Catholic high schools wrap up winter sports

Friday, Mar. 10, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — A state championship, a new school record and close finishes were among the highlights of the 2017 sports season for Utah’s Catholic high schools.

Juan Diego CHS

 Juan Diego Catholic High School students excelled in a variety of sports during the 2016-2017 winter season. Their girls basketball team took home first place in the 3A 2017 UHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships, going up 34-32 in the final game against Richfield High School (see story, next page). 

The Juan Diego CHS boys basketball team was a hair’s breadth away from replicating the girls team’s success, advancing all the way to the finals of the 3A 2017 UHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships, where they were defeated by Ridgeline High School 89-63. 

The Juan Diego CHS drill team saw great success at state as well, placing high in all three dance categories at the 3A 2017 UHSAA State Drill Competitions, earning first place in the 3A Kick Competition, fourth in the 3A Dance Completion and third in the 3A Military Competition. These results led to a second place overall finish in the state drill championships.

Finally, both Soaring Eagle swim teams qualified at the state level, with the boys swim team placing fourth overall and the girls placing seventh. 

St. Joseph CHS

St. Joseph Catholic High School’s boys and girls basketball teams both qualified for the 1A UHSAA state championships, but each was knocked out in the quarterfinal games.

On the individual level, Jayhawk Kathleen Tomon received an UHSAA Academic All State award. The award is given to athletes with a 3.999 combined GPA in the 1A division.

“I am very proud of the girls,” said Jayhawks girls basketball coach Shane Reinhard. “They achieved their region goal, won a game at state and were competitive in the state games they lost. They were fun to work with, … hard working and motivated.”

Judge Memorial CHS

Judge Memorial Catholic High School also saw success in the basketball season, as well as several achievements coming from its swim team. 

The 4A 2017 UHSAA Girls Basketball State Championship title barely slipped away from the Bulldogs when the final game against Skyline High School went into overtime, with the final score standing at 60-57 in favor of Skyline.

“We are proud of the effort and energy these girls gave day in and day out, battling through injuries, concussions and other academic demands that were placed upon them this season,” said Brett Allen, JMCHS athletic director. “We will always remember the accomplishments of this team and the smiles they shared to our school and community.”

In the pool at the 4A State Swimming Championships, Bulldog Caroline Yannelli set a school record in the women’s 100 yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 1:07.35, breaking the old school record of 1:07.7.

Seven Judge girls qualified for the state meet, “which was very hard to do in 4A this year,” said Jim Morgan, the team’s coach. “If Judge had been in 3A, we would have had twice as many girls and several boys who would have qualified.”

The Judge swimmers who qualified for state were Yannelli, seniors Heather Boland, Erin Morgan and Victoria Stevens, junior Anna Shum, and sophomores Haley Grandy and Amani Jammoul.

Reaching the podium were Yannelli, fourth in the 100 yard breaststroke and sixth in the 200 yard individual medley; and Amani Jammoul, fifth the 100 yard butterfly.

The team placed eighth overall.