Jake Heslington of Timpanogos made his decision to run for BYU in the fall - Photo by Kyle Perry
Today is the National Letter of Intent day, with high school athletes from all around the state will be deciding which college colors they will be representing in the fall. We have posted as many of the signings as we caught wind of, and asked a few of the athletes some questions to gain some insight on what their futures hold.
We wanted to know the following:
1. What are you most excited about for running at the school you chose?
2. What would you like to accomplish before you graduate?
3. What event would you like to focus on in college?
Jake Heslington – Timpanogos
Jake has had a great career so far, winning four state titles and posting great times. He has committed to BYU and will contribute to an already deep distance squad.
1. I am most excited for the overall experience with such a great team and a great coach.
2. I want to repeat my state championships and possibly set the 4a state record in either or both the 1600 and the 3200.
3. There are more events in college than in high school, so I am not sure what will work best for me, so I will see.
Preston Johnson – Davis High
Preston has committed to Weber State University. He currently runs all the distance events from 800m to 3200m.
1. I am really excited about the team's reputation and being able to work with coach Pilkington. I think he is a great coach and I believe that he will be able to help me and the rest of the team to run our best. I am also really excited to run on all of the trails in the area.
2. My goal before I get to weber is to run sub 9:00 in the 3200.
3. I want to focus on running the longer events. I havn't decided what will be my main focus but I am planning on the 5,000 and the 10,000.
Mika Mason – Richfield
Mika has committed to Weber State University. He runs the 200m and 400m
1. I am excited for being able to work with the athletes and coaches and still be a Wildcat
2. My Goal before I get there is to win State track together as a team and bring the trophy back home to Richfield
3. The event I plan on focusing on at Weber is the 400m
Shea at State XC - Photo by Kyle Perry
Shea Martinez – Davis High School
Shea has signed the National Letter of Intent to run for BYU this fall. She runs the 800 as well as all the other distance events with her most formidable PR's coming in the 800 and 1600.
1. Okay... One thing that I'm really excited about when I get to byu is the team! They all seem like really nice fun girls and I'm really excited to be apart of such a great group of people!
2. some things I would like to accomplish before I graduate...I would like to run my 800 under 2:07 and my mile under 4:50.
3. And when I'm in college I really want to focus on my 800 and I hope to get my time down!
Ellie(96) with her davis 4x800 team - Photo courtesy of Corbin Talley
Ellie Child – Davis High School
Ellie has signed the National Letter of Intent to run for Weber State come September. She runs all the distance events from 800m to 3200.
Emily Crests the hill at state XC
Emily Rich - Bingham High School
Emily has committed to BYU, where she will join her former high school teammate, Laura Young. Emily won this year's 5A state cross country title and anchored the state winning sprint medley relay team in 2012. Her personal bests are 10:59 in the 3200 and 5:01 in the 1600.
1. I am most excited for the team! I have already started to get to know some of the girls and I love them!
2. I would love to be able to get about 4:50 in the mile and improve upon my second place finish in the 2-mile at 5A state last year.
3. Definitely more of the longer distances. I would love to try some of the new events that college offers, maybe even the steeplechase!
Talem Franco – Wasatch High School
1- The thing that I am most excited for running at BYU is the team unity and competition that is there. Having an atmosphere that everyone wants to compete but will also support you in it is what I can't wait for.
2- One thing that I would like to accomplish before graduating high school; I'd like to get a sub-fifty in the 800m and for graduating BYU make it to nationals and hopefully the Olympics.
3- The event that I am probably going to concentrate on is the 800m.
Talem has committed to run at BYU this fall. He has an 800m PR of 1:53.97 and a mile PR of 4:23.20 and will fit well with a strong distance crew at BYU.
Ben Saarel – Park City HS
Ben had a standout XC season, and you can expect big things out of him come outdoor season. Ben’s success will surely continue as he will be joining the Colorado Buffaloes.
Jackson Sagers – Davis High School
Jackson has committed to run for Utah State University this fall.
Alex Hedquist – Davis High School
Alex has committed to run for BYU this fall.
Jensen Williams - Maple Mountain High School
Jensen has committed to run this fall for Utah State University. She has tried her hand at plenty of events but her best PR comes in the 400m at 56.69.
1- I'm most excited about the teammates, coaches, and to be part of the student section at USU, and to get to take classes from great faculty.
2- Befor I graduate I want to help my team become a state championship team, and go for my goals that I still want to accomplish
3- I want to focus on the 400m
Megan Glasmann - Park CIty
Megan Glasmann of Park City High School has announced that she will be throwing the Javelin next season for the Stanford Cardinal. Not only will she get the opportunity to compete for one of the most storied programs in the country, she will also get a top tier education at the same time.
Of her decision Megan said "(I'm) Very excited to have the opportunity to train and compete with such a talented group of athletes under such an incredible throws coach, Michelle Eisenreich. Stanford will provide me with a challening academic four years and I am looking forward to all of it. As a senior, I am so excited for the upcoming track season. I plan on breaking the All-Time list UT state record in the Javelin and moving up in my national rankings"
Melissa Garrett - Ogden High School
Melissa Garrett of Ogden High School announced today that she will sign with Weber State University. She ran Cross Country, and on the track she runs the 3200m and the 1600m.
Jordan Cross - Ogden High School
Jordan Cross signed the national letter of intent to run for Shorter College in Georgia. Jordan ran Cross Country, and in the track this season has been very strong in the 1600m and 3200m. He is a 2x Nike National XC finalist. Jordan's father is the former head coach from Shorter College and the family ties to the school were likely a factor in Jordan's decision.
Avery Calton - Ogden High School
Avery signed the National Letter of Intent with a scholarship to play Soccer for BYU. She is a track standout and was State XC champion as a freshman as well as winning state in both the 1600m and 800m. BYU gets a talented athlete with Avery and if they are lucky, maybe she will compete for the track team as well.
Michael Finch - Pine View High School
Michael Finch from Pine View High School has signed for Southern Utah University. He is planning on serving an LDS mission after high school and intends to begin at SUU in 2015.
Derek Lord - Woods Cross
Derek has had a great season so far, setting the meet record at the BYU Invite in the 60m dash at 6.89. He has run fast in the smith field house and now it will be base camp for his training as he has signed the national letter of intent to run for BYU next year.
More Info will be added as it becomes available
if you want your announcement posted, please email us at milesplitut@gmail.com
Jake Heslington of Timpanogos made his decision to run for BYU in the fall - Photo by Kyle Perry