State Swimming Championships/Junior Olympics ~ March 17-19

I included this information in my last post in describing Ryan’s “BC meet.” But it’s somewhat necessary to include it in this post as well. Swimming times are divided into three different categories: “A” times, which qualify swimmers for the highest level of championships; “BC” times, which qualify swimmers for the “back-up championships” (Ryan’s description); and then “All Times,” which consist of everything else. This division is the same for all levels of swimmers, whether it’s those attempting to qualify for the Olympics and other national and international competitions, as well as younger kids trying to make it to the State Championships/Junior Olympics.


Ryan’s best stroke is the butterfly. He made an “A” time in the butterfly, which qualified him for the State Championships/Junior Olympics, held March 17-19 at BYU. His coach also signed him up for three relays. Warm-ups and preliminaries started at 7:30 am every morning. We were concerned about what time we’d have to get up every morning in order to be at the pool by 7:30. We were also worried about possible weather complications. So we made the few days of the championships a little “stay-cation.” In addition, my LAST TWO COURSES of my PhD program officially end 3/18 (but both instructors offered extensions of a couple of days, knowing my commitments this weekend). I decided it would be worth it to be able to spend a couple of extra hours a day working on school work rather than driving back and forth.


Ryan and I drove to Provo Wednesday, March 16, at about 6:00 (when he was finished with scouts and we had eaten dinner). We dropped Copper off at Coddled Critters, and then drove to Provo. Per Ryan’s request, we stopped at Krispy Kreme for doughnuts. We checked into our hotel and then went to check out the pool so we could go directly there Thursday morning.


Thursday morning (March 17), we were up at 6:00, at breakfast at 7:00, and at the pool at 7:30. Rara & Papa drove down and met us at the pool. Ryan did pretty well in his butterfly, making about the same time as he did in qualifying. He ended in 23rd place. However, that is for ALL of the 8-10 year old boys in the state. We were pretty pleased with his results. We know he did his best.





After his morning events, we had several hours until the evening events began. We went to the BYU bookstore, where Ryan received his “medal” from mom – a Jimmer Fredette basketball jersey. I had told Ryan that I’d buy him one just for making it to State. Ryan’s other request was lunch at his favorite restaurant, Brick Oven. Interestingly, several of his Tsunami teammates and their families were there. We decided that everyone was “carb loading” before the evening events.

Thursday afternoon we were back at the pool at 4:00 for warm-ups. Ryan swam the butterfly in the 200 medley relay with three other teammates. They finished in 10th place!



Ryan was thrilled to discover that the BYU football team was holding their spring practice right across the parking lot from where we were. The practice field is surrounded by fencing and very thick bushes. However, we could watch it perfectly from the Richards Building balcony!

As we were leaving the Richards Building (the pool), we walked by the Legends Grille, where the BYU basketball game was on! BYU was playing Wofford in the first round of the NCAA tournament. We ate dinner and watched the game there, cheering for the Cougars with about 100 BYU students. It was a lot of fun, but Ryan LOVED it!

We also spent some time walking around the museum area of the building, admiring the Heisman trophy, the National Championship trophy, and many other sports memorabilia items.

On Friday, March 18, we went to the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. It was wonderful! Ryan especially enjoyed the iPad app, which provided additional information, videos, and 360-degree views of the churches where the paintings are housed. (Photos from the LDS Church News website.)


We had lunch at one of Ryan’s other Provo favorites, the Creamery on 9th. He is always amazed when I remind him that it was Carson’s Market when I was at BYU, and it was where I did my weekly grocery shopping.


Once again, we were back at the pool at 4:00 Friday afternoon. Ryan and three other teammates swam the 400 freestyle relay, where they placed 9th.


We stopped at Wendy’s for dinner, where we also saw some teammates and their families. Papa had to drive home to take care of some things for his Young Adult ward, where he is still serving as the Bishop. Rara, Ry & I went back to our hotel, where I worked on my final papers for my two final courses of my PhD program!


Saturday, March 19, Ryan enjoyed his free time by…swimming in the hotel pool! He made friends with some other kids staying there, and had a great time relaxing in the water.




We checked out of the hotel and went on a driving tour around Provo. I showed Ryan all of my former apartments, as well as some of the main buildings on campus. We made another stop at the bookstore, and then had lunch at Brick Oven (yes, again). After lunch, we met Papa, who had driven back down to watch Ryan’s last event. Ryan and three teammates swam the 200 freestyle relay, where they placed 10th.




As we passed the Legends Grille, the next round of games in the NCAA tournament was on, with BYU playing Gonzaga. Ryan really wanted to have dinner at the Legends Grille again and watch this game. But since we were finished with swimming, we opted to drive home (with another stop at Krispy Kreme) and listen to the game in the car. BYU won, sending them to the Sweet 16 for the first time since Danny Ainge led the Cougars to the Sweet 16 in 1981. Yes, I remember it well.
It was so much fun cheering for Ryan at the State Championships/Junior Olympics! Even though he didn’t place high enough to earn any medals or ribbons, he had a great time. We kept saying what an honor it was for him to even be there! He did get a shirt with the State Championships/Junior Olympics logo on the front, and the names of all of his teammates who made it to State on the back, with a red dot by his name. :)