Utah Catholic high school fall sports wrap up

Courtesy photo/Judge Memorial CHS

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The Bulldogs golf team took second in the state tournament.

SALT LAKE CITY — As the fall sports season wrapped up in recent weeks, all three Utah Catholic high schools had showings at state tournaments in various sports.

Juan Diego Catholic High School

Tennis

Three Soaring Eagle girls tennis players made it to the state tournament this year.

“That was quite an accomplishment; just Valeria Ricco went to state last year,” coach Marisa Smith said.

Second singles sophomore Valeria Ricco defeated Mountain Crest’s Alli Schroder 6-4, 6-1 in the first round at state. In the second round, she lost to eventual state winner Desert Hills’ Mackenzie Telford.

“She has such a fighting spirit,” Smith said of Ricco. “She kept going out there and trying new things.”

The other two players who qualified for the state tournament, first singles Ana Ricco and third singles Brook Small, were defeated in the first round. Both girls are juniors.

Ana Ricco lost to Green Canyon’s Alli Phillips.

“Ana worked really hard to get there; I’m very proud of her. She really applied herself,” Smith said, adding that Ricco really gave Phillips “a run for her money.”

Small was defeated by Dixie’s Brynlee Cardall.

“She persevered and just kept trying and trying,” Smith said. “She is really strong.”

Breanna Quigley received the Academic All-State award from Utah High School Activities Association.

Volleyball

The girls volleyball team made it to the quarter-finals at state with a bye in the first round and beating Bear River 3-1 in the second round. In the quarter-finals, they fell to Desert Hills 3-1. In the single loss semis, the Soaring Eagle team was defeated by Stansbury.

Juan Diego finished the season 17-7 overall and 9-3 in region.

The team had a goal to win at region and state, coach Sam Vaitai said. Although they did not achieve that goal, they played most of the season as the #1 ranked team and entered the state tournament seeded #1.

C.J. Carter and Annie Sokolow were two of best outside hitters Vaitai has seen, he said.

Sokolow received an Academic All-State award from the UHSAA.

Soccer

For the second year in a row, the girls soccer team made it to state but was eliminated in the first round, this time by Crimson Cliffs in a 1-1 game that was determined after the game in a shootout. Crimson Cliffs won the shootout 4-3.

The Soaring Eagle finished the season 6-11 overall and 4-8 in region.

First-year JDCHS coach Joe Baca said he was very pleased with the girls’ performance.

“Coming into the season they had a new coaching staff and a new system they had to figure out,” he said, explaining that the new system was necessary because in previous seasons the team’s strategy was built around players who graduated last year.

“We were coming in with a form of play that’s a little more possessive,” he said. “The girls had to work really hard at practice to learn this training system and game play.”

The future for the team looks bright, he said.

Jeannette Dimpel received the Academic All-State award from the UHSAA.

Football

The Soaring Eagle football team began state play on a high note, defeating Delta 42-7 in the first round Oct. 25 at home. However, they lost 33-9 to #1 seeded North Sanpete in the quarter-finals at North Sanpete Nov. 1.

Juan Diego had an overall 6-6 record and came in third in region.

Even though the team was “a little inexperienced, it was a good year; we had great kids,” coach John Colosimo said. “Every game was a tough, hard-fought game. I’m very proud of the boys; they all worked hard and were very engaged.”

Captain and senior Konnor Kaczka was outstanding both in play and leadership, Colosimo said. “He has developed over the last four years to end up having a fine senior season.”

Jackson Butler sustained an injury early in the season, “but he is an incredible leader and a hardworking kid,” Colosimo said.

Butler received an Academic All-State award.

Colosimo described Cartur Gray, who filled in at many different positions, as “quite the talent on the football team.”

Captain Xavier Carlton, who was new to Juan Diego this year, also is a great leader, Colosimo said.

“The fact that the kids voted him as captain when he was so new was remarkable,” he said. “That young man is going to have a chance to play in college.”

St. Joseph Catholic High School

Soccer

After coming in third in region, the Lady Jayhawks soccer team beat Utah Military Academy-Hillfield 7-0 in the first round of the state tournament Oct. 16 at home. In the quarter-finals, they fell to Millard 5-3.

 The Jayhawks finished the season 8-6 overall and 5-3 in region.

“The season was very productive,” coach Steve Van Wagoner said. With a young team, it was a re-building year, he said. “It’s going to be exciting to see them continue and develop as part of the St. Joseph family.”

