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Show Page 6 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN Thursday, February 1, 2007 COMMUNITY SPORTS, PEOPLE AND OUTDOOR FUN AF swim teams finish second at Region 4 meet o) S gdrvl prep Beky Beaton According to American Fork swim ( o;h h K;ithy King, prior to the start of the Region Re-gion -1 swim meet hist Friday, the two bovs captains, standing stand-ing atop two diving Ixiards, led a team chi-cr dressed as two Cavemen, yelling some sort of spirited "caveman chatter" hack and forth for the team to repeat. "It was completely unin-telligihle, unin-telligihle, hut one thing was certain, it was loud and it turned heads," King said. The Cavemen swimmers went on to do just the same thing in the water as they placed second sec-ond in the meet to Lone I'eak, and ahead of Pleasant drove, SeniorYocom a key part of AF girls swimming team's success Dean Von Memmott For American Fork senior Audra Ymom, the Saturday portion of the Region 4 swim meet went down as a final, grand performance hefore a home crowd at the American Fork Recreation Center. That was particularly true in two events the girls 100-yard 100-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relav. Inthefinal heat of the 100-yard 100-yard freestyle, she was pitted against some of the region's top freestyle racers like Ixtne I'eak 's Taryn Toolson and American Fork's Alliesha O'Neal. A roar of the starting horn sent Yocom and the heat's seven other contestants con-testants plunging into the water. During that. Yocom recalled, "1 wanted to get a time lower than 57 seconds. That was my time at State last year." But as she pursued that goal, she received a strong challenge from Toolson. who stayed alongside her for much of that the race. In the last lap of the heat, Yocom inched ahead of Toolson. The American Ameri-can Fork senior won the race in a time of 56.72, one second in front of Toolson. "She played a key role in our girls winning the 400-yard freestyle relay." said American Ameri-can Fork coach Kathy King. Yocom was the No. 2 swimmer swim-mer on the 400-yard freestyle relay team. The other members mem-bers of the squad included O'Neal. Chanel Noot and Can-dice Can-dice Smith. King said, "They were up Mountain View, Spanish Fork and Timpanogos. The girls were out scored by only 21 (joints, 486-465, while the boys trailed the Knights by a larger margin, 526-3X8. "We're sure excited about the girls, but the boys score hardly reflects the championship champion-ship swims from our guys, who actually won six of the 1 1 events," King said. "It's hard to out score bine Peak's depth. At Region, it's all alxiut numbers. At State, we're each taking only a small crew of swimmers, so we'll see what happens there on Ixrth sides." Last year, American Fork finished ahead of Lone Peak in the girls division at the state meet. In the girls events, the Cavemen were led by strong swims from senior captain Audra Yocom, who took first in the 100 free and second in the 50, as well as by junior captain Candice Smith, who doubled as region champion in the 200 free and the 100 back Junior Chanel Noot placed second in both the 200 IM and 100 breast, and junior Alliesha O'Neal finished third in the 100 free and fourth in the 50 free. Yocom, Smith, Noot, and O'Neal combined to win the 400 free relay as well. In the other two relays, the 200 medley (Smith, Emily Morrison, Mor-rison, Noot and Yocom) and the 200 free (Brinley Caldwell, Morrison, Maddie Dailey and O'Neal) the Cavemen placed second. Top eight finishes were earned by freshman Nicole Casey, who was third in the 100 back and eighth in the 200 free; junior Tori Evans, fifth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 500 free; and sophomore Elissa Earl, seventh in the 100 fly and eighth in the 200 IM. Also for the girls, junior Brinley Caldwell was fifth in the 50 free and seventh in the 100 free; freshman Maddie Dailey came in third in the 500 free and fifth in the 100 breast; senior captain Emily Morrison was fourth in the 100 breast and sixth in the 500 free; and freshman Sarah Young was fifth in the 100 fly. For the boys, the King brothers, senior Michael and freshman McKay, were vic-. vic-. torious in each of their two individual events, the 200 IM and the 100 breast, and the 200 free and the 100 fly, respectively. re-spectively. In addition, the Kings joined freshmen Kyle Smith and Matt Okelberry to win both the 200 medley and the 400 free relays in quite impressive fashion. "In the 400, we got out to an early lead, but when we all saw the AF and LP anchors enter the water neck and neck, we just hung on for the ride," coach King said. "Michael had just swum the 100 breast minutes before, See SWIM, Page 7 tin tii water V oof MARIO RUIZNorth County American Fork's Audra Yocom has been a major Contibutor for the Caveman swim team this year. against a very experienced Lone Peak team." Yocom's team had faced them so many times that American Fork knew exactly what to do against Lone Peak. In the region championship race, American Fork took first, defeating Lone Peak by 12 seconds. "It was great to see both our girls and boys win in the 400 freestyle relays," King said. Her sons McKay and Mike joined Kyle Smith and Matt Okelberry