Fueling Badger Pride: How an Intermountain Health Dietitian is Helping Snow College–Richfield Athletes Thrive On and Off the Field
When Snow College–Richfield athletes in Utah lace up for practice, there is a quiet force behind their performance.
Her name is Sara Harcourt, an Intermountain Health registered dietitian at Intermountain Health Sevier Valley Hospital, who also serves as the sports nutritionist for Snow College–Richfield.
The partnership is simple, yet powerful.
Intermountain Health made it possible for Harcourt to bring her expertise to campus, and student athletes say they are feeling the difference in their training, recovery, confidence and performance.
Harcourt personally knows the world of collegiate athletics. She ran hurdles at Southern Utah University, then earned her graduate degree in nutrition at the University of Utah – at a time when sports nutrition was taking off across the state.
“Utah’s ski team was nationally prominent, the 2002 Olympics had just energized the field, and I got to work with football linemen and skiers,” said Harcourt. “That is where I fell in love with helping athletes understand how food supports performance.”
For the past five years of her career, Harcourt has specialized in clinical nutrition at Intermountain Sevier Valley Hospital, caring for inpatients, outpatients, and patients receiving dialysis.
That ongoing work is still her home base. It is also what opened the door for her to support student athletes at Snow College–Richfield.
“Intermountain Health made the connection with Snow College–Richfield, and the college welcomed the partnership,” she said. “I wear my Intermountain gear, meet with athletes on campus when I can, and do the education and resource-building from my office at the hospital.”
Since August, Harcourt has been working with Snow College–Richfield’s four teams: men’s and women’s wrestling and men’s and women’s cross country, roughly 80 to 90 athletes.
She begins with a 30-minute one-on-one assessment for each athlete, looking closely at total calories and key nutrients like calcium and iron.
“For cross country runners, energy needs can reach four thousand calories per day,” she explained. “That is more than double what many people eat, and it gets expensive and challenging to do well. We talk about practical ways to meet those needs so athletes stay healthy and reduce injury risk.”
Harcourt blends precision with practicality. She meets with each team quarterly for education tailored to what coaches and athletes are asking about most.
Next up is a December session on the top supplements athletes are hearing about and whether they help. Between sessions, she invites any athlete to text her questions about a product they are curious about.
“The supplement industry is booming. Staying current on research and giving athletes clear, evidence-based guidance is part of keeping them safe and at top performance potential,” she said.
Her guidance is as much about mindset as it is about macros.
“I want them to leave college with a healthy relationship with food,” Harcourt said. “That means understanding that normal eating sometimes includes overeating, sometimes under-eating, and sometimes choosing something simply because it looks good. Nutrition is only one part of performance. Training, sleep, and mental health matter just as much, and sports psychology might be the biggest piece for many athletes.”
That perspective is critical for wrestlers and distance runners, two sports with higher rates of disordered eating.
Harcourt watches for warning signs, sets boundaries around unsafe weight cuts, and connects athletes to mental health professionals when needed.
“Disordered eating is a mental health concern. My role is to educate, support, and make sure they have a full team around them,” she said.
Her coaching favors simple, actionable steps. One example is timing when to eat protein.
“A lot of athletes want to drink one huge protein shake and be done,” Harcourt said. “Our bodies cannot turn that much protein into muscle in one sitting. Spreading protein in twenty-to-twenty-five-gram portions six or seven times a day is far more efficient.”
She also teaches the principle that muscle is built when it is challenged and repaired.
“If you are not breaking down muscle through lifting or training, your body does not get the signal to build more. Drinking protein alone is not going to build muscle,” she noted.
Pre-competition nutrition is another area where small tweaks pay off. Harcourt provides handouts on what to eat before a race or match.
“High-fiber foods like beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are great, but they sit heavy if you eat them right before you compete,” she said. “A pouch of applesauce or a small cup of a sports drink thirty minutes before an event is often a smarter choice. The goal is to feel light, fueled, and confident.”
Because many student athletes are on tight budgets, Harcourt connects them to local resources. She serves on the board for Central Utah Food Sharing and makes sure athletes know how to access the food bank that sets up on campus twice a week.
“Some use it, some do not, but everyone knows it is there,” she said.
She is also building new supports with community partners.
Working with Dairy West, Harcourt is helping Snow College apply for a scholarship and planning simple food demonstrations by nutrition interns who will teach peers how to prepare budget-friendly meals. The goal is to equip athletes to feed themselves well now and build skills they will use long after graduation.
“’Training the trainer' creates a culture of good nutrition,” she said.
Plans include a wall-sized mural for the kitchen space, 2-barrel coolers for meets, and a large glass-front merchandiser fridge all branded with the Snow Badger logo and colors.
Intermountain Health’s clinical network is part of the picture too.
Harcourt recently coordinated a visit from James Frazier, MD, a sports medicine physician who sees patients in Sanpete and Sevier counties, to talk with athletes about common injuries and prevention.
“The Q&A was outstanding,” she said. “It is one more way Intermountain Health care teams can support student health right where they are.”
Sara’s favorite part of the work is the people.
“Athletes are a joy. They want to get better, they are respectful, and they follow through,” she said.
She also loves the energy of being on campus.
“Higher education is exciting. Students ask hard questions and push you to stay sharp. I like diving into the latest research and bringing back clear answers,” she noted.
For the Richfield community, the benefits go beyond the gym and the course.
“This is a small town. You see the athletes running past your street or at the grocery store. They add so much life and discipline to the community,” Harcourt said. “I love what they bring.”
The partnership works because everyone is rowing in the same direction. Snow College–Richfield provides the time and space for athletes to meet with Harcourt on campus.
Intermountain Health ensures the clinical expertise, continuity, and community connections that make the support sustainable. And the athletes do the daily work that turns good information into stronger bodies and healthier habits.
“This is exactly the kind of collaboration Intermountain exists to build,” Harcourt said. “We are here to help our neighbors live the healthiest lives possible. Sometimes that looks like hospital care. Sometimes it looks like a sports nutrition session that helps a student eat well, perform better, and carry those habits into life because both are vital.”
With steady coaching, practical tools, and a partner who believes in their potential, Snow College–Richfield athletes are learning to fuel wisely and compete with confidence. That is good for the teams, good for the campus, and good for the community that cheers them on.
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