by James Tate
Girls field events
Amare Harlan of Gold Medal Athletics Track Club and attends Fremont High School won the girl’s long jump event with a leap of 19′.5″. Harlan, the defending 6A long jump state champion and the University of Michigan commit, is on track for a big senior season. The girl’s pole vault winner Sabrina Fairbanks attends Mountain Ridge High School and wins with a vault of 11’06”. Another notable finish was by Farmington High School senior Sierra Yerman in tenth place with a vault of 8’6″.
Girls sprints
Harlan blazed on the track in winning the 60-meter finals in 7.50 seconds. The finals included an impressive field with defending 2022 state 100-meter champions in 6A, Harlan, 5A, Sarah Ballard of Lehi High School, and 2A Jada Crockett of Rowland Hall High School. Ballard finished second in 7.51 seconds, and Crockett finished sixth in 7.98 seconds. Ballard and Crockett are both part of the Gold Medal Athletics Track Club.
Harlan completed her first-place trifecta by winning the 200 meters in 24.05 seconds. Ballard finished second in 24.20 seconds, and third place went to Snow Canyon High School freshman Amelia Nadauld in 24.86 seconds.
Gold Medal Athletic Track Club completed first place in all the sprint events as Madi Durrant won the 400-meter race. Durrant, the defending state outdoor 5A 400-meter champion and a senior from Wasatch High School, had a winning time of 57.59 seconds. Alta High School attendee Elyse Jessen finished in second place in a time of 57.98 seconds. Third-place finisher Bria Anderson of Gold Medal Athletics attends Timpanogos High School finishing time was 58.58 seconds.
The 60-meter hurdles saw Eden DeVries of West Hurdle Training capture first place in 9.04 seconds. DeVries attends Weber High School and has been dominating girls’ indoor hurdles this year with victories at the Brigham Young University Invitational, Weber State Indoor Invitational, and now the UHSTCA Indoor Invitational. Finishing third was DeVries’ teammate at West Hurdle Training and Farmington High School senior Katrina Hirst in 9.54 seconds.
Girls distance events
The girl’s 1600-meter run saw 267 runners compete in the event. The winner was Skyridge High School senior Kylie Olsen, with a time of 5:03.15. Olsen edged out American Fork High School junior Avalon Meachem who crossed the line in 5:03.45.
The longest-running event of the meet was the 3200 meters, and eighth grader Adria Favero took first place with a time of 11:03.78. Favero trains with the Wolfpack Running Club and looks to be the next star of girls’ distance in Utah. Second place finisher was Union High School sophomore Jaylie Jenkins, with a time of 11:09.39.
Olsen captured her second victory of the meet by winning the 800 meters in a time of 2:17.22. Second place was Olsen’s Skyridge High School teammate Halle Mehr who runs for Gold Medal Athletics Track Club. Mehr finished with a time of 2:18.56.
Boys field events
Chayse Sloan of the Idaho Dash Track Club captured first place in the long jump. Sloan’s mark was 22’8.5″. Dayton Runyan of Farmington High School finished second in the long jump event with a leap of 22′.25″.
The pole vault event saw Utah Pole Vault Academy teammates Wyatt Barker and Jackson Merrill clear the height of 14’6″. Barker was declared the winner because he did not miss his attempt at the winning height. In the week’s previous indoor meet, the BYU Invitational, Merrill finished ahead of Barker. Merrill finished second with a mark of 15’4″ and Barker cleared 14’4″, good for third place.
Boys sprints
The highlight of the boy’s sprints was Colby Anderson of Gold Medal Athletics Track Club and a senior at Roy High School. Anderson did not win an event but finished second in the main three sprint events at the meet.
The 60-meter event final was exciting as Mercury Track Club sprinter David Konan crossed the line in first place and had a personal best time of 6.97 seconds. Konan, a sophomore who attends Taylorsville High School, is ready to be a force in the upcoming outdoor season. Anderson finished second with a season-best time of 7.06 seconds. Jonathan Pugmire, Anderson’s teammate at Gold Medal Athletic Track Club, finished in 7.07 seconds and was good for third place. Impressive finish by long jump winner Runyan in a time of 7.11 seconds, good for sixth place and a personal best.
Amara Adams of the Mercury Track Club won the 200-meter event in a personal best time of 21.95 seconds. Adams held off Anderson, who finished with a personal best time of 22.13 seconds. Mountain View High School senior Kellis Taylor was third at 22.32 seconds.
Corner Canyon High School junior Tate Kjar won the boy’s 400-meter event with a time of 48.79 seconds. Anderson crossed the line in another second-place finish in 49.06 seconds. Kjar and Anderson are returning state finalists in the 400-meter outdoor event and look strong to compete for the state championship.
The boy’s 60-meter hurdle event saw Park City High School senior Ethan Brotherson capture the title with a time of 8.12 seconds. In a close finish, Lander Valley High School (WY) senior Gage Gose crossed the line in 8.14 seconds. Zane Wong of West Hurdle Training and Farmington High School finished third in 8.36 seconds.
Boys distance events
The boy’s 1600-meter event saw the most participation of athletes at the meet, with over 400 runners. Orem High School senior Tyson Echohawk finished first with a winning time of 4:10.81. Right behind Echohawk was Mountain View High School senior Liam Heninger in 4:11.96. American Fork High School junior Daniel Simmons came in third place with a time of 4:13.35.
Woods Cross High School senior Sam Hansen won the 3200-meter race in 9:11.99. Second place finisher was Noah Jenkins of Herriman High School held off Chris Henry of Park City High School in 9:14.13; Henry finished in 9:14.15.
Pinedale High School (WY) senior Colby Jenks was the winner of the 800-meter event in a time of 1:53.41. Idaho Dash Track Club runner Kevin Corrigan took second in 1:55.30. Third place was Herriman High School senior Kadan Allen in 1:56.16.
photo courtesy of Kim McFadden IG: kmacphotographyy