AURORA | Juhan Hong’s reputation precedes him in the hallways at Smoky Hill.
The jovial junior’s profile in the swimming pool continues to grow similarly as he’s becoming known as one of Colorado’s elite distance swimmers.
Smoky Hill coach Scott Cohen is grateful to have a talent like Hong and his ability to excel as a swimmer and a team leader. His rise is part of the reason the Buffaloes have emerged as a potential top-five team in Class 5A and the best in Aurora outside of loaded championship favorite Regis Jesuit.
“There’s probably nobody at Smoky Hill who doesn’t know who Juhan is,” Cohen said of his outgoing star. “He’s got a big heart and a big personality, for sure.
“For the short amount of time that high school swimming takes place in the year, he loves it and he loves the team aspect. He helps the kids see how to have fun and compete and he’s certainly the type of kid who has more fun the faster he swims.”
Hong has had a lot of fun and swum very fast in the past few weeks.
He might not have the typical build of an elite swimmer, but grueling club workouts with his Mission Aurora Colorado Swimming club team have paid off in the high school season.
At the Dick Rush Coaches Invitational on March 30 — a meet that featured most of the best swimmers in the state in multiple classifications — Hong finished second in the 500-yard freestyle and fifth in the 200 free.
He was in position to win the 500, but got touched out by Highlands Ranch’s Nathan Mueller, who he has raced against since both were young. Mueller won in 4 minutes, 36.41 seconds, with Hong second in 4:36.54.
“He came out of nowhere to win that race, but it was a lot of fun,” Hong said of Mueller. “I used to win a lot against him when we were little, but now he’s just taking all my spots. …I’m training to get my revenge on him at state.”
Without Mueller in the water, Hong turned in another big performance in the 500 at the Smoky Hill Invitational on April 13.
Though this time was slower than at the Coaches Invitational, he nearly erased the meet record of one of the biggest names in Colorado high school swimming in the past decade —former Heritage star Mark Dylla.
Hong’s 4:39.88 was just one hundreth of a second slower than the 2004 mark set by Dylla, a multiple-time 5A state champion who swam at Georgia and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials this past summer.
“Everybody in the swimming community knows who Mark is, so that was a great swim by Juhan to get close,” Cohen said, “I know he felt like that record was something he’s capable of and I’m sure he’ll go after it again.”
As well as he is performing now, Hong is primarily focused on how he does at the 5A state meet May 17-18 in Grand Junction.
He’s been disappointed by his last two individual performances at state, in which he finished 14th in the 500 as a freshman and ninth last season.
A different approach to the season — Cohen intentionally scheduled three less meets to give his swimmers more practice time — could pay off in the end.
“The last two years, I choked at state, so I hope that I can actually make it to finals and perform well this time.”
Hong has helped welcome a group of young swimmers to the Buffaloes that have strengthened the team considerably.
Freshman Aidan Mercer in the pool and Devin Bellamy on the diving board helped Smoky Hill placed a strong fourth at the Coaches Invite, which was contested without Regis Jesuit in the water.
Combined with the presence of other veterans swimmers such as seniors Mason Markle and Chris Langlett, juniors Derek Liu and Chris Hartman and sophomore Alex Kohlman, Cohen likes the way things are shaping up for his team in the final weeks.
“We had a pretty young team at state last year, so I knew we had potential and they’ve all grown up a little bit,” Cohen said.
Week ahead
(All events weather permitting)
The Cherokee Trail and Grandview girls lacrosse teams are scheduled to play at 5:30 p.m. April 19 at Legacy Stadium as the two rivals battle to improve their position in the Centennial League standings. The Cougars posted a 14-10 victory last season over the Wolves, who had won the previous four meetings.
The 56th running of the Robert F. Caviness Invitational is April 20 at APS Stadium as the meet started by late Aurora Central and Hinkley coach Bob Caviness is contested yet again, with some differences. For the first time, Aurora Public Schools teams won’t be on hand other than co-hosts Aurora Central Hinkley, as the district is no longer involved in running the meet. Caviness’ children Craig and Marla continue to be the driving forces behind the meet, which began in 1957. Track events begin at 9 a.m.
The Cherokee Trail and Smoky Hill girls soccer teams play at 8:30 p.m. April 20 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in a reschedule of a game wiped out by snow on April 16. The Cougars (5-1-2) and Buffs (5-1-1) sit in a tight grouping atop the Centennial League standings in the early going along with Eaglecrest and Cherry Creek.
Regis Jesuit meets Columbine in girls lacrosse at 1 p.m. April 20 at Trailblazer Stadium as the Raiders, ranked sixth in the most recent Denver Post’s coaches poll, look for a second straight win over a Rebels team with eight wins in 10 games.
Gateway is at Rangeview at 4:30 p.m. April 23 in a baseball game that will have an impact on the EMAC standings in the early going. The Raiders posted a 7-3 decision over the Olys last season and have won the last five meetings.
Centennial League girls golfers try again April 24-25 with a pair of tournaments scheduled for Meadow Hills G.C. (1:06 p.m., April 24) and Fitzsimons G.C. (1 p.m., April 25).
Regis Jesuit plays host to longtime boys lacrosse rival Kent Denver at 7 p.m. April 24 when the two teams vying for supremacy in the South Suburban League hook up. The teams split two games last season — each decided by a single goal — but the Raiders topped the Sun Devils 5-4 in the state playoff quarterfinals.
Smoky Hill plays host to Arapahoe at 4:30 p.m. April 25 in Centennial League boys swimming as the two talented teams gear up for the league championship meets in the weeks to follow. The Buffaloes hope to close the gap with Warriors, who won last season’s dual meet 228-141.
— Sentinel reports