Senior and team captain Katie Sugiyama led the Jayhawk defense and helped them achieve six shut-outs; co-captain Sam Munson, a sophomore, was voted Team MVP by the other players.

Tennis

The girls tennis team finished 3-5 in region, with three players, senior Abby Francl, sophomore Jacquelyn Arlofski and freshman Reilly Hurst, advancing to the state tournament Oct. 11 at Liberty Park.

There, in first singles Francl defeated Richfield’s Sarah Utley, the #1 seed in Region 12, in the first round. In the second round she lost to Manti’s Sadie Cox, who finished second in the tournament.  

In second doubles, Arlofski and Hurst made it to the first round of state play but were defeated by Richfield’s Karsyn Harris and Aubrei Jorgensen (Region 12 #1 seeded duo), who finished second in the tournament.

“For two first-year players to make it to state is kind of unusual,” Griffinhagen said of Arlofski and Hurst. “Overall, it was a pretty successful season.”

Volleyball

At state, St. Joseph volleyball defeated Utah Military Academy-Hillfield 3-0 in the first round at home. They followed that up with a 3-0 win over American Heritage in the consolation tournament but then lost to Duchesne in the consolation semi-finals Nov. 2 at Utah Valley University.

 “They did really good considering they were a very inexperienced team; we had just two returning varsity players,” coach Cindy White said. “It was fun to see them come together as a team.”

Co-captains Katy Hurst and Shalie Bonneau were named to the all-region team. Hurst led the team in hitting percentages and blocks, while Bonneau led the team in digs.

The Jayhawks finished the season 13-14 overall and 7-5 in region play. White said she is excited for next year’s season now that the team has returning varsity experience.

Hurst and Abigail Belko received the UHSAA Academic All-State Award.

Cross Country

At the 2019 Utah UHSAA State Cross Country Championships at Sugarhouse Park on Oct. 23, St. Joseph senior Olivia Arbogast came in 11th, with freshman Regan Belko finishing 13th and freshman Kathryn Van Wagoner 27th, out of a field of 68 runners.

At region, Belko took first place, Van Wagoner finished second and Arbogast finished fourth.

“Regan and Kathryn had a great first year, winning medals in quite a few invitationals,” coach Joe Loffredo said. “Olivia got a late start but finished strong at the state race.”

Arbogast received the Academic All-State Award from the Utah High School Activities Association.

Golf  

The Jayhawks boys golf team placed sixth out of 12 teams at the state tournament at Rose Park Golf Course Sept. 25-26 with a combined score of 737. Six Jayhawks made it to state: junior CJ Kierejewski, sophomores Cannon Randall and Ian Dirks, and freshmen Josh Ortiz, Will Jones and Fernando Ruiz.

Judge Memorial Catholic High School

Two Bulldogs teams made it to the state finals in their respective sports.

Soccer

The girls soccer team advanced all the way to the Oct. 26 championship game at Rio Tinto Stadium, only to be defeated by Manti in overtime by a score of 1-0. While it was a tough break for the Bulldogs, who had played in the state finals the last two years, coach Scott Platz said he was proud of his team.

“They played pretty well,” he said. “We had tremendous leadership from  the seniors; they are awesome people and I can’t say enough about them.”

On their way to that final match, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Grand County 8-0 in the second round of state play and Emery 8-0 in the quarterfinals. They beat Morgan 3-1 in the Oct. 24 semifinal game at Juan Diego. The team had previously lost to Morgan, their 2018 state opponents, twice in the season but came out strong in the semifinal game.

“We made some changes that worked like a charm; they were definitely the better team on that day,” Platz said. “I was proud of our girls; after losing twice to the same team we had played in the finals last year, they were very-well prepared and focused.”

Captain and senior Sophie Ewing, who had 12 goals and 12 assists on the season, is “an amazing soccer player,” Platz said. “She was a driving force on the team.”

Madi Tartaro also had a great year, with 19 goals and 21 assists; while Caeli Sherman led the team in scoring with 29 goals and 14 assists.

“She was our most dangerous player and made a lot of good stuff happen,” Platz said.

On defense, freshmen Bridget Hankins and Lanee Farr were “a revelation,” Platz said.

With most of his current players returning and good prospects coming in, Platz is confident 2020 will be a good year for the Lady Bulldogs.

“We’re going to go back after it,” he said referring to a state title. “One of these days we’re going to get it done.”

