2013 Utah State Championship: 4a Girls Preview

Brenna Porter and Nikki Laws will do battle this weekend for the 4a State Title- Photo by Kyle Perry

 

Herriman and Orem look to be the favorites heading into the state meet this weekend. While Herriman will rely on Freshman Kayla Love and sophomore Lucy Biles to score big points, Orem will try to match those points with its depth, led by Summer Harper.

Virtual Meet Simulation

Here we give the top athletes to watch for in each event.

100m

Kayla Love of Herriman and Lauren Baxter of Timpview have run the fastest 100m times in the state this year, regardless of classification. Love is only .05 off of Aubrey Hales’ state record from three years ago, and you can bet she’ll be gunning for that long with the win.

200m

Love and Baxter will meet again in the 200m. While Love holds a slight edge in season bests, look for Baxter to show her experience and strength and challenge Love for the win.

400m

Here Baxter is the clear favorite. Her time this year of 54.99 is over a second and a half better than the next best time regardless of classification.

800m

Lucy Biles, Summer Harper and Mountain Crest’s Tori Parkinson should all factor into this race. Last year, Harper took third in this race behind Ashleigh Warner and her own teammate, Candace Greenwood. This race not only has the intrigue of seeing an individual state champion crowned, but also has a major impact on the final team scoring. If Harper and Greenwood can misplace Biles, Orem could swing the scores for the team title.

1600m

Biles and Harper will have their first showdown of the weekend on Friday morning in the 1600. Biles has a three second better season best over Harper, but don’t count Harper and her experience out of this one. However, Harper often likes to push the pace earlier which could play into Biles’ favor. It will be interesting to see how tactics and strength play out in this one.

3200m

Harper’s 10:45 from BYU was one of the most impressive performances from a 4a runner this year. Her season best has an 11 second lead on Biles and Mirando Overy from Mountain Crest. If the race is tactical, any one of those girls could win it, but if the pace moves early on, Harper looks to be the clear favorite.

100m hurdles

Provo’s Nicole Laws and BYU Invite champion Brenna Porter will battle it out in this race. Porter and Laws’ season bests are separated by only .16 but Porter defeated Laws by .31 at BYU. Porter looks to be the favorite, but if she has a slightly off day, Laws could knock her off.

300m hurdles

Porter shouldn’t be touched in this race. Even if she does have an off day, don’t expect anyone to be able to run with her. Her time of 41.54 is one of the top times in the country and the best in Utah history.

4x100m relay

Springville, Orem and Timpanogos are all separated by just half a second in the 4x100. One bad handoff by any one of these teams will likely ruin their chances at a state title. Springville is the slight favorite, but look for Orem to be very motivated as they race for the team title as well.

4x400m relay

Springville once again has the fastest seed time in this relay, but not by much. Maple Mountain also went under 4:00 this year and Mountain Crest, Timpanogos and Timpview weren’t too far behind that. While Timpview is seeded three seconds behind Springville, if Lauren Baxter is running their anchor leg, you can’t count them out of a state title either.

Sprint Medley relay

Herriman’s depth is shown in the Sprint Medley and they should win this event. Maple Mountain, Springville and Timpview are seeded a few seconds behind, but if Herriman puts one of its better teams on the track, should win.

High Jump

Nicole Laws will not only be attempting a state title in the hurdles, but also in the high jump. She will have to go up against Marissa Appiah who has jumped 5’7” this year as well. The two will be pushed by Springville’s Mindy Stapel who jumped 5’6” at Juab.

Long Jump

Two girls have jumped over 19 feet this year in 4a, Brynne Anderson of Logan and hurdle star Brenna Porter.  Either could win this event, and when the hurdles are run could be a factor in Porter’s leg strength going into the long jump.

Shot  Put

Noelani Jackson of Westlake High School was the top 4a finisher at the BYU Invite, just ahead of Orem’s Lesa Mua. Once again, Orem will have an athlete fighting for more than just the individual title here as they want that team title.

Discuss

Lesa Mua from Orem hopes to score big points for Orem in the team title here. She is the only 4a discuss athlete ranked in the top 10 in the state regardless of classification.

Javelin

Hanna Lunde from East has the best mark on the season, but just one foot ahead of Murray’s Athena Vainuku.