OCR Text |
Show AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN Thursday, February 9, 2006 Page 6 COMMUNITY SPORTS, PEOPLE AND Depth will be the key at Jared Lloyd In most sports, first place is the most important position. It's said that second place only meuns you're the first loser. Utah Valley high school swimmers swim-mers better not be listening. The Region 7 teams will start swimming later today as the 5A state championships get underway under-way at I3YU. "This is the time to fine-tune everything," lne Peak head Olsen Dean Von Memmott As he stood poised for his semifinal match against Lone Peak's 1 ay lor Van Leeuwen, American Fork's Paul Olsen knew what was riding on the contest: lu.s best chance as a prep wrestler to go to state. A loss to Van Leeuwen would put him in the consolation bracket and make thf road to the tournament tour-nament a lot tougher. The ensuing match turned out to be a tight contest all the way through. Olsen scored first on a takedown, but Van Leeuwen countered with a tying reversal. The Knight went on to tie the match at 3-3 and 5-5. Once Olsen broke the 5-5 tie on a reversal, he fought his way to a 10-5 win that set him up for a showdown with Pleasant Grove's Mitch Sanderson lor the Region 4 weight class title at 171. Though Sanderson did defeat Olsen in their championship match, the Caveman still fulfilled his goal of a state tournament berth. Last season, he finished fourth at state, not Ux bad when considering that he had taken a season off from wrestling. "He wrestled for as in ninth grade, but for his sophomore year, he didn't come out for the team," said American Fork wrestling wres-tling coach Tim Pontious. "When lie wrestled for as as a freshman, he weighed only 119 pounds." "To get to the weight that I'm at, I hit the weights and grew muscles," OLsen said. "For my junior year, I wrestled at KiO pounds. For this year, I chose to wrestle at 171, tecause there are better wrestlers at this weight." The son f Randy and Tonya OLsen, lie hails from St. Louis, Mo. The senior said, "We moved out here when I was in ninth grade. I adjusted to the culture out here in a short time. I liked the people out here. I still go back to St. Louis to see old acquaintances." ac-quaintances." While he is the oldest of three boys in his family, Olsen is the second oldest of the four Olsen children. His sister, Jessica, is the oldest. "Jessica comes out to my matches and supports me," Olsen Ol-sen noted. Olsen is also a contributor to the Cavemen's football and track programs. The senior said, "In football, 1 was both a kicker and a quarterback. quar-terback. For my junior year, I was a kicker and a backup quarterback." That season, he said he learned lessons in confidence and leadership from first -string quarterback Andy Devey, "By example, he taught me Caveman Beky Beaton NORTH COUNTY The American Fork wrestling wres-tling team finished fifth in Thursday's Region 4 meet at , Lone Peak, qualifying seven ' Cavemen in the process for this week's 5A state tournament at UVSC. Leading the way was Kyle Ballantyne, who won the region re-gion championship in the 112 weight class with an 8-4 decision deci-sion over Marc Maughan of Spanish Fork. Ballantyne scored on a reversal rever-sal in the first period to take a 2-1 lead, and neither wrestler made a point in the second round. In the third, his opponent could only answer his takedowns take-downs with escapes, so he hung on to earn the crown and post a 32-5 record for the season. coach Wane Jarvis said. "We're going to make sure our strokes are perfect and work on the little things like starts and turns. Hopefully we'll be rested and physically prepared for the meet." The Knights head into state as the Region 4 champions in both boys and girls. At the region re-gion meet, that took place at the American Fork Fitness Center on Jan. 27 and 28, Lone Peak won by large margins. "We were expecting to win," Jarvis said. "The only surprise heading tack American Fork's Paul Olsen, left, wrestles Lone Peak's Taylor Van Leeuwen at the Region 4 wrestling on Feb. 2. Below, Osen is pictured prior to one of his matches at the Region 4 meet. about staying relaxed under pressure and having to work lor my positions," Olsen said. After having spent a season away from wrestling, OLsen said, "I was in football shape, but not wrestling shape. I had to get back into the mechanics of being a good wrestler. You get better as the season progresses. I gained more confidence as my junior season progressed." After that season ended, Olsen Ol-sen joined the Cavemen's track program, and he was a member of the American Fork boys' 400-meter relay team. "We didn't place at state (last year) because of a handof f of the baton between our first two guys," Olsen said. OLsen has medaled in three weekend tournaments this year. He said, "I took first in the Bobcat Brawl at Sky View. I also placed second at Northridge and American Fork. I didn't place at Viewmont. It's the toughest tournament tour-nament in the state." OLsen presently has no plans for wrestling in college. He said, "I'm planning to play football at either Snow or BYU this fall." Even so, he did have sound advice for the underclassmen on his team: "Just wrestle with toughness and pride," he said. wrestlers finish fifth at region, qualify seven rewind In the 171 bracket, American Ameri-can Fork's Paul Olsen was able to do something that very few others had managed this season last a full match with nationally -ranked Viking Mitch Sanderson. Olsen trailed by just three after the first round, but Sanderson Sand-erson went on to win by major decision and the Caveman had to settle for second place and a 30-8 mark on the year. Paul Smith finished third in the 145 weight class by shutting out Mountain View in the placement game 54 after defeating the same wrestler in the first round 9-5. Kyle's younger brother, Justin Jus-tin Ballantyne, finished fourth OUTDOOR FUN 5A state swimming championships was the size of the gap between first and second place. We had excellent swimming and excellent excel-lent support. We had a lot of best times and it was a big team effort." Jarvis pointed to the boys that took all three places in the 100-yard freestyle as one of the top accomplishments for