in winning the 400-vard freestyle in a time of 3:26. Yocom smiled as she watched those boys receive their medals. In having swum compe-tively compe-tively since age six, Yocom has had much experience in being a member of a championship cham-pionship relay team. Three years ago, she was one of the members of the American Ameri-can Fork team that took the 2004 state 4A girls title. Audra's sister, Sandra, was on that same team. "She was really good," Audra Au-dra Yocom said. "She was really re-ally good to keep everything in perspective, knowing she had to keep improving. I try to be like her." Don't expect Audra always to compete in the same events that her big sister did. The senior said, "She did the backstroke. back-stroke. I do the 50 and 100 free." In reflecting on American Fork's taking state in 2004, she said, "There were only six of us on that team. The girls on that team were really good, though, to be able to do something that great against teams that each had 20-30 kids." The coach of that state team. Celeste Tiffany said, "Audra is one of those swimmers swim-mers you want to remember. She's one of the neatest girls I've coached." Kathy King said, "This season, Audra's been working work-ing hard on making turns at walls. She nailed it at this meet this time. "Besides being a great swimmer, she's also a Sterling Ster-ling Scholar nominee and a member of American Fork's National Honor Society. She does a lot of work for the community." "I'm the president of the American Fork Youth Court," Yocom said. "As a member of the National Honor Society, I have to do a service project for the community at least once a month." She said, "I am more of a mental swimmer. When I get into the water, I just want to focus on cutting down my time as much as possible." Yocom said two of her toughest competitors in the freestyle are Toolson and Natalie Nat-alie Edge of Kearns. In the 50-yard 50-yard freestyle championship race, Toolson beat Yocom for the event's gold medal by one second. Outside the pool, she is friends with her opponents, she added. She will be competing compet-ing against them at State. "I'm hoping that I've gotten my times down low enough for me to be able to be in the final heats of my events at State," Yocom said. When she competes at the state meet next week, she will be among a contingent of American Fork swimmers who won seven Region 4 event titles this year and finished fin-ished second in both divisions of the league meet. Kathy King said she told Yocom and the American Fork swimmers, "I don't want you to confuse the battle for the war. You did great at Region, Re-gion, but State is where our focus should be. We should keep our attention on it." Yocom can be counted on to do that this week and next. ilatt Okelberry American Fork High School Parents: Scott and Debbie Okelberry Year: Freshman Sport: Swimming Events: 100-yard backstroke, 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle Favorite sports team: BYU Cougars Favorite food: Sandwiches of any kind Favorite restaurant: Arby's Favorite movie: Remember the Titans Favorite magazine: Splash Favorite class: Seminary Most memorable career moment: Breaking the school record in the boys 100-yard backstroke. Future plans: To keep swimming. American Fork head swimming coach Kathy King said: "He's consistent consis-tent in his performances in the 100 and 50-yard freestyle. He's a valuable asset to the team." SCOREBOARD Results Date 124 126 Date 126 Boys basketball Result Opponent Won 82-67 Timpanogos Lost 58-69 Pleasant Grove Girls basketball Result Won 55-52 Opponent Pleasant Grove Date 202 2G7 209 214 216 Upcoming games Boys basketball Opponent Time Lone Peak 7 p.m. Timpanogos 7 p.m. Mountain View 7 p m. Spanish Fork 7 p.m. Pleasant Grove 7 p.m. Girls basketball Date Opponent 201 Lone Peak 206 Timpanogos 208 Mountain View 213 Spanish Forte Wrestling Date Opponent 201 Region meet Timpanogos 27-9 5A Stale UVSC Swimming Date Opponent Time 29S10 5A State 8 BYU Time 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 pm 7 p.m. Time Standings Reported results to 1730 Boys Basketball REGION 4 School Region record Overall record Spanish Fork 4-0 10-4 Lone Peak 3-1 14-1 Pleasant Grove 3-1 13-2 AmencanFork 2-2 11-4 Timpanogos 0-4 6-7 Mountain View 0-4 1-13 REGION 7 School Region record Overall record Payson 5-0 12-4 Lehi 3-2 9-7 Orem 3-2 8-8 Provo 3-2 7-8 Timpview 1-4 9-7 Springville 0-5 6-10 Girls Basketball REGION 4 School Region record Overall record Lone Peak 6-0 11-6 Timpanogos 5-1 8-8 AmencanFork 3-3 13-4 Pleasant Grove 2-4 7-10 Mountain View 2-4 2-14 Spanish Fork 0-6 3-14 REGION 7 School Region record Overall record Orem 6-0 13-4 Timpview 5-1 8-7 Provo 4-2 12-4 Payson 2-4 9-9 Spnngville 1-5 2-15 Lehi 0-6 4-12 F boys hoops too urn ELOCIrD or Timnpainoio Brian Hassler In life there's no free lunch, and in Region 4 boys h(xps, there's no easy victory. That fact was proven after American Fork fought through ', a strong Timpanogos effort to ; beat the Timberwolves 82-67 i on Jan. 26. Even with a 15-point margin of victory, American Fork I needed strong efforts from 1 Brady Mason and Jayce Ross to ! pull away after holding a 34-31 ; lead at halftime. American Fork's offense struggled throughout the first half in dealing with