Riverton Boys 4x400m Relay is favored to win a State Title on Saturday- Photo by Kyle Perry
Davis High School won the team title at both the girls and boys state championships in 2011 and 2012. They are poised for a three-peatas they look stronger than they ever have. With the #1 ranking in their classification in 11 events, they look to pick up big points in every event in the meet. With their balanced attack they will be very hard to keep up with. The two deepest events for the Darts are the 800m and 1600m. Riverton has some great depth in the sprints and relays, but may have a very large mountain to climb to overcome the depth of Davis. Jordan High may not be favored in the running for the team title, but they are favored in every throwing event. Sweeping the throws with 3 different athletes is not an easy feat and that will be a story to follow through the weekend.
100m Dash- 4 athletes have run under 11 seconds this season, with Seth Fortin of Davis almost a tenth ahead of the field, he is the favorite. Jonah Trinnaman of American Fork looks to be peaking just at the right time and in a ten second race anything can happen. The Alta duo of Sam Roberts and Brandon Smart will also fight for the top of the podium.
200m Dash- This event looks pretty similar to the 100m dash, with Fortin and Smart both ranked in the top 3. But just ahead of smart in the rankings is Riverton standout Clay Lambourne, who realistically could grab as many as 3 golds on the weekend. He is ranked #1 in the 200 and his team in the 4x400 and he is a very close second in the 400m Dash.
400m Dash- If Lambourne, or any of the Riverton 400m runners are going to grab individual glory in the one lap race, they are going to have to go through Trevor Leavitt of Davis. Leavitt holds the top time in the state this season in any division.
800m Run- The 800m is one event that has some crazy depth this year in the state of Utah. The top 12 times in 5A this year are all under 1:58. At the top of the pack is Andrew Brewer of Bingham. Brewer has had a phenomenal season, though he hasn’t got the attention he deserves. He has run more than a second faster than anyone in the event and if he can run like that he is the favorite in the 800m. Davis HS will look to pick up big points as they have 7 athletes entered. Nate Marchant of Jordan and Jackson Sagers of Davis are ranked 2 and 3 in a race that will likely come down to the final meters.
1600m Run- The first state champion of the 2013 season will come from the 1600m run, and Andrew Brewer holds the top rank at 4:14.42. He will have his hands full as Cross Country state champion Kramer Morton of Alta has run a mere .30 seconds slower than Brewer this season. Brayden McLelland is of American Fork is also in the running with a season best of 4:16.74. Davis has 5 of the top 8 entries in this events as well and will look to pull off upsets over the top ranked athletes.
3200m Run- Brayden Mclelland and Conner Mcmillan of AF led the Cavemen to one of the greatest cross country performances in the history of the state this fall at NXN. They are built for distance, and are ranked 1st and 3st in the 3200m. Brady Early of Riverton is ranked 2nd, and the Silverwolves will need a big meet from him to have a chance to overthrow Davis. Unfortunately for Riverton, Even if they do pick up 10 points in this event, Davis has 8 athletes entered in the event and very well could score more than 10 anyway. American Fork also qualified 4 in the top 8.
Boys 110 Hurdles- Jaxon Worthen of Syracuse is the top ranked athlete in the event with an impressive 14.61. Just behind, Mitch Mourdant of Weber is ranked 2nd. Adding a twist into this, Mourdant looked to run a very great time at the BYU invitational a few weeks ago when he stumbled over the final hurdle. This event always comes down to who can make it the whole way while maintaining their form and not hitting any barriers.
Boys 300 Hurdles- Mourdant is the favorite in this event with a season best time of 38.48, 1/10th of a second ahead of Sam Roberts of Alta. These two will both run a lot of events and rounds and it will come down to whichever can recover the quickest between heats.
Boys 4x100- The 4x100 is one of the most exciting events on the track. With the fastest boys in the state teaming up for a full lap race, one bad leg or one bad handoff can spell disaster, and on the other hand great execution can make up for a shortage in speed. Davis is the top ranked team just ahead of Alta and Syracuse. This is going to be an epic battle that you will not want to miss.
Boys 4x400- This one will be the Riverton show. They proved that a few weeks ago as they broke the state record, thanks to 4 strong legs and a great lean at the line. They will be just as concerned with lowering their own record as they will be with the teams around them. If the meet did come down to the final event, Riverton will be sitting pretty. Davis and Alta both also have great 4x400 teams and they will battle very closely as they try to match the Riverton speed.
Boys Sprint Medley Relay- American Fork is a very strong team with a season best 4 seconds ahead of Bingham. They are the favorites, but Davis has depth that may not have been matched up yet in an A team and they could challenge the Cavemen. Bingham will also be in the mix for the title and if they can get Andrew Brewer on the anchor they could win it as well.
Boys Shot Put- Lavontae Calhoun of Jordan leads the state by a foot in this event and as far as our sources show, he is undefeated this outdoor season in the Shot Put. Ben Bracken of Davis and Miller Crawford of Riverton are very close in both the Shot and the Discus and they will push each other well in the quest for a state title.
Boys Discus- Christian Shaver of Jordan is the favorite in the Discus leading the state by nearly two feet. Miller Crawford of Riverton ranks 2nd and with the right wind or the perfect throw he looks to be the only one who realistically could beat out Shaver.
Boys Javelin- Austin Kafentzis is the state record holder in this event, and this season he has come within less than a foot of breaking the record he set last season. He will look to improve on his state record as the battle for silver behind him is led by Mason Woodward of Syracuse.
Boys High Jump- Marcus Kemp of Layton has cleared 1.5” higher than anyone in the state, reaching 6’9.5” already. Austin Baker of Alta has cleared 6’8” and the two are going to be flying high as they push the bar higher and higher.
Boys Long Jump- Kemp of Layton is the favorite in the Long Jump as well as the High Jump as he has jumped 22’7” this season. Stratton Brown of Riverton has gone 22’1” and Blake Williams of Viewmont has reached 22 feet.
Boys Pole Vault- Mitch Kalinin of Bingham is the top vaulter in the state across all divisions. He has cleared 14’10” as well as narrowly missing 15’1” at the BYU Invite a few weeks ago. His teammate Mitch Robinson is tied for second with Andrew Tyndall of Davis and Benjamin Schulties of West Jordan, all at 14 feet even.