Catholic sports teams dominate the competition

Courtesy photo/Troy Davis

+ Enlarge

The Juan Diego baseball team won its third consecutive 3A State Championship and coach Troy Davis said, "Our defense and pitching were the keys to our championship."

SALT LAKE CITY — State championship titles were earned by all three Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Salt Lake City during the 2010-2011 school year.

Both the Juan Diego Catholic High School football and baseball teams won their third consecutive state championships, while the Soaring Eagle girls’ soccer team won its second consecutive state championship.

Saint Joseph Catholic High School won state championships in girls’ soccer, boys’ cross country, and boys’ golf and its fourth consecutive girls’ cross country title.

Judge Memorial Catholic High School freshman Amelia Wolfgramm earned two individual state titles and set a new 3A state record while anchoring the Bulldog 400-yard relay team that claimed the third straight state title since 2009 and the eighth title in nine years. Wolfgramm was named the 3A Most Outstanding Girls’ Swimmer.

"Amelia broke not just a 3A state record in the 100-yard backstroke, but the state record in any classification," said swim coach Matt Finnigan. "She won a state title in the 100-yard freestyle and set the record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.11."

Judge Memorial’s accomplishments also include a second-place state finish in boys’ lacrosse. The boys’ tennis team finished in the top five, girls’ golf finished as region champions and third in the state; and boys’ golf finished third in the state.

St. Joseph Catholic High School

St. Joseph athletes had a great year, said Alex Salvo, athletic director and girls’ soccer coach. "We also had two second-place state championships in girls’ track and boys’ soccer," he said. "This year the girls had a perfect season with 17 wins and one tie. We were undefeated in Region 17 and the girls scored a combination of 122 goals with only four goals scored against them."

Salvo said the secret to their success was the commitment and dedication of his team. "They know we don’t have the luxury of the bigger high schools, where students can play only one sport. Most of our students play two or three sports and that helps them stay organized and excel in everything they do, including academics."

The St. Joseph girls cross country team won its fourth straight cross country championship. "The seniors are really a golden team because they were state champions all four years," said Lisa Reed, the girls cross country and track coach, who will retire after 22 years. Reed started her career at St. Joseph in 1989 with track and the next year started coaching cross country.

"It’s been a fun ride," she said, adding she wouldn’t trade it for anything. "It’s emotional that I’m leaving, but I will continue to support the teams.

"We’re losing seniors, but we have a good base of students who will return next year. At the state championship meet, senior Alex Shaw placed second in state overall, sophomore Lyna Garcia fourth place overall, senior Andrea Chavez fifth overall, junior Emily Brandt eighth overall and senior Nelida Navarro 10th place overall. These girls also are All-State champions."

The St. Joseph track team took second place at state, losing by 2.5 points, or they would have won four straight championships as well.

St. Joseph boys cross country coach Javier Chavez said he is proud of his team. "I told them this would be my last year and they didn’t like that. So I said if they worked hard and took first place, I would coach another year. They started preparing in the summer and when school started, they ran every morning at 6 a.m. I am very proud of senior Daniel Philpot, who has been a leader the past few years and received a scholarship to St. John’s University. We have won eight first-place championships since 2000."

Andrea Chavez and Alex Shaw received scholarships to run at the University of Utah, and Michelle Howe received a scholarship to run track at the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota.

"We’re really proud of Andrea," said Chavez. "She set a state, region and school record in the 800 meter. She took first place in the 400 meter, 800 meter and on the 4 x 400 meter relay that placed first. Alex Shaw was also on the 4 x 400 meter team and took first in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter."

St. Joseph’s boys’ golf team also excelled to a 1A state title. "The team won all five season matches," said Lou Eddy, head golf coach. "They play Intermountain Christian, Salt Lake Lutheran, Christian Heritage, and had four-way matches at different golf courses. They won the region championship at Rose Park, and the State 1A two-day tournament in Moab. After the first day we had a two-stroke lead after shooting our worst round all year in the wind, rain, and in delayed play. That evening we went through our score cards hole by hole, to see how we could improve. We decided not to hit our driver off the tee as much, hit more irons and try to keep the ball in play, and we ended up winning the tournament by 27 strokes. Jared Kenny placed third in state, Colton Murphy placed sixth and senior Robert Puskedra placed 12th, and all three made First Team All-State."

Juan Diego Catholic High School

"The 2010-2011 school year was a banner year for Juan Diego athletics," said Chris Long, athletic director. Both the football and baseball teams won their third consecutive state championships, while the girls’ soccer team won its second consecutive state championship. The volleyball team and the boys’ soccer team were both state runners-up. Football, girls’ soccer, baseball, softball, boys’ soccer, and girls’ swimming all won their respective region championships. The all-state teams for spring sports have not been announced yet, but thus far this year Juan Diego boasts 21 All-Region athletes and 12 All-State athletes. In addition, 17 Juan Diego athletes have been named Academic All-Region, and five have been named Academic All-State. These scholar-athletes are Sydney Hieber in girls’ soccer, Natalie McMullen in girls’ tennis, Augustus Schwab in boys’ tennis, and Maranda Labrecht in both girls’ tennis and softball."

Juan Diego boys’ baseball team won the state championship guided by a team effort, said Troy Davis, baseball coach. "Injuries came into play, but someone always stepped up to fill the gap. Our core senior group played solid and our middle infielders have been praised as being the best shortstop/2nd base combo in the state with team captains Kody Davis and Yuto Kata. Their leadership played a big role. Davis will play baseball for the University of Utah, while Kata will play at Dixie State University."

Davis said Ryan Taylor had an 11-0 pitching record and was key on offense as well. Jordan Fruedenberger pitched in the semi-final game and led the team to the finals. "Drew Madsen was a solid catcher all season and was key in hitting as well," said Davis. "I felt confident our team was prepared and it showed during the final tournament."

The Juan Diego girls’ soccer team claimed their second straight title. Simon McFall took over the team in 2010. "I feel fortunate to step into a very successful program," said McFall. "They were talented soccer players led by exceptional seniors and supported by young players. We started off the season 1-5, and then won 15 straight."

Judge Memorial Catholic High School

"Overall we had a good year," said Dan Quinn, Judge Memorial athletic coach. "We also had individual state champions in Seamus Appel in boys’ swimming, Chloe Ropener in girls’ tennis, Demar Walker in track and field and she set a new school record in the long jump at 17 feet 11.5 inches, Amelia Wolfgramm is the state record holder in the 100-yard backstroke."

The Bulldogs had five new coaches this year, including Dan Del Porto, who took the head boys’ basketball coaching position from long-time Coach Jim Yerkovich and let the team to the state semi-finals.

"Ron Hill took over for baseball and Paul Lovato took over in girls’ softball, which was a challenging job," said Dan Quinn, Judge Memorial athletic director. "It’s a program that needs to be rebuilt and he has done a great job getting the kids to stay positive. Jonathan Hsu did a phenomenal job in tennis this year. He was timid to take it over, but he and David May have done a great job rebuilding the program. They were the region champions. Overall the coaches are very dedicated and motivated."