the fre-: fre-: netic pace set by Timpanogos' defense as the Cavemen had problems moving the ball past ', the half court line. ; "We st ruggled wit h re-'. re-'. bounding in the first half and we had to focus on that in the second half." said coach Doug ! Meacham. "In the second half, ; we kxiked more poised and that allowed us to go to the ', foul line more." ' Mason and Ross turned the .' third quarter into their ow n ' personal showcase as they rewind each scored 11 points in that period alone to allow American Fork to take a commanding 62-48 62-48 lead into the fourth quarter. "I thought that Brady Mason wasn't going to let us lose," said Meacham. "Brady's play on defense and on the boards gave us second chances." And American Fork needed second chances. With the Timpanogos offense of-fense and defense both playing well, led by the play of Skyler Halford, American Fork needed need-ed every chance it could get after Halford led the T'Wolves on a 14-3 run that began in the final seconds of the third quarter and continued into the fourth quarter. "We called the timeout during dur-ing that run to get some rest," said Meacham. "We told them to rest right now and attack. To be ready for their (American (Ameri-can Fork) defense. I had guys huffing and puffing and we wanted them to go attack. "Halford is a heck of a player and he scored all those points and did what he did with a lot of pressure," added Meacham. "We constantly had a hand in his face and sometimes some-times had two or three hands when he pulled up to shoot." The run allowed Timpanogos to cut American Fork's lead to 66-59, but a field goal and a foul shot from American Fork's Zachary Enosa as well as four straight free throws from Kellen Nicol allowed the Cavemen to extend the lead to 75-64. Mason led American Fork with 23 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Ross scored 22 points, including four 3-point shots. "I've watched Timpanogos play," said Meacham. "No one needed to tell me that this game was going to be close and tough. Timpanogos was in a one-point game with PG at their place with just a few minutes min-utes to go. "Skyler Halford for them is very good at creating his shots, and can get it off with the smallest amount of space," he continued. "Brady Mason wasn't going to let us lose. His line wasn't too bad for a point guard who has been responsible responsi-ble for getting so many others involved in the games up until this game. He can be more aggressive ag-gressive for us, but he really picked his spots in this game and was great. "I thought that Jayce really fell into his shots the second half, and got into the groove that he can," Meacham said. "Brandon Beddes came in with good energy and got a big steal and assist to Derek Dan-kief Dan-kief for a 3-point shot at a critical criti-cal point in the game. "This was an important game for us to protect our home court, " the coach added. "We know that each game in region will be tough like this. I saw some progress though in our energy from our loss with Spanish." I Jan. 26 Pleasant Grove 69, American Fork 58: The Cavemen Cave-men made a game of it on the road but the Vikings held on for the victory. American Fork wasn't about to go down without a fight, mounting a comeback and cut ting Pleasant Grove's lead to a single point. That's when Tallon Robertson Rob-ertson took over. Robertson scored 15 points in the second sec-ond half to help stifle the Cavemen's late charge and led the Vikings to a 69-58 win in Region 4. After falling behind 33-20 at halftime, American Fork came out of the break in a hurry, going on a 14-4 run in the first six minutes of the half to cut the lead to 37-34. The Cavemen got as close as a single point, 39-38, after Brady Mason stole the ball and hit Jayce Ross on a f astbreak for an easy Iayup. But that's when Pleasant Grove decided to make Robertson Robert-son their go-to guy. Robertson, a 6-foot-5 senior, used his speed off the dribble to score and keep Pleasant Grove in the lead. Robertson finished the night with 22 points, seven rebounds re-bounds and three blocks. The final nail in the coffin for American Fork came with three minutes remaining in the game. The Cavemen had a chance to cut Pleasant Grove's lead to three, but a 3-pointer was missed. On the ensuing push up the court, Pleasant Grove's CJ Wilcox converted a three-point play, making the lead 5546. American Fork wasn't able to come close again. The Cavemen were led by Spencer Shumway with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Zachary Enosa added 15 with six boards, and Ross scored 12. Greg Meacham grabbed seven rebounds and made four assists. Mason was fierce on the defensive de-fensive end for the Cavemen, swiping nine steals to go with seven points and seven assists. "Pleasant Grove is a very good team, and I was happy with our guys' effort the second sec-ond half," said coach Doug Meacham. "The first half, we lapsed on three big transition 3-point shots. That was the biggest big-gest difference in the first half, with the fact that we only got the free throw line one time. "We have to be disciplined to not settle for the first open 3 we get," he continued. "Sometimes "Some-times we take early shots which lead to easy transition See REWIND, Page 7 i |