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South Jordan Journal

Bingham girls place fourth at state meet

Mar 08, 2018 03:18PM ● By Josh Mc Fadden

Bingham High girls swim team finishes fourth at the state meet.

The South Davis Recreation Center in Bountiful was a wild place on Feb. 8 and 9. More than 70 schools from the Class 6A and Class 5A ranks converged upon the facility to take part in the state championship meet. Bingham’s boys and girls teams were part of the madness, and the teams made some good showings at the season’s-end meet.

The Lady Miners placed fourth out of 17 Class 6A squads. The team earned 177 points in the two-day affair. Head coach Rachael Kamkamp was happy with how the girls performed at state.

“State went really well,” she said. “We had a lot of good swims and best times. I was very pleased with how the swimmers did.”

On the girls’ side, 11 swimmers qualified for state. Kamkamp highlighted the efforts of senior Lindsey Young, who placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500 free. Sophomore Brynna Thompson was busy during the meet. She was fifth in the 50 free and sixth in the 100 butterfly, arguably the most challenging stroke in swimming. Teammate Jenna Hodnett, a senior, wasn’t far behind in the 100 butterfly, finishing seventh. Another sophomore, Hallie Huber, took fourth place in the 100 backstroke. 

“All these ladies had great swims and scored lots of points for the team,” Kankamp said. “The girls 200 medley and 4x100 freestyle relay also performed well.” The 200 medley relay team was sixth with a time of 1:58.58. The 4x100 freestyle relay group ended up swimming the race in 3:50.96, good enough for fourth place.

The boys team didn’t climb as high in the standings, but that didn’t mean there weren’t some solid individual showings. The boys placed 11th and took six swimmers to state.

Senior Landon Stalnaker set the school record in the 200 free with a time of 1:46.37. He placed fourth in that race and was fifth in the 500 free. Junior Sean Yraguen scored points for the Miners in the 50 free and 100 free. Kankamp singled out some of her other boys team swimmers as well. 

“Logan Johnson, junior, had a best time in the 200 free and a solid swim in the 500 free,” she said. “Patrick Taggart, senior, and Hunter Browning each had a best time in the 200 individual medley. The medley and 4x100 relays also had best times from region.”

Though the boys team was a ways back compared with some other teams at state, Kankamp is taking a positive approach when looking at the season as a whole. She is satisfied with the development the boys and girls made during the season. 

“The season as a whole was a success,” she said. “Each swimmer has improved from where they started this year, and they all have improved from where they were last year. They put in the work and saw the benefits at the end of the season. The team met my expectations and more. They had some phenomenal swims at different points of the season. They swam their hearts out and made me a proud coach.”

As is the case with any team, Kankamp must replace some important pieces to her team. However, she will welcome back some skilled athletes next season and hopes to continue to take steps forward in region and state action.

“I think we should have a fairly good team next season,” she said. “We are losing some talent in the seniors, but this team can step up to the challenge and take their place next year. We will continue to improve.”