story by Ruth Nicolaus
Jake Day likes a variety of things. He loves playing football, hunting mountain lions, any kind of soup his mom makes, and rodeo.
The Utah High School Rodeo Association member competes in the steer wrestling, tie-down roping and team roping, heeling for Cody Stubbs.
A resident of Delta, Utah, he was part of the Delta High School football team that lost in the state championship game in 2016, finishing the season with a 9-4 record. This year, Jake’s senior year, the Delta High Rabbits lost in the semi-finals game.
Jake has three horses he rides for his events. For the steer wrestling, he rides a fourteen-year-old sorrel named Fiddler who “runs hard, he’s fast, and is a big horse.” He’s also a “dork,” Jake says, who likes to undo gates and let the other horses out. “He’s kind of obnoxious and the life of the party.”
For the tie-down and heeling, Jake rides a fifteen-year-old sorrel mare named Oakley. He has a second steer wrestling horse, Butch, a bay gelding who is a half-brother to Oakley.
In his spare time, he loves to hunt deer, elk and mountain lions. He and his brothers have seven to ten hounds they hunt the lions with, and it can be exciting. The lions can get “pretty mean,” Jake said.
In high school, his favorite classes are the science classes, especially anatomy and biology. His dad, who is “pretty chill about things,” Jake said, was his anatomy teacher, but Jake didn’t mind. Jake played football and basketball. He was first team all-state in football this year as safety and last year was second team all-state as quarterback. In both football and basketball, he was academic all-state. He is a member of Skills USA and is on high honor roll with a 4.0 grade point average.
As for favorites, Jake loves the soup his mom makes (any kind), her barbecue chicken, steak and Hawaiian haystacks (rice, chicken, sauce and veggies all piled up). His favorite dessert is his mom’s banana cream pie, his favorite soda pop is Dr. Pepper, and his favorite candy is Skittles. If he was given $1 million, he’d spend it on a Ram 3500 and a ranch in Utah, Wyoming or Montana.
After he graduates, he will go on an LDS mission then would like to be an orthopedic surgeon. When he had surgery to replace a blown knee he got some insight into the occupation, and he realizes it will involve quite a bit of schooling, but he’s ready. “I figure I might as well do something I enjoy.”
Jake has been to the state finals all of the past three years in all three of his events. He has enough points amassed to already qualify for this year’s finals.
He has two older brothers: Saxon, who is 22 and rodeos for Utah Valley University; Ryland, who is nineteen and is on an LDS mission, and two younger sisters: Saylor, who is fourteen, and Atalie, who is eleven.
He is the son of Austin and Misty Day.
