St. Joseph CHS swimmer breaks two records at 2A UHSAA state championship meet

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OGDEN — Taking two first places at your first state swim meet is quite the accomplishment, but for Will Jones, a junior at St. Joseph Catholic High School, it was the culmination of many years of hard work.

Jones, 16, learned to swim when he was 2 and began participating on club teams when he was 8. Despite his prowess as a swimmer, he decided to remain with his club team, Olympus Aquatics, and focus on his studies before taking on swimming as a high school sport. This year he was ready for the dedication required to join the Jayhawks swim team.

At the state meet at Cottonwood Aquatics Feb. 11-12, Jones placed first in two events, the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:43.16 and the 100 Yard Backstroke (51.56). In the 200 Yard Freestyle, he not only dropped a second off his best club swim time, he broke state 2A records in both events.

“I was pretty excited; it was a good experience,” he said of the state competition. “Not having done high school swim before, it was a lot of fun.”

While he has excelled, Jones’ performance has not come without sacrifice, not only his but his family’s. Between the two teams – high school and club – he practices eight to 10 times a week, much of that time at Olympus High School in Holladay. He begins most days with a 5:30 a.m. practice.

“We sacrifice a lot; we drive a lot down to Olympus High School,” said his father Clay Jones, who is also the principal at St. Joseph’s. “My wife and I just decided to sacrifice that for him because he wants to swim in college. He wants to do really well so he has pretty high aspirations for himself, so we do whatever we can to help him achieve that.”

As both a father and a principal, Clay Jones is very proud of his son’s efforts, which have been an inspiration to those around him, he said.

Tim Boothe, the coach of both the St. Joseph’s and the Ben Lomond High School swim teams, which practice together, has seen a tremendous difference in the other swimmers since Will Jones joined them, he said.

“He has been one of the best things that has ever happened to the program because he has come in and he has created a whole new excitement about swimming,” Boothe said. “He has just brought on a whole new excitement to both teams that I haven’t seen in the seven years I’ve been a coach.”

Jones’ example has rubbed off on the other swimmers, he said.

“As he came in and swam when he was in our practices, I saw the other members of the team watch him and try to figure out what they could do to assimilate what he does into their techniques, their strokes and everything they do,” Boothe said. “That actually helped the entire team grow in unity, in speed. The progress that both groups have taken just with him being on the team has been phenomenal.”

Boothe said he is “ecstatic” about Jones’ performance at the state meet.

“He did an amazing job,” he said. “Just to see how hard he pushed himself and the dedication he’s put in in improving every single tiny swim is so neat to watch.”

Along with his victories at state, Jones set a record in the 100 Yard Backstroke in a recent meet, Boothe said.

Jones also participated in two relay events with his teammates. The Jayhawks finished in 16th place in the medley relay. It was the first time the boys’ team had qualified for state relay competition. In the freestyle relay while the Jayhawks did not place, they dropped three seconds off their previous best time and set a school record.

“He was the driving force and the captain of the relay team,” said Boothe, adding that Jones’ work ethic and commitment to the sport have been an inspiration to both high school teams, and is looking forward to seeing what he will do next year.