Utah Catholic high school winter sports wrap up

Courtesy photo/JDCHS

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The Juan Diego CHS hockey team pulled off a winning season with just 10 players.

SALT LAKE CITY — The 2024-25 winter sports season was a mixed bag for Utah Catholic high schools. Some teams soared – both Judge Memorial CHS swim teams took state titles and St. Joseph CHS swimmer Gabe Jones broke state records (see the Feb. 21 “Intermountain Catholic” for stories) – but others struggled.

Juan Diego CHS

Hockey

Despite having only 10 players, the Juan Diego hockey team finished third in the state with an 11-5-1 record. After a strong season, the Soaring Eagle team lost to Brighton 4-3 in the state semifinal game on Feb. 26.

‘I’m very proud of what we accomplished,” said coach Maurice van der Sluys, who is retiring after 16 years with Juan Diego Hockey. “For what they did with just only 10 players and how they brought things together was like a team I’ve not seen in those 16 years.”

Wyatt Hannah, the team’s captain and MVP, seems to be the all-time goal scorer in Utah high school hockey, “back as far as I can go – 1965,” van der Sluys said.

In addition Jake O’Dell, who was named Defenseman of the Year for the second year in a row, was the leading scorer in Utah high school hockey with 50 goals.

Assistant coach Matt Alter will take over the team next season.

Girls Basketball

The Soaring Eagle girls finished third in region with a 4-4 score. They beat Providence Hall 53-31 at home in the first round of state play but lost to Canyon View 64-38 in the second round Feb. 14 at Canyon View.

Boys Basketball

The Soaring Eagle boys took first in region, finishing 12-0. After a bye in the first round of state play, they lost to Brighton 69-60 in the second round at home on Feb. 24.

Judge Memorial CHS

Girls Basketball

The Judge girls basketball team came in first in region, finishing 8-0. After a first-round bye at state they beat Layton Christian Academy 53-36 at home. In the Feb. 24 quarterfinals they were defeated by Grantsville 56-47 at Grantsville. In consolation play they defeated Morgan 41-29 before falling to Juab 53-44.

Boys Basketball

The Bulldogs took second in region, finishing 4-2. In state 3A play, after a first-round bye they defeated Delta 54 to 38 in the second round on Feb. 15 at home. They then beat Canyon View 62-59 on Feb. 24 in the quarterfinals at Utah Valley University. In the semifinals, they lost to the Richfield Wildcats 56-43.

“It was rough timing for us to not really be able to make some shots,” coach Sanjin Kolovrat said. “I think Richfield did a really, really good job of game planning for us and stopping the things that we like to do. Unfortunately, some shots didn’t drop for us on the other end and a lot of credit to Richfield, they just had a little bit more go their way, and planned really, really well and executed their stuff.”

Kolovrat is proud of his team’s third-place finish this season, he said. “Obviously, we would love to have been a little healthier and finished a little stronger. But all things considered, I’m real, real proud of our guys for the year they had.”

Kolovrat praised the contributions of the team’s seniors: Chance Voorhees, Longar Alor, Majak Deng, Deng Deng and JJ Apathjang.

“We had five terrific seniors this year,” he said. “One of them will be most likely attending the honors college at the University of Utah, Chance Voorhees. The other four seniors are going to be playing college basketball, which is something that we’re really excited about.”

Apathjang has committed to play basketball at Northern Kentucky; the other three have not decided which college offer they will accept, he said.

St. Joseph CHS

Girls Basketball

The Jayhawks finished second in region with a 9-2 score. They beat Freedom Prep Academy 65-11 in the first round of state play Feb. 11 at home. In the Feb. 14 second round at home, they defeated American Heritage 55-29. In the quarterfinals Feb. 20 at the Sevier Valley Center, Snow College, they lost to North Summit 61-25, finishing 16-7 overall.

Boys Basketball

The St. Joseph boys basketball team placed sixth in region. In the state competition, they lost in the first round to San Juan 68-43, finishing the season 6-18 overall.