December 18, 2006
2nd Annual Judge Holiday Classic Invitational
The Women
FESTIVE DOGS BREEZE AT HOLIDAY CLASSIC Bulldogs Swim Away to Victory By Larry Kozlowski, Salt Lake Herald-Beacon
SUGARHOUSE˜Though on the surface there may have appeared to be some tense moments for the Judge Memorial women's squad after the conclusion of Friday night's events at the 2nd Annual Judge Memorial Holiday Classic, team captain Rebecca Kestle swears the team was as loose as its been all season. That's because the team was down a mere 2 points to the Timpview Tigers after the conclusion of the 50 freestyle. Kestle and her teammates knew the worst was behind them, seeing as how Timpview's power is usually dealt by dispensing its sheer speed on the first day of the meet˜the 200 free, 200 I.M. and 50 free, not to mention their formidable 200 medley relay. But time and time again, Judge answered the call, using it's depth in those events to stay virtually even.
In front of a raucous capacity home crowd for the first time all season, the Scarlet Heroes of Yore came up big on Saturday, eventually outdistancing powerhouse Timpview by more than 50 points (396-340), as well as demolishing east bench neighbor and rival East by nearly 150 points in winning their second straight Holiday Classic title. They also kept their season-long Invitational streak alive by winning every Invite meet they've attended (the streak actually goes back to 2002).
"As a team, we knew if we stayed close we had 'em right where we wanted them," Kestle said later. "Friday was so key for us, but we knew Saturday housed our strongest events. If we did what we were expected to do, we knew we had as good a chance to win this one as anyone."
That may be due in part, to the fact that virtually no team can match Judge pound for pound when it comes to the 100 fly, 500 free and 100 breast, where the squad has ample speed and depth throughout. Even then, Timpview, who is the defending 4A Champion and is favored to repeat this season, has its share of fast swimmers in those events. The two teams essentially mirror each other in talent and depth, as was the case when they faced each other back in October in a duel meet, which Timpview won by a mere 4 points. In the end, this dogfight came down to good old fashioned racing. And the Bulldogs were ready.
The Scarlets had a bevy of explosive swims one after another; from sprint queen Kaitlyn Kelley's harrowing 100 free (59.84, third place) to spiritual leader Colleen Grogan's tenacious 500 free (5:51.26, 6th). The 100 breast˜which was seen as the weakest link for last year's team˜has steadfastly become the strongest for this this year's squad. Alex Carter lead the way with a blazing 1:10.37. Carolyn Carter captured 3rd (1:15.25), while her sister, Kenzie Carter, touched 4th (1:15.38). Megan Bush (9th, 1:19.50) and Becky Jackson (12th, 1:21.00) rounded out the top 16. It would be the most dominating field of swimmers from one team in any event for the meet.
Perhaps the most electrifying race on the day came from the squad's 200 free relay, which was seeded a modest 4th going into Saturday, but came out smoking. The relay comprised of the rookies, Carolyn and Kenzie Carter, as well as the venerable veterans Kelley and Grogan. Carolyn had a spirited leadoff, clocking in at 27.83 to keep the team within biting distance of the two leaders, Timpview and East. Kelley exploded on the second leg splitting an amazing 26.90, while breezing past the East and Timpview swimmers. That set up Kenzie Carter quite well as she held on to a close race with a 27.10 split. Grogan brought the house down with the fastest split on the day˜for any relay˜by clocking out at 26.16, a phenomenal swim for someone who's supposedly a "distance swimmer". Judge took 2.7 seconds off their previous best for the season, touching in at 1:47.99. Timpview was so shellshocked by the turn of events that they ended up touching third, behind East.
"I could just feel the energy of the crowd in that situation and I just went," a smiling Grogan said. "It was awesome to win that race. After that, we were so pumped. It was like we knew we were going to win the meet. An awesome, awesome race."
At the time, the Tigers had swept every relay versus Judge this season, dating back to the first meet of the season in Logan, as well as the duel in Provo. So naturally, the victory made this one all the more sweeter for the team. All that remained was finishing out the 100 back, where Kestle took 2nd in a lifetime best 1:05.78. Savvy senior Beth Peterson placed 10th (1:11.66), while rookie Victoria Luman (13th 1:12.65) and Liz Holloway (17th 1:15.08) finished out the top 18. All the backstrokers achieved either life time or season best swims. After Judge dominated the breast stroke races, that essentially finished off any chance Timpview had of snagging away with a victory.
