Catholic High School Winter Sports Wrap Up

Courtesy photo/Demarcko Armstrong

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SALT LAKE CITY — It was a season of firsts for the Utah Catholic high schools this year. Among those, JDCHS wrestler Yvette Vargas placed first at state this year, the first time girls wrestling has been sanctioned in Utah; the St. Joseph’s boys basketball team made it to the second round of state play and the Bulldogs boys basketball team won a region title for the first time in nine years.

ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 

Boys basketball

Fielding a full team at a small school like St Joseph’s can be a challenge, coach Demarcko Armstrong said. Nevertheless, the seven-player Jayhawks team made it to the second round of state play at Snow College before being eliminated.

“This year everyone was on the same page from the beginning. We scheduled a little bit out of our league to pace ourselves so by the time we hit region everything really was clicking,” he said. “it was an amazing season.”

To have enough players to compete at state, Armstrong brought Kadin Bombela (senior) and Ian Dirks (sophomore) up from the junior varsity squad. Dirks had a “great breaking out year,” he said.

As the #1 2A scorer in the state and 15th in the nation, Sayveon Armstrong (senior) had a stellar year, Armstrong said. Stockton Buckway (senior) also had a “phenomenal” senior season, he said.

In that second-round game, where Parowan defeated St. Joseph’s 87-55, Armstrong said he was very proud of his players.

“They were definitely outmatched in just size and Parowan’s bench. The way that they fought, I just can’t speak enough to their character and how they fought as men,” he said.

The Jayhawks finished the season 9-10 overall and 7-5 in region play. Team captains this year were Sayveon Armstrong, CJ Kierejewski (junior) and Buckway.

For next season, “CJ’s (Kierejewski) leadership is going to be instrumental,” Armstrong said.

Girls basketball

|The Jayhawks made it to the state tournament but were defeated in the first round by Parowan, 56-24.

Swimming

From St. Joseph’s swim team, sophomore Blake Hanson made it to the state meet Feb. 7-8 at Brigham Young University. Going up against swimmers from 3A schools, Hanson finished 11th in the 100 yard freestyle (55.50) and 13th in the 50 yard freestyle (24.96).

Girls basketball

In girls basketball, the Bulldogs had a great season, reaching the state finals before being defeated by South Sevier 47-46 only in the final minute of play. (See the story in the March 6 Intermountain Catholic).

JUDGE MEMORIAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

Boys basketball

The Judge boys team took their first region championship since 2011 and finished the season 9-1 in region and 19-8 overall. At state, the team had a bye in the first round of state play, beat Carbon 62- 36 in the second round, bested San Juan 66-63 in the quarter-finals and then lost to Manti 55-65 in the semi-finals.

“The experience of winning a state tournament game last year paid dividends, as we were able to advance to the state semi-finals this year,” coach Tim Gardner said. “With the players we have returning next year, we hope that this experience will allow us to take the next step moving forward.”

“We’ve got a great group returning; We’ve got the bulk of our production returning next year,” he said. “We’re really excited about the progress that the program has made and just setting the foundation of being consistent and playing hard every day.”

Gardner said the team had great support from this Judge student body this year.

“The gymnasium just had a great vibe of what the Judge community is all about,” he said. 

Swimming

The boys’ team came just one point away from tying with Union for the 3A state championship Feb. 8 at BYU at the state swim meet. The girls team took first in region and fifth at state this year. (See story in the Feb. 28 Intermountain Catholic)

JUAN DIEGO CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

Boys Basketball

The Soaring Eagle finished the season 17-7 overall and 11-1 in region, placing first.

In state play, the team took a bye in the first round, defeated Crimson Cliffs 62- 46 at home in the second game, and then bested Ridgeline 57-52 in the quarter-finals at Weber State University. They were narrowly defeated by Dixie 52-50 in the semi-finals.

“We had a nice run in the tournament with big wins over Crimson Cliffs and a very good Ridgeline team,” coach Drew Trost said.  “We came up a little short in the semi-finals, which was hard to swallow, especially after the huge comeback we made.  Nonetheless, I am very proud of the guys and how hard they worked all season; it truly paid off in the tournament.”

Trost said junior guard Talon Valdes had “a spectacular season,” averaging 19.9 points per game and setting a school record for points in a season – 517 points.  Senior captain Gabe Soto also had a great year, averaging 10.2 points per game, he said.

“His leadership on and off the court was instrumental to our success,” Trost said.

“I am very proud of these guys and how they battled all season long,” Trost said of his team.  “This team truly latched on to our mantra of Effort - Attitude – Teamwork; they were excellent in all three of those categories.”

Girls basketball

The Soaring Eagle girls team were the region 5 champs and had a 15-game winning streak heading into the state tournament.,

Following a bye in the first round, the JDCHS team beat Uintah 31-21 in the second-round Feb. 22 in a home game.

“We came away with a tough defensive win from that game,” coach Ashlee McKray said.

On Feb. 27, the Soaring Eagle lost to Green Canyon 61-54 in the quarter-finals at Weber State.

“Our quarterfinal was amazing,” McKray said. “Although we lost in overtime, the girls battled each and every play. That is all I could ask for as a coach, and they left all they had out on the court.

“Two of our seniors, Kiely Rasmussen (who had 17 points, including three three-pointers) and Laulea Tavake (17 points; 14 rebounds, two blocks and two steals) really stepped up that night and had phenomenal games,” she said

“I am going to miss these five seniors, as they are one of the most competitive groups that I have ever coached,” McKray said. “They are resilient, determined, and love each other; such a great combination that made our team hard to beat.”

Swimming

The boys team captured the region championship and broke several Juan Diego school records this season.

At the Feb. 7 -8 state meet at Brigham Young University, the team of William Anderson (senior), Alexander Gustat (senior) and Payton Bouwhuis (junior) took first place in the 200 yard medley relay. In the 200 yard freestyle relay the team of Gustat, Ethan Atzet (sophomore) and Hiva Aitamai (seniors) also came in first.

Gustat came in first in the 100 yard breaststroke and the 100 yard butterfly. In 50 yard freestyle, Aitamai came in third, while Atzet was seventh and Anderson was the eighth swimmer across the finish line. In 100 yard freestyle Atzet was sixth; in 500 yard freestyle Bouwhuis was fourth. In 100 yard backstroke Aitamai was sixth.

In the girls events, the team of Morgan Rutledge (sophomore), Shavaun Carlisle (senior),  Emily Anderson  (freshman),  and Julia  Cunningham (freshman) took sixth in 200 yard freestyle relay. Bea Pascual brought home a seventh place in 100 yard butterfly, while Rutledge came in 11th in 50 yard Freestyle.

Wrestling

The Soaring Eagle had seven wrestlers qualify for the state tournament competing in the boys division; one of them was a girl, Yvette Vargas (freshman, 106 pounds), who also competed in the girls division. The other state qualifiers were 126 pounds Konnor Kegel (junior); 132 pounds Brock Gutierrez (junior); 160 pounds Joe Richardson (senior), 182 pounds Sione Vea (junior); 195 pounds Ashton Macias (junior) and 220 pounds Sam Howells (senior).

At state in girls wrestling, Yvette Vargas placed first in her bracket and Belle Vargas was runner up in hers. In boys wresting, Gutierrez and Richardson both placed sixth.

At the 4A divisional tournament, Richardson was a runner up; Gutierrez and Macias placed fifth; Kegel placed sixth; Howells placed seventh and Yvette Vargas placed eighth.