over the Cowboys taking the second game 5-3.

All the scoring took place in the first 2 innings for both teams as both pitchers shut down their opponents the rest of the way. Skyler Cloward went the distance for Grantsville taking the loss.

Ky Fisher blasted a 2-run triple in the second inning for the Cowboys. Kelby Landon, Dalen Erickson, & Manny Begay all had doubles offensively for Grantsville.

The Cowboys will resume Region 11 action when the travel to Stansbury on Tuesday to take on the Stallions in a 3:30 contest.

Davis 12 Grantsville 9

In the first game of a doubleheader the Davis Darts used an 8 run 5th inning to defeat the Cowboys 12-9.

Grantsville was led offensively by Dalen Erickson who had 3 hits & Ky Fisher with 2 safeties. Quinton Smith had a 2-run double while Kelby Landon & Manny Begay also drove in 2 runs.

Brayden Hamatake got the start and went 4 1/3 innings. Landon Hammond came on in the 5th and pitched well allowing 1 hit and striking out 3 in 1 2/3 innings.

Logan 3 Grantsville 2

The Cowboys allowed the Grizzlies to hang around & then ended up falling 3-2.

Grantsville rapped out 7 hits but couldn't get the one they needed to break the game open. They left 9 guys on base. Seven of them in scoring position. Skyler Cloward had the lone extra base hit in the game for Grantsville, a double with 2 outs in the 1st.

Dalen Erickson got the start on the hill & went 5 innings leaving with the game tied 2-2. Brayden Hamatake came on in relief and suffered the loss.

Grantsville will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Kaysville to take on the unbeaten & 5th ranked Davis Darts in a non league doubleheader. Game times are set for 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM.

Grantsville 6 Tooele 3

Grantsville got out to a 6-0 lead after 5 innings and then held on for a 6-3 victory over county neighbor Tooele. The win improves their region record to 4-1 on the season.

After a shut out first, the Cowboys put the first run on the board in their half of the inning. Quinton Smith drew a walk. He moved to 2nd on a Drew Sutton sacrifice & to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a Skyler Cloward ground out. In the 3rd Q got things going again with a 1 out single. He stole 2nd & 3rd and scored on a Cloward single. Grantsville extended the lead to 4-0 in the 4th as Manny Begay & Dalen Erickson both scored on a Tooele throwing error. In the 5th Cloward got things going again with a leadoff double. Kelby Landon drove in Cloward with a ground ball and Dalen Erickson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. The Buffaloes made a run late in the game to cut the lead to 6-3, but couldn't get any closer.

Cloward got the nod on the hill and went the distance picking up the victory. He allowed 4 hits while striking out 12.

Grantsville takes a break from league action as they travel to Logan on Thursday for a 3:30 game and then to Davis HS for a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11:00.

Games with Tooele

The Cowboys will be in action at home today as they take on their neighbors, the Tooele Buffaloes in a key Region 11 battle. Game time is set for 3:30.

Note: the Freshman/Sophomore games schedule to be played in Tooele have been moved to Deseret Peak.

Grantsville 3 Bear River 1

The Cowboys visited Bear River HS and came away with a tough 3-1 win over the Bears to improve their record to 7-3 overall & 3-1 in Region 11.

As always, it was a tough well played ball game. Dalen Erickson came out on top of the pitchers dual as he went the distance giving up 3 hits while striking out 9.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 5th when a bloop rbi single by Blair Ballard got the Bears a 1-0 lead. The Cowboys tied the game at 1-1 in the 6th. Drew Sutton drew a walk and moved up to second on a ground out. He moved to third on a wild pitch and then Connor Turner drew a walk. With 2 outs & 2 strikes Kelby Landon ripped an rbi single to right field to score Sutton and tie the game. In the seventh Grantville took a 3-1 lead. All the scoring came with 2 outs. Ky Fisher drew a 2 out walk. Quinton Smith then beat out an infield single. Then came the big blast of the game. Sutton lifted a long fly ball into the left centerfield gap that no one could get to. Both runners were able to score on Sutton's triple.

After a couple Cowboy mistakes, Erickson slammed the door shut on the Bears picking up the victory.

Grantsville will take to the diamond again on Monday versus county neighbor Tooele in another key Region 11 show down. Game time is set for 3:30.

Grantsville 18 Ben Lomond 0

The Cowboys defeated the Ben Lomond Scots 18-0 to improve their Region 11 record to 2-1.

Grantsville smacked 15 hits on the day including doubles by Connor Turner & Kelby Landon. Skyler Cloward recorded 5 rbi's in the contest while Quinton Smith scored 4 runs.

Cloward got the starting nod on the mound. He dominated the Scots throwing a no-hitter while striking out 7. He was 2 ground ball errors away from a perfect game.

The Cowboys will next travel to Garland to take on their rival, the Bear River Bears, in a key Region 11 battle. Game time is set for 3:30 on Thursday March 29.

