by James Tate
Every track and field season, athletes display their athletic talents and accomplish feats many thought they could not achieve. Whether it means breaking personal best times and throws, or soaring to new heights, track and field brings an excitement of individual and team joy like no other sport. This season, region and state champions are ready to make their name known. It is time to see who will be the ones to watch this year, starting with the sprinters.
Boys sprint events
Titans DJ Mayes
Syracuse Titans senior DJ Mayes returns as the top sprinter in the 100m and 200m events. Mayes ran a blazing personal record of 10.95 in the 100m and 22.06 in the 200m. Mayes anchored the Titans 4×100 relay team to a second-place finish at the 2023 state championships with a time of 42.30.
Mayes teammate Wyatt Harmer, Weber Warriors senior Nakosi Swain, and Fremont Silverwolves senior Noah Austin will be the top challengers in the 100m and 200m events. Harmer, a junior, has a personal best time of 10.98 in the 100m and 22.43 in the 200m. Swain finished second to Mayes at the 2023 Region 1 championship with a personal best time of 11.09. Austin finished fourth in the 100m and third in the 200m events at region last year.
The 400m event looks like Farmington Phoenix senior Bode Jensen’s race to dominate this season. Jensen returns after winning the region title last year and finishing fifth place at the state meet in 48.92. Jensen had a great indoor season and is ready to be the state’s best. A strong challenge will come from Titans junior Preston Haney and Silverwolves junior Orion Patten. Haney has a personal best of 50.98, and Patten finished fifth at the region championship meet last season. Weber senior Nicholas Larsen had an impressive indoor season with a 49.81 time and will be a major factor for the region and state championship.
Girls sprint events
Annalise Ririe (l) and Anna Ward (r)
After dominating the region and state sprints the past few seasons, Fremont Silverwolf alum Amare Harlin has taken her talents to the University of Michigan. One of the most decorated track and field athletes this state has seen, Harlan holds numerous records that will be challenging for anyone to surpass. The wonderful part of high school athletics is seeing who the new stars will be, and the girls sprinters are ready to show off their talents.
An exciting competition of young sprinters will take shape this season as sophomores Kenley Fuit (Fremont) and Sadie Fletcher (Weber) and juniors Kaela Boden (Syracuse) and Aubree Hardy (Davis) return after being region finalists in the 100m event. Fuit finished third at the region championship meet, and Fletcher crossed the line just behind her in fourth place. Boden was fifth, and Hardy was next, finishing sixth.
Weber’s senior Annalise Ririe may be the next star this season. Last season, Ririe won the 400m event and finished second in the 200m to Harlan at the region championship meet. In the 400m event, Ririe finished in third place at the state meet in a time of 57.90. The 400m event could be the most exciting in the region as six finalists return to challenge for the title. Ririe, Anna Ward (Layton), Eliza Swain (Davis), Katie Reaveley (Farmington), Katelynn Poulsen (Weber), and Sadie Parrish (Fremont) will be favorites in the 400m event.
Fuit, Fletcher, Hardy, and Ward will challenge Ririe in the 200 m event. Talented sprinters to watch include Jane Shultz of Fremont, Destinee Watson of Davis, Layton’s Ava Wyatt, and Brynn Kingston. Shultz recently defeated Fletcher and Hardy in the 55m event at the Weber State University High School Indoor Meet.
Hurdle events
Warriors Josh Hamblin
The return of 110mh state champion and Weber’s sophomore sensation Josh Hamblin is the buzz around this season’s hurdle competition. Hamblin captured the region title in 15.19 and then blazed to the state title in 14.52. He was a double winner at the region meet, winning the 300mh event in a time of 39.52. Improving his time at the state meet to 39.32, Hamblin finished fourth in a senior-packed final and looks like a state favorite this season.
Davis junior Caleb Flint will be a strong challenger to Hamblin in both hurdle events this season. Flint finished second at the region championship meet in 15.80 and fourth in the 300mh in 41.48. Fremont senior Brody Clark is one to watch this season, just behind Hamblin and Flint, with a 15.91 best.
The graduation of state champion and record holder Weber’s Eden DeVries (Weber State) leaves the 100mh event open. State finalist senior Sahara Yates of Farmington takes over as the number hurdler in the 100mh event in Region 1. Yates’ challengers will be Layton senior Janaka Seegmiller, Fuit, Mallory Palmer from Layton, and Weber’s Halie Weston this season.
Yates, Seegmiller, Weston, and Aubrey Rowe of Davis will be the top 300mh to watch.
Relay events (4×100 and 4×200)
Silverwolves Noah Austin
The Lancers captured the double victory with first-place finishes at the region championship in the boys’ 4×100 and 4×200 events. Still, Syracuse will enter the season as the favorite in both events. The Titans finished in second place at last year’s state championship meet in the 4×100 and return Mayes, Harmer, White, and Haney to the team this season. Fremont will be a talented group, with Austin, Patten, and Luke Shultz as top returners.
All coaches must decide which runners will run individual and relay events to give them the best chance to score points for the team. The 4×200 relay will be one of those challenging decision events, and the Weber Warriors could capture both relay events. The Warriors were disqualified in last year’s region championship meet in the 4×100, but they return a solid group that is ready to make up for that showing.
Swain, Hamblin, Easton Jones, Tyson Higgs, Jayden Hernandez, and Salesi Moa are all sprinters who will contribute to the Warriors’ team this season.
With Harlan anchoring, the Fremont girls’ 4×100 relay team took first place at the region and state championship meets. This season, the Silverwolves will bring back a strong team that is looking to show they are still the number one relay team.
Fuit, Haylee John, Shultz, Addison Smith, and Ashlyn Carlton are names to watch on both relay teams, which are looking to repeat for the Silverwolves. The Darts have talented up-and-coming sprinters, including Hardy, Watson, Aaleyah Dyson, and Kallista Wright. The Warriors will be a strong team with Ririe, her sister Isabelle, Fletcher, and Saige Rasmussen.
The Warriors won the girls’ 4×200 relay event at last year’s region championship meet in 1:46.05. Fremont and Davis are teams that will challenge Weber in this event for the region championship.
photos courtesy James Tate
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