In all, it was a huge win for the Bulldogs as they measured their prowess against 4A's very best. "This was playoff atmosphere right here," claimed team captain Kelsey Elizondo, who set the tone early by claiming Judge's first win for the meet (200 free, 2:01.77). "Timpview and East tend to bring out the best in us and we were ready. But we're not finished yet; not by a long shot. There's still a lot of work to do. We want to sweep the relays at State, so we'll be working on that to be sure."
Any wonder how this squad keeps its winning tradition alive?
The Men
FUTURE LOOKS CLASSIC Judge Memorial Shaping Up Nicely By Larry Kozlowski, Salt Lake Herald-Beacon
SUGARHOUSE˜This may not be "vintage Judge Memorial Boys Swimming" if you were to base it on the last few very successful seasons, but from the looks of it, this young squad is shaping up to be something to reckon with in the future. The rebuilding effort appears to be on solid footing.
The boys fought, clawed and scratched to a seventh place finish against a formidable field of teams that will be playing huge rolls in their respective State Championship quests, including Bingham, Springville and East. Even more intriguing is the fact that Judge finished a mere 37 points behind 3A counterpart Wasatch (5th place overall), a team nearly twice its size.
Things started off swimmingly when the 200 medley team of Willis Schafer, Will Voytovich, Pat Grogan and Will Bowers bettered the previous season best time by 3 seconds (2:02.15). Then, junior star and team captain Chris Gibbs swam to a 4th place finish, going 1:55.13, with freestyler cohort Eric White touching in at a lifetime best 2:04.24, good for 12th. What's more, rookies Emerson Eshleman and Thomas Hanlon showed spark by bettered their times by 6 seconds and 20 seconds, respectively, an astounding feat in a sport that measures most improvements in tenths of seconds.
Understandably, the squad was fired up by the barrage of good swimming. Gibbs, for one, was very impressed. "Who knows, when all is said and done, we might have a couple more kids in the two (hundred free) at State if the improvements keep coming. We'll need them."
The 200 I.M. was nearly as encouraging as rookie superstar Oliver Diamond continued to impress Judge fans everywhere. He finished 7th in the medley, bettering his time by over a second in the process.
There are still some huge holes to fill, namely the fly and breast events, but even then, there were some inroads made as Eshleman bettered his fly time (1:17.23, 24th place) by over a second and senior "morning guy" Tyler Firmage stroked to a 3 second improvement by going 1:17.02 in the breast.
But in the events where Judge appears to be shoring up their depth, it might be rather surprising to teams seeking to pummel a young, vulnerable squad that this young team of speedsters can hold its own. In the 100 free, for instance, Judge actually outscored every team entered in the meet, placing 2nd (Gibbs, 52.25), 4th (Diamond, 53.13) and 15th (rookie Harrison Carter, 57.65). Junior newcomer Kelly Gee was also on the move, swimming to a lifetime best 1:01.64.
The 500 free is another event that has been creating some buzz and astounding the Faithful. White swam to a season best 5:31.27, which placed him 8th; that was to be expected given his record in the event. But what got people in the stands and on the pool deck excited was the rookie pair of Will Voytovich and Hanlon, who made huge strides in the race. Voytovich swam to a 6:07.55, wiping away nearly 25 seconds from his previous best time, swum a mere week and a half prior. The finish was good enough to put points on the board for Judge as he got 14th overall. Hanlon was right behind, placing 15th (and also earning points), going 6:19.72, a lifetime best by over 10 seconds.
The relays looked solid as the 200 free relay of Gibbs, Diamond, Carter and White finished 6th and bested their previous time by two tenths. The 400 free relay, comprised of the same four, was even better as they placed 5th, lopping nearly 3 seconds off their season best time.
"It's starting to come together for us," Diamond reasoned as he stood before a swath of reporters in the press room. "We're beginning to gel. We're definitely looking at wanting to go Top 5 at State so we have our work cut out for us. Hopefully we'll all just keep improving and do it. It's been fun so far."
The coaching staff figures if they can plug some of the holes with more unexpected swims from the youngsters, then this group will be a strong presence for many years to come.
Larry Kozlowski is a world renowned sportswriter for the Salt Lake Herald-Beacon. His latest novel, "Firmage Boys: Bedhead Blues; the Life and Times of Fine Young Men Who Can't Seem to Get Themselves Up Very Early", has sold three books. Look for it at Stop Shop Gas Stations everywhere!