Grantsville 8 Delta 7

The Delta Rabbits rallied from a 6-1 deficit to take a 7-6 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. After a scoreless sixth the Cowboys rallied to take a thrilling 8-7 win in the bottom of the 7th.

Grantsville got on the board first in the 3rd inning as Drew Sutton had the key hit in the inning with a 2-run single. After Delta cut the lead to 2-1, the Cowboys extended it to 6-1 after 5 innings. Sutton came through with an RBI double while Skyler Cloward & Kelby Landon had run scoring singles.

Delta was able to take advantage of some shaky Cowboy defense as they took a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Neither team was able to do any further damage in their next at bats. Then came the exciting finish. With 1 out Sutton was able to get things started for Grantsville with a single. Skyler Cloward & Connor Turner both drew walks to load the bases. Landon came to the plate looking to do something big for the Cowbys. He hit a hard ground ball in the 3/4 hole that the Delta second baseman made a great play to get to. Delta attempted to turn the game ending double play but Landon beat the throw. Sutton scored on the play to tie the score & Cloward came all the way around from second to score the winning run for the Cowboys.

Braydon Hamatake got the start for Grantsville. With his Prom date answer on the fence he went 5 2/3 innings giving the Cowboys a much needed quality start in their 3rd game of the week. Turner came in to record the last out in the sixth. Dalen Erickson took over in the 7th to hold Delta scoreless picking up the win.

Grantsville will next take the field on Tuesday March 27 at home against the Ben Lomond Scots. Game time is scheduled for 3:30.

Morgan 4 Grantsville 0

The Cowboys travelled to Morgan only to come home with a 4-0 loss. That evens their Region 11 record at 1-1.

The Cowboys could rap out 2 hits on the day as they were held scoreless. Skyler Cloward threw well but was the hard luck loser. He held Morgan to only 2 hits but one of those was a big 3-run HR off the bat of Jarrett Cameron.

Quinton Smith & Cloward had the lone hits for Grantsville with Cloward's hit being a double.

Grantsville will be back in action at home on Friday as they take on the Delta Rabbits in a non league affair.

Grantsville 16 Ogden 6

The Cowboys started off their Region 11 campaign by exploding offensively as they downed the Ogden Tigers 16-6.

Quinton Smith led the hit parade going 3 for 3 with 2 doubles. Jake Ortiz & Drew Sutton also contributed 2 hits each. Manny Begay, Connor Turner, & Dalen Erickson contributed doubles to the offensive attack while Skyler Cloward blasted an rbi triple.

Ortiz got the the scoring started with a key 2 run single with 2 outs in the second inning. After giving up 1 run in the 3rd, Grantsville got that run back in the bottom half to take a 3-1 lead into the fourth. They were able to tack on 5 more runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-1. Each team scored in the fifth with the Cowboys getting a 2 run triple by Cloward taking a 10-2 advantage into the 6th. After Ogden put together a rally to cut the lead to 10-6, the Cowboys exploded for 6 runs to end the game by the 10-run rule. Kelby Landon had a 2-run single in the inning & Begay ended the game with a walk off 2-run double.

Dalen Erickson got the nod to open the league for Grantsville. He went the distance giving up 7 hits while striking out 5 to pick up the win.

The Cowboys will continue their Region schedule as they travel to Morgan on Thursday March 22. Game time is set for 3:30. Note the change in location from the original schedule.

NOTICE: GAME CHANGE VS MORGAN

Important Notice:

The game sights with Morgan scheduled for Thursday March 22 & Tuesday April 17 have been changed. The schedule now will be as follows:

Thursday March 22
Varsity / JV @ Morgan 3:30 (bus leaves at 12:15)
Fresh/Sophs vs Morgan in Grantsville 3:30 & 5:30

Tuesday April 17
Varsity / JV vs Morgan in Grantsville 3:30

Grantsville 13 Hunter 10

Grantsville welcomed the Class 5A Hunter Wolverines to town. Showing patience at the plate and coming up with some timely hits the Cowboys held on for a 13-10 victory.

Skyler Cloward got the start on the bump and battled his way thru 5 innings to pick up the win. Brayden Hamatake put together 2 strong innings to record the save for Grantsville.

After giving up 2 unearned runs in the first inning, Grantsville answered back loudly scoring 7 runs in their half of the first keyed by a Cloward rbi single and a 2-run single off the bat of Connor Turner. Hunter didn't let that bother them as they came right back with 4 runs in the second to get back in the game now trailing 7-6. After holding hunter scoreless in the third the Cowboys extended the lead to 10-6 as Drew Sutton, Cloward, & Manny Begay all recorded rbi's. Once again the Wolverines rose to the challenge scoring 2 runs in the fourth and fifth inning each to tie the score at 10. Grantsville completed the scoring in the bottom of the fifth with 3 runs crossing the plate. Begay had a key rbi single while Turner drove in a run with a ground ball with a second run scoring on an error.

