Region 4 Championships

Timpanogos News Weekly

Publisher's Letter


This is a test issue of a three weekly newspapers that I plan to set up in northern Utah County. For this issue, stories about local high school swimmers and the Region Four Swim meet at Lehi, Utah, will be published.

I hope you enjoy these stories.

Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com

Contents

1. Editorial
2. Lone Peak Wins Swim Championship
3. Kramer Dahl Profile
4. AF Swimmers Take 2nd at Region 4 Meet
5. Chanel Noot Profile
6. Lehi Swimmers Finish 3rd at Final Region Meet As a 5-A Program
7. Greg Fugal Profile
8. PG Swimmers Finish 4th, 5th at Region 4 Swim Meet
9. Curtis Clayson Profile

1. Editorial
Sports Play Importance in Newspaper Business

At the end of October 2008, the Provo Daily Herald decided to cut the sports sections from its northern Utah County weeklies. In the three months since the implementation of that decision, longtime subscribers of those weekly newspapers have elected not to take them anymore. Lehi High volleyball coach Jamie Ingersoll, for one, said, "I quit my subscription to the Free Press when they did away with the sports section. I'm never going to take that paper again."

It is hard to know how many other northern Utah County residents have been following Mrs. Ingersoll's example. The number of them has been growing since last October, though.

Cancellation of subscriptions has to be expected when a sports section is dropped from a newspaper. Sports news is a big reason many people subscribe to newspapers. When a newspaper publisher cancels a sports section for the sake of saving money, he will quickly lose his base of subscribers. Once the subscriptions start falling, advertisers will take their business to other media businesses like radio and the Internet.

For community newspapers to continue thriving in this currently rough economic time, they must cling to their sports sections. Otherwise, their longtime loyal readers will desert them in droves.

2. Lone Peak Knights Retain Region 4 Swim Crowns
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

The Lone Peak Knights are still the kings and queens of Region Four swimming. At the Region 4 swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center Jan. 30-31, Lone Peak won both the girls and boys championships.

Girls' team scores read Lone Peak 520, American Fork 450, Lehi 284, Spanish Fork 251, and Pleasant Grove 211. On the boys' side, team scores read Lone Peak 503, American Fork 445, Lehi 325, Pleasant Grove 255, and Spanish Fork 204.

"We had a lot of new kids on the team this year, and they did really well," said Lone Peak Coach Nikki Xantos. "We're going to have a lot more kids going to state this year than we did last year. We're going to have two weeks to prepare for the state meet. The other regions have yet to hold their championship meets."

Lone Peak produced one double winner at the meet. Junior Kim Welch, for example, took first in the girls' 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. She said, "Winning the 200 free at this meet qualified me for sectionals six weeks from now. I hope do well enough my500 freestyle, so I can qualify for sectionals in it also."

Welch's qualifying time in the for the USA sectionals in the girls' 200-yard freestyle turned out to be 1:56.08. Welch dropped 13 seconds from her time in the girls' 500-yard freestyle. Her new personal best for that event turned out to be 5:10.05, a new Region Four girls' record.

Lone Peak won the girls' 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. The Knights also had ffive swimmers each win an event. Hannah Siebach won the girls' 200-yard individual medley, Taryn Toolson the girls' 50-yard freestyle, Catherine Woolston the girls' 100-yard backstroke, and Landon Laycock the boys' 100-yard freestyle.

Woolston said, "This is my first-ever region championship. I was more excited about my time than about winning the championship. I hope to cut my times down in the 1:03's at state."

For Laycock, the win was an awesome way to make up for the last time that he swam in a 100-yard freestyle race at the Legacy Center. A sophomore, he said, "I came in today's race never having won a region championship before. This is really exciting for me. When I was here at a meet on Jan. 21, I took third in the 100 free in a time of 53.73. Today, I won it in a time of 51.42. This is my fastest time in the 100 free so far."

The Knights will be spending the next two weeks getting ready for the state 5-A meet, scheduled to be held at BYU's Richards Building.