the meet. Now Lone Peak has its sights set on a strong finish in the tough 5A ranks. Jarvis said Skyline, Brighton and Kearns are the powers in the classifica in the 103 bracket and will advance to the playoffs. He defeated wrestlers from Lone Peak and Pleasant Grove in the region meet. Jordan Houghton at 140 triumphed tri-umphed in a 5-2 decision over first -round opponent Lone Peak and beat Spanish Fork to reach the placement game. He also came in fourth. In the 152 bracket, Jon Wagner Wag-ner lost to Pleasant Grove in the first round but went on to post pins over Spanish Fork and Lone Peak before finishing fourth. Mitch Day won a major decision deci-sion 11-1 over Spanish Fork in the first round, but then lost to the eventual champion from Pleasant Grove and worked his way through the consolation consola-tion bracket to end up fourth. Coach Tim Pontious isn't sure what to expect from the competition com-petition at this week's tourna ft IL L i tion, but they believe they can get into the top five in both classifications. clas-sifications. The American Fork team doesn't have the numbers to compete for a state title, but they have a number of individual indi-vidual swimmers who could factor into the medal standings. stand-ings. Leading the hopefuls will be nationally-ranked Candice Smith, who won region titles in the 100 backstroke and 500 free and also contributes in the relays. to state T it ment. "Some 5A teams are very strong, and others aren't at all," he said. "They also beat up on each other up north, so some stronger wrestlers won't even get to the tournament. "I don't really know how our guys will do," he added. "I just want them to do their best, and then we can accept whatever happens." Boys basketball I Feb. 3 American Fork 51, Spanish Fork 38: The Cavemen slugged it out with the Dons and came out on top in an important im-portant Region 4 contest. For all those defensive enthusiasts en-thusiasts out there, American Fork and Spanish Fork had a backyard brawl Friday night that any dad would be proud of. In the end, the Cavemen got 1 ' Audra Yocum is a freestyle sprinter who also collected a couple of region trophies, and Kristina Baird was a double winner in the breaststroke and individual medley. On the boys side, Mike King looks strong in the breaststroke and individual medley. Scott Rodee could place in the 200 and 500 free races, and the free relay teams have also posted some good marks during the season. The state meet continues through Saturday. meet Photos by ROBB COSTELLONorth County tournament at Lone Peak High more defensive stops and went on to get the victory. "We had 16 steals. Our defensive de-fensive pressure was the key to the game," said Caveman coach Doug Meacham. Greg Meacham scored 10 points off of the bench, including includ-ing two clutch 3-pointers, to help the Cavemen get past the Dons. The two difference-makers for American Fork on the offensive of-fensive end were sophomore guard Meacham and small forward for-ward Mason Porter. Porter kept the Cavemen rolling in the second quarter as he scored nine consecutive points for the home team, capped off by a 3-pointer from the top of the key that banked in. He finished with 11 points. During an especially brutal third quarter, no one could score. More charges were be X Joollo Cloonoy American Fork High Parents: Charles and Bonnie Mooney YearAge: Senior, 18 Birthplace: Provo Sports: Basketball and softball Positions: Basketball forward and softball pitcher Favorite sports team: Los Angeles Lakers Favorite food: Mexican cuisine Favorite restaurant: Cafe Rio Favorite movie: Just Like Heaven Favorite book: Raise the Roof Favorite class: English Hero: Kobe Bryant Favorite quote: "Rise to the occasion, no matter what the situation." Future plans: To attend Southern Utah University. Most memorable career moment: mo-ment: Being American Fork's leading scorer in the win against Mountain Crest this season. Coach Corey Clayton said: "She's been our vocal leader for the last two years. She's the person per-son the other players rally around and isn't afraid to say things that need to be said. The character she's shown this year and every year has truly been impressive. She's always been the smallest player at her position but she doesn't let that affect her." TRACK AND FIELD American Fork athletes place at indoortrackmeet NORTH COUNTY Several members of the American Fork tracked team placed in events at Saturday's 2006 UHSTCA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Olympic Ice Oval in Kearns. Ben Felix placed 14th in the 1600-meter run at 4:43.0 and was followed by his brother Mike, who came in 16th at 4:45.0. Brandon Manwill ran a 5:15.3 in that race and also took 18th in the 800m in 2:13.1. Dallin Caldwell placed 27th in the 200m in 24.76 seconds and 30th in the 60m in 7.63 seconds. Elliott Watkins ran a 920 in the 60m Lisa Tubb placed 38th in the girls 1600m in 605.6. The Cavemen are off this week before going to Pocatel-lo, Pocatel-lo, Idaho, for the 28th Annual Simplot Games on Feb. 16-18. SOCCER Lone Peak seeking boys coach NORTH COUNTY The administration at Lone Peak High school is looking for a boys head soccer coach to start immediately. Interested candidates should call 763-7050 and leave their name and contact number(s) with the school receptionist. They should also fax a coaching coach-ing resume to the attention of Kurt Roberts at 763-7064. Previous coach Jose Marzan announced his retirement from prep coaching on Monday. for state ing taken than points put on the board. Luckily for American Ameri-can Fork, Meacham found the bottom of the net on two huge 3-point bombs from the deep corner. That helped American Ameri-can Fork go on a 15-4 run to break away from a 28-28 tie and build up an 11-point lead. "My little brother played well. It was good to see him make some shots," said coach Meacham of Greg Meacham. "Porter played great, even the bank shot worked. He's a scorer scor-er and he has an attack mentality, mental-ity, which we need. He was a big lift for us. Defensively he took (Griff) Robles out of his game." Robles was the only Don to reach double figures, as he scored 10 points. Spanish Fork seemed to be out of sync and didn't get to many good See REWIND, Page 7 TOOK L |