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SALT LAKE CITY — The Judge and Union girls basketball teams didn't win a state championship this season but both teams taught us a valuable lesson about sportsmanship.
Cathryn Hunt is a very popular senior at Judge Memorial high school. She was named Homecoming queen this year and is a member of the girls basketball team. She does this despite the challenges she faces each day.
She likes to think that we inspire her, but really it's the other way around.
–teammate Emily Smith
Cathryn has a genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome. It causes low muscle tone and mental disabilities. People with this disorder also struggle with a constant sense of hunger that can lead to obesity. Her diet has to be monitored very closely.
This can make participating in athletics very difficult but it hasn't kept Cathryn from playing the game she loves.
"It's my sport and I'm very good at it," says Cathryn. "I like to play basketball."
"She's quite confident in her skills and her ability to accomplish anything she sets her mind to," says Judge head coach Anthony Alford.
Cathryn loves to shoot 3-point shots at the top of the key. During practice her teammates cheer her on as she makes one after another.
"She'll say I've made four and I'm like okay Cathryn keep going," says teammate Kailie Quinn. "She's hit, like, 15 in a row."
"To me Cathryn Hunt is a huge inspiration," says teammate Emily Smith.
She was also a fan favorite at Judge basketball games.
He (told me) her having that experience was more important than a W. I was proud to be just present there but to be the coach of this program and to be associated with a guy of the caliber that the Union coach was, yeah, I'll hold that with me forever.
–Judge head coach Anthony Alford
"The crowd goes crazy whenever she gets in," says teammate Taylor De Jonge.
The crowd went crazy on January 31 when the Bulldogs hosted Union on senior night.
Union head coach Atlee Zipf knew of Cathryn from previous games and approached Judge head coach Anthony Alford with an idea. He wanted Cathryn to start and score the first points of the game.
"I didn't know I was going to be a starter so it was a little bit of a surprise," Cathryn said.
"I asked her if she was ready," Alford remembers. "'Yeah coach I gotcha'. That was her response so I'm like, yeah, we're good."
She scored the first points of the game, a 3-point shot from her favorite spot at the top of the key. She left the game to cheers from the crowd and high-fives from her teammates but she wasn't done.
"Toward the end of the game it was pretty much in hand and (Union head coach Atlee Zipf) looked over at me and I looked over at him and he was like yeah lets get her some shots," says Alford.
What happened next would stun the entire gym.
"She goes out there and drops threes," says De Jonge
"I just wanted to show everyone how good I am," Cathryn says.
She made five 3-point shots and finished the game with 15 points. It was the 2nd most points scored in the game.
"Every time I put them up they were cheering and clapping," Cathryn remembers from her impressive shooting performance. "It was just really good to hear them."
"He (told me) her having that experience was more important than a W," Coach Alford said about Union coach Atlee Zipf. "I was proud to be just present there but to be the coach of this program and to be associated with a guy of the caliber that the Union coach was, yeah, I'll hold that with me forever."
"She likes to think that we inspire her," says Emily Smith. "But really it's the other way around."