3. Dahl Shows Endurance in the Pool
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

A Lone Peak senior has demonstrated the importance of enduring during this past swimming season. Kramer Dahl said, "Doing the 200 IM has been a great test for endurance whenever I'm racing it. When I first did it, I usually gave out. With help from teammates, I continued to improve in it. I dropped it by three seconds when I was at a swimming invitational in Bountiful last November."

Asked what other sports he has done for Lone Peak, Dahl said, "Swimming is the only one I have done. I knew it would be harder than other sports. That was why I decided to give it a try. It's not individual sport. It's a team sport. I have no regrets about doing only swimming."

Lone Peak Coach Nikki Xantos said, "He works really hard at practices and meets. He's always looking for new ways to improve. He always asks questions on how he can do better. Coaches like that kind of swimmer."

"I'm also the editor for The Epic, Lone Peak's yearbook," Dahl said. "I spend at least five hours a week working on it outside the classroom. My work on the yearbook is going to help me when I start studying art design at Utah State. I was accepted there recently by the way. My work on the yearbook has also taught me how to use design programs."

While Dahl waits for his chance to endure the rigors of college life, he will be hoping for a final chance to compete at the state 5-A meet.

4. AF Girls, Boys Finish 2nd at Region 4 Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

The American Fork Cavewomen and Cavemen both finished second at the Region Four swim meet, Jan. 30-31 at Lehi's Legacy Center. The two teams won a total of 10 events to secure the No. 2 spots in both divisions.

American Fork Coach Kathy King said, "We're pleased with the kids showing that they could compete at this meet. They all cut down their times a lot."

Jamie Nebeker, McKay King, and Matt Okleberry emerged as American Fork's three double winner at the meet. Nebeker won the girls' 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle. A sophomore, Nebeker said, "I just relaxed and had fun. I won the 200 IM as a freshman last year."

King won the boys' 50-yard freestyle (21.60) and 100-yard backstroke (53.02). The winning time posted by King for the backstroke snapped now former Lone Peak Knight Chris Eppich's 2006 region record of 56.06.

Okleberry won the boys' 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle races. Okleberry said, "I am now looking at wanting to place in the top three in both the 200 and 500 free races. I'm going to get real good competition from Robby Miner and Cody Reed of Brighton. I have raced against them before, and they're really tough. This will be the third time that I'll be at the state meet."

American Fork won four of the meet's six relays. Lone Peak won the girls' 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. Acting as a spokesman for the Cavemen's 200-yard freestyle relay team, Kyle Smith said, "This was our best time today. We set a new region record in a time of 1:43.83. We're proud that we all stepped it up today to swim our best."

Caveman T.J. Murphy took first in the boys' 100-yard butterfly, Jamie Nebeker the girls' 100-yard freestyle.

American Fork will be spending the next two weeks preparing for the state 5-A meet at BYU.

5. Chanel Noot Shows Leadership for AF Swimmers
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

Although American Fork senior Chanel Noot did not win any events at the recent Region Four swim meet at Lehi's Legacy Center, her teammates still look up to her.

American Fork Coach Kathy King said, "We're pleased with her leadership in and out of the water. She leads by example."

Noot competes in the individual meets of the girls' 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley. At the recent region championships, she took fourth in the butterfly and second in the 200 individual medley. However, she was on the girls' 200-yard medley relay team that won region Jan. 30.

"I've been doing the butterfly for the past two years," Noot said. "Doing it can be quite challenging at Lehi's Legacy Center. The far end of the pool is real slippery. The Jan. 21 meet at here was my most frustrating experience with doing the butterfly. I learned from it, though, how to do better and leave the worst performance behind in the pool."

With her high school swimming career winding down, Noot said, "I'm going to be looking at attending either BYU or Utah."

6. Lehi Girls, Boys Both Finish 3rd at Region 4 Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

Although the Lehi Pioneers didn't produce any champions at the Region Four swim meet at their city's Legacy Center's main pool, they still took third in both the girls and boys' divisions.

Junior Dani Vaughn took second in the girls' 100-yard butterfly and ninth in the girls' 200-yard freestyle. Madison White took ninth in the girls' 200-yard individual medley. Madi Parker finished fourth in the girls' 50-yard freestyle and sixth in the girls' 100-yard freestyle. In the girls' 100-yard backstroke, McKell Peterson took third, Kelsey Petersen fourth, and Lindsay Smith fifth.

