The boys toe the line in the 800m run - Photo by Kyle Perry
Last night was a great night for a track meet. As always in the Oval, the conditions were perfect, and the athletes were ready to fly. With PR’s and season bests on every mind, distance runners from around the state filled the Kearns Ice Oval.
The first event of the night was the Girls 1600m run. As the gun went off the pace got out a bit slower than the girls may have needed to run big PR’s. Summer Harper of Orem High sat in the pack and relaxed. She moved up as the race progressed and then look off for the last lap. She won by just over 5 seconds. Alyssa Snyder of Park City was able to use a great finish to hold off a late charge by Taylor Cox of Davis.
View Photos of the Girls 1600m Here
After the girls finished the boys took the track in the boy 1600m run. Unlike last week, where the pace got out pretty slow and then picked up at the end, this week they wasted no time getting down to business. After a fast first lap they settled in for the pace and then it was a sprint for the finish. With one lap to go the pack looked close enough together that anyone in the race had a chance at winning it. In the end the fastest finishing speed of the day came from Issac Faux of Maple Mountain. Faux, who won the 800m at the oval last week, Ran a very well paced 4:24.69 to hold off Conner Mantz of Sky View and Brian Jasper of Bonneville.
View Photos of the Boys 1600m Here
In the Girls 400m Dash, Lauren Baxter of Timpview continued to turn heads. She Blazed to a 56.31 which is a season best, a state leading time, and it also broke the meet record by over 3 seconds. She is in top form, but working for more. This became evident after her race when she finished, cooled down a bit, and headed straight for the weight room to work on improving even more.
View Photos of the Girls 400m Here
In the Boys 400m Dash, Cam Dopp of Woods Cross lowered his state leading time in a very strong showing. His time of 49.34 was about a tenth faster than last week, and it shows the Hurdler is moving in the right direction as we approach outdoor. Cam will be running the 60h, 4x200, and 400 at Simplot and possibly a 4x400 as well. Dopp’s time is also the Meet Record for the Utah Distance Challenge, bettering the mark set in 2011 by Andy Rounds of Skyline. Taylor Leavitt of Davis High also got under that 50 second mark with a 49.98, an impressive run for Leavitt as well.
View Photos of the Boys 400m Here
Before the Girls 800m Run, Shea Martinez told me she had a goal, she wanted to get under that 2:10 mark or at least around there. Her determination to achieve her goal was apparent from the very beginning, as she led the race pretty much wire to wire. She had to focus and push herself as she pulled away from her competitors and iin the end her goal was achieved. 2:09.84! in one of the most impressive performances of the night Shea lowered her season best and climbed a few spots in the National Rankings. No word on what’s next for her yet, but expect more big things.
View Photos of the Girls 800m Here
In the Boys 800m Run it was more Davis, as Skylar Williams used a great kick to hold off a charging David Livingston of Star Valley, Wy. They both snuck under that 2 minute mark posting a 1:59.08 and 1:59.45 respectively.
View Photos of the Boys 800m Here
In the Girls 3200m run, Annie Orr of Park City pulled away from Lucy Biles of for the win. Orr had a great cross-country season and just added a win to her record that isn’t easy to get. Annie’s time of 11:36.96 missed the meet record by a bit, but by the way the race panned out she had to be happy with it as it is the 7th best time in the state this year. Lucy Biles of Herriman is one of those names that you can be sure, when girls see her at the meet they watch out for her. Lucy has been building her mileage back up after Cross Country season and look for her to continue to improve and do great things in her upcoming meets.
The Boys 3200m run was a 2 horse race in the end. Conner Mantz of Sky View ran a great time, but couldn’t quite reel in Ricky Faure of Rock Springs Wyoming. Mantz ran 9:30 to Faure’s 9:28. Mantz’s time is still ranked #4 in the state this year and is a season best for him.
Results, Photos, and Interviews with a few of the winners will be added later today and can be found on the meet coverage page.