Cloward & Begay led the way offensively for Grantsville with 2 hits each along with 2 rbi's each. Turner also recorded 3 rbi's on the day.

The games start counting next week as the Cowboys host the Ogden Tigers in the opening Region 11 game for both teams. Game time is set for 3:30 at Cowboy Field.

Maple Mountain 6 Grantsville 0

The Cowboys hit the road to take on the Maple Mountain Golden Eagles on Tuesday. They arrived and had their bats silenced by left-hander Nick Van Wagoner as he 1-hit the Cowboys to pick up the win for the Golden Eagles.

There weren't many highlights for the Cowboys. Skyler Cloward had the lone hit in the game. Dalen Erickson got the start on the mound and went 5 innings taking the loss. Connor Turner came in and threw the last inning getting out of a bases loaded jam.

Grantsville will be back in action Thursday when they welcome the Class 5A Hunter Wolverines to Cowboy field. Game time is set for 3:30.

Cowboys sweep Rams

Grantsville came back from 4-0 deficits in both games to beat the Highland Rams 9-4 & 6-4 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Game 1 - Grantsville 9 Highland 4

The Cowboys struggled defensively in the first game as Highland scored 4 runs in the 3rd inning to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Grantsville answered back in their half of the 3rd with 3 runs. Quinton Smith had a double & Skyler Cloward had a key 2 out 2-run single. The Cowboys took the lead in the 4th with 2 runs aided by a couple Highland errors and another run scoring single by Cloward. Grantsville extended the lead in the 5th & 6th innings with 2 runs in each. The big blast was a Kelby Landon home run in the 6th. Connor Turner, Manny Begay, & Ky Fisher also recorded hits in the contest.

Cloward got the start on the mound & went 6 strong innings to pick up the win allowing 2 hits and striking out 7. Begay came in to close out the game in the 7th.

Game 2 - Grantsville 6 Highland 4

The Rams once again jumped out to a 4-0 lead scoring 2 runs in the 1st & 2 more in the 5th. Grantsville had several scoring opportunities in the first 5 innings. They hit several balls hard right Highland defenders. The Cowboys finally broke free in the 6th by putting up 6 runs to take a 6-4 lead. Begay started the rally with a single, Fisher was hit by a pitch, Quinton Smith had a run scoring double, Landon reached on an error scoring another run. Sutton & Turner then drew a walks to load the bases. Dalen Erickson was hit by a pitch to drive in a run & tie the game. After a pitching change Begay came to the plate again and had the game winning double to plate 2 runs.

Brayden Hamatake started the game and kept the Cowboys in it with 5 good innings. Erickson came on in relief in the last 2 innings to pick up the win.

Grantsville will next be in action on Tuesday March 13 as they travel to Spanish Fork to take on Maple Mountain. Game time is 3:30.

Park City 8 Grantsville 5

The Miners were able to come back from an early 2-0 deficit & scored 4 runs in the second & 3 in the fifth to upend the Cowboys in Grantsville.

The Cowboys outhit the Miners on the day but Park City took advantage of 11 walks & 1 hit batter to go along with their 6 hits to record their 8 runs.

Dalen Erickson got the nod on the hill and took the loss. Brayden Hamatake & Skyler Cloward came on in relief and pitched well to keep the Cowboys in the game.

Erickson led the Cowboys offensively with 2 doubles driving in 1 run. Cloward also had a good day at the plate with 2 hits including a double along with drawing 2 walks and 2 rbi's. Kelby Landon had 1 hit while also reaching base on 3 walks.

Manny Begay had a double while Ky Fisher recorded an rbi single. Drew Sutton & Quinton Smith also had hits for Grantsville.

Grantsville will be back in action on Saturday with a doubleheader vs 4A Highland at Cowboy Field. The scheduled start time in 11:00 AM.

Radio Broadcast

Park City will attempt to broadcast the game today on the web. Here is the link:

http://www.meridix.com/everywhere.php?liveid=PCMinersBBall

PLAY BALL!!!

Tryouts have been completed. Congrats to those who are sticking with us. Now it's time for you to show your support for your Cowboys. First pitch is still scheduled for Monday at 3:00 vs Park City. Hope to see you there.

P.S. We still have plenty of oranges so please get your vitamin C.

WINTER WORKOUTS

JANUARY
3rd @ 7:00
4th @ 7:00
9th @ 7:00
10th @ 7:00
11th @ 7:00
12th @ 7:00
16th @ 7:00
18th @ 7:00
23rd @ 7:00
24th @ 7:00
27th @ 7:00
30th @ 7:00
31st @ 7:00



FEBRUARY
1st @ 7:00
6th @ 7:00
8th @ 7:00
9th @ 7:00
13th-16th @ 6:00
20th-23rd @ 6:00
27th Tryouts (attendance is mandatory)