Ryan Doel took fourth in the boys' 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle races. Mark Shepherdson took seventh in the boys' 100-yard butterfly. Braedon Hegemann took fifth in the boys' 500-yard freestyle. Greg Fugal took third in the boys' 100-yard breaststroke.

Sam Blackburn finished seventh in the boys' 200-yard individual medley. The team of Hegemann, Doel, Blackburn, and Garrett Light took third in the boys' 400-yard freestyle.

Lehi Coach Dennis Meyering said, "All of our kids dropped their times. Since the time they've been 3-A, our kids have been of the mindset to battle, no matter what the classification of their opponents are. They come ready to race."

7. Move-In from Uintah County Proves to Be Valuable to Lehi
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

A move-in from Uintah County, Greg Fugal has proved to be a valuable asset to the Lehi Pioneers' swim team. Fugal recently took third at the Region Four swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center.

Lehi Coach Dennis Meyering said, "He moved in here from Uintah. He's a good breaststroker. He won third at last year's state 3-A swim meet."

Fugal said, "Besides the breaststroke, I am on the medley relay team, and I also race the 200 IM. When I'm doing medley relay, I'm either the first or second guy who goes into the water.

"Doing the medley relay gets your heart flowing. The lowest time I have posted in the breaststroke portion of the medley relay has been 30.77 seconds.

"I have learned a lot from the techniques that Coach Meyering has taught me. He is wise."

Fugal said he had recently qualified for the state 5-A meet. He added, "While I have been gaining time this year, swimming has taught me about learning from mistakes."

8. PG Boys Take 4th, PG Girls 5th at Region Four Swim Meet
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

At the Region Four swimming championships at Lehi's Legacy Center Jan. 30-31, the Pleasant Grove Vikings took fourth in the boys' division and fifth in the girls'.

Christie Bunnell took second in the girls' 200-yard freestyle. Sara Gagon took third in the girls' 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Sara Dickerson took 10th in the girls' 100-yard backstroke and 12th in the girls' 200-yard individual medley. Haley Stewart took ninth in the girls' 100-yard breaststroke.

Nate Fonseca took second in the boys' 100-yard freestyle. Scotty Adams took ninth in the boys' 200-yard freestyle. Kevin Fonseca took eighth in the boys' 500-yard freestyle and 12th in the boys' 200-yard individual medley. Curtis Clayson took 10th in the boys' 50-yard freestyle. Nate Greenwood took seventh in the boys' 100-yard backstroke. Hayden Anderson finished eighth in the boys' 100-yard breaststroke.

The team of Adamson, Clayson, Nate Fonseca, and Chris Noot took fourth in the boys' 200-yard medley relay.

Viking Coach Lisa Harris said, "Both the girls and boys' freestyle relay teams have cut their times down much. Sara Gagon posted her best time ever in the 50 free.

"The kids have sacrificed a lot this season by swimming from 8:30 to 9:30 every night this season. We hope their doing that will pay off when we find out which of them have qualified for the state meet."

It will be held at BYU on the second weekend of this February.

9. Clayson Won't Let Anything Intimidate Him in the Swim Race
By Dean Von Memmott
Timpanogos News Weekly Publisher

A junior on the Pleasant Grove Viking boys' swim team, Curtis Clayson said he has been showing a willingness to learn from his experiences from competing in his heats.

"I never let anything intimidate me," Clayson said. "I want to swim faster and cut down my speed. My fastest time in the 100 free was 54.87 during a dual meet at Lehi last November."

Clayson said he started his swimming career with a Pleasant Grove swim club. "I started competing for them when I was seven. I did all three styles of swimming: breast, butterfly, and freestyle.

"I DQ'd at a meet once when I was a little boy. It was heartbreaking, but I learned a lot from it."

Clayson also swims the 50-yard freestyle, and he is a member of the Viking boys' 200-yard medley relay team.

"All the kids on the team love him," said Viking Coach Lisa Harris. "He has a lot of potential."