Golf

The Bulldogs boys golf team dominated the whole season, coach Nate Olsen said. In region play, they went up against Morgan, the eventual state champion, beating them the first time and tying with them the second.

Judge went on to take the region championship. In the state tournament, held Sept. 25-26 at Rose Park Golf Course, they came in second, just 21 strokes behind Morgan.

Senior and captain Graham Hodell posted the second-best score of the tournament at 152 and was named 1st team all-state for the second year in a row.  

Junior Nico Smith came in sixth with a score of 152.

“Nico has one of the most competitive drives I’ve ever seen from a golfer,” Olsen said. “He came right out of the chute and won the first region tour.”

Smith was named to the first team all-state, along with senior Sam Gaskill.

Gaskill, who was co-captain, was the best mentor on the team, Olsen said. Other members of the team were senior Riley Bouillon and juniors Nicholas Falkner and Sam Butcher.

Tennis

In girls tennis, Judge Memorial was undefeated in region. At the state tournament Oct. 11 and 12 at Liberty Park, the Lady Bulldogs tied for second with Waterford, nine points behind the champion Morgan team.

 This was Judge’s second consecutive loss to Morgan at state.

 “The girls worked really hard and I feel like they overachieved on this season,” coach Tracey Valentine said. “There was a lot of moving in the development squad; they stepped up and I’m just really proud of them.

Third singles player senior Aria Handlon advanced  to the Oct. 12 state final match, but was defeated by Morgan’s Erin Bartol.

“Aria was just so steady all season long,” Olsen said.  

Handlon was named team MVP by the other players.

At state in first singles, senior Olivia Anderson beat North Sanpete’s Nakiah Taylor in the first round 6-3,6-0 but lost to Juab’s Jessie Bills in the second round.  

In second singles senior Hannah Goss made it to the semifinals but was defeated by Waterford’s Paige Smaligo in that match.

“She was just super steady; she just gave it everything she had,” Olsen said.

In first doubles at state senior Alysa Gribben and sophomore Isabella Valles made it to the semifinals but were defeated by a Gunnison duo.

“They ran into a tough team from Gunnison but they gave it their best shot,” Olsen said.

Second doubles seniors Christina Valentine and Emma Wills were defeated by a Juab doubles partnership in the first round of state play.

Valles will be the only returning player next year and will be the team captain.

The Judge girls tennis coaching staff — Valentine, Christie Brightwell and Karl Ward — were named the UHSAA 2019 girls tennis coaches of year.

Seunga Han, Christina Valentine and Megan McCoy all received Academic All-State awards.

Cross Country

In cross country, Judge’s girls team placed fourth overall at the 2019 UHSAA state championship meet at Sugar House Park, Oct. 23. The boys team came in sixth overall. Both teams took second in Region 13.

Individually, Maddie Bossarte, who won the region championship, finished fourth and Madi Tartaro, who came second in region, took 10th out of a field of 72 runners.

Sophomores Anna Macklin and Clair Hill also had good races at the state meet, Coach Jason Heideman said.

In the boys race, Porter Hill came in seventh while Zach Petrogeorge took 24th out of a field of 79 runners. At region, Hill took third while Petrogeorge came in at seventh and Jace Holmes at eighth.

“This was a really good year for us just because it was the first year in a long time that both the boys and girls teams were doing really well; it was a combination of both,” Heideman said. “We were one of the top programs in the state; it’s been a fun year.”

Heideman has high hopes for next season. Macklin and Hill are “up-and-comers,” while sophomore Joey Craddock is a runner to watch, he said.

Volleyball

At the state tournament, the Lady Bulldog volleyball team had a bye in the first round but lost to South Summit 3-0 in the second round, held Oct. 29 at South Summit. In the first round of the consolation bracket, the Bulldogs beat Summit Academy 3-0. They followed this by defeating Grantsville 3-1 in the semis, then went on to outplay South Sevier 11-8 in the 6th/8th place match on Oct. 30.

The team finished the season 13-16 overall and 6-5 in region.

Coach Taylor Gustafson was thrilled with the season.

“This is the highest that we’ve made since 2013, when I was actually playing for Judge my senior year,” she said. “This was much better than last season; everyone just grew exponentially.”

Standout players were team captains Marley Rosello, junior, and Emily Malouf, senior, Gustafson said.

Senior setter Cora Hill also had a great year, Gustafson said.

“She did a lot of damage for us; she was really awesome and a great leader,” she said.