Titan Track Bulletin - May 18, 2014

2014- A ROLLER COASTER RIDE
    In early December at our Indoor Track Meeting, and again in February at our Outdoor Track Meeting, many Titans made the commitment to do whatever they could to make the 2014 Track and Field season a great experience on both an individual and TEAM basis.  I think that for all committed athletes, that goal was met.  As usual, each workout, each week, each meet resembled a roller coaster ride.  There were many incredible highs followed by some lows, again on an individual and TEAM basis.  The State Championships definitely bore that out as there were some incredible high points followed by some disappointments, then more highs.  From an overall perspective, it was a great meet and a great season.  There were many life lessons learned that at some point in our lives will validate the sacrifice, hard work, dedication and commitment. 
 
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
    The Lady Titans capped off an incredible year by placing 4th in the 5A State Championships.  In the seven-year history of Syracuse High, this is the highest TEAM finish in the state girls competition.  Another milestone was achieved when Cidnee Davies became the first Lady Titan State Champion as she captured the 100m hurdles in a school record time of 14.64.  She was the only sophomore to make the finals.  Brenn Flint just about duplicated the honor as she was leading the discus competition with a school record throw of 133'11", but was passed by a Herriman thrower on her last throw.  And Suzy Robertson was just a couple strides away from an individual state title as her 43.70 school record in the 300m hurdles put her in 2nd place.  These three will be honored as First Team All-State athletes for their performances.
    Jentry Skidmore capped off a great freshman year by finishing 3rd in the long jump (17'00.75") and 4th in the 100m dash (12.67).  She was the only freshman to score in either event. Cidnee jumped 16'10 to place 5th in the long jump. Isabella Williams, though hobbled by her ankle injury, still ran 5:06.89 to finish 5th in the 1600m run.  Suzy’s 15.18 was good enough to finish 5th in the 100m hurdles.  This missed 3rd place by just .01.  Brenn picked up a 3rd place medal in the shot put with a PR toss of 37'08.75.  Though it was not a scoring event (we wish it were as we would have finished 3rd in team scoring), Mallory Ashby placed 3rd in the pole vault clearing 9'03, and Lauren Busby finished 6th at 8;00.  Both were PR marks.  Jentry, Suzy, Katrina Dunlap and Sharlie Dimick ran great medley relay legs to finish 4th in another school record time of 4:13.22.  To cap it off for the Lady Titans, the seniors girls went out in style as Sharlie, Katrina, Mallory and Suzy all ran their fastest splits of the year to finish 6th in the 4x400m relay.  Their time of 4:03.75 was the #2 mark in school history.  What a great way to cap off the highest Lady Titan finish in Track and Field.
    The Boys chances were hampered somewhat by injuries and some bad luck.  But there were many highlights in the 8th place finish.  Their point total was only two points from 6th place.  Caden Call had our highest finish as he threw 53'05.25" to place 3rd in the shot put.  This will earn him Second Team All-State honors.  Dallas Besaw’s 49'03.25" in the shot was good enough for 7th place.  Colten Yardley (5th, 15.00) and Karson Nielson (6th, 15.23), picked up good points in the 110m hurdles.  Colten also finished 7th in the 300m hurdles in 39.15.  Kavika Fonua’s 11.17 was good enough to finish 5th in the 100m dash.  Nick Merriman cleared 12'06 to place 7th in the pole vault and threw 141'10 to finish 6th in the discus.  Braiden Tovey’s 141'05 was 7th in the discus.  Mason Leishman threw 158'09 to place 6th in the javelin and had a big PR jump of 6'03 to finish 8th in the high jump.  The final event of the meet perhaps typified the entire season.  There were some extreme highs and lows, all within 3:27.45.  The 4x400m relay was off to a great start thanks to outstanding legs by Neilson and Loren Burrell.  Hunter Woodhall then took the baton and ran like he was possessed over the first 200m of his leg.  At that point, a collision in front of him sent him to the track.  He hurried up, finished his leg strong, passed the baton to Yardley, who ran a sub-50 split to get us across in 6th place.  This race encapsulated many things that make this the greatest sport.  The individual efforts and sacrifices of athletes working towards a common goal as a TEAM.  The importance that supportive TEAMmates can make.   How a person reacts after a set-back (or crash to the track).  Sacrificing individual goals for the TEAM.  I’m referring to Karson running in the trials Friday, even though he knew it may hurt his chances in the finals of his events on Saturday.  While a clean race in the relay would have resulted in a much better time and probably a 6th place TEAM finish, maybe there were some other lessons learned. 
    Congrats to all who made it to State and gave it their best efforts no matter what the outcome.  Thanks to the Coaches for their support from the first gun to the final finish.  And thanks to those Titans who supported their TEAMmates over the long two days.  This support made a huge difference.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
    Mason Leishman capped off his junior year in style with two top-eight finished at State.  This should be great incentive to set some lofty goals for 2015.  Though they have already been selected, Becca Jacobsen, Cody Kelley and Zach Griffin are honored again as they were selected to the 5A Academic All-State Team.  All three have maintained a 4.0 GPA over the last four years.  And they have been able to do this while still giving 100% effort to and support of Titan Track and Field.   

JV/SOPHOMORE REGION
    The Boys finished 5th and the Girls 4th at the Sophomore/JV Region meet at Davis.  Bryant Edgerton picked up the only individual title as he won the 3200m run in 10:22.0.  Nicole Kimber moved into the #8 spot on the Titan All-Time list with her PR throw of 78'00 in the javelin.

2014- A RECORD YEAR FOR RECORDS
    Besides the highest finish ever at State for the Lady Titans, there were many other impressive stats that point out how good a year it really was.  Nine Outdoor School Records were set by the Girls and 46 performances made the All-Time Top Ten list.  The Boys had two Outdoor School Records and filled the All-Time list with 40 performances.  In the average of the Top-Three performances in each event, eight of the 14 events for Girls and six of the 14 for Boys saw new records.  That showed not only quality this year, but very good depth in most events.  An amazing feat:  Suzy Robertson has made the All-Time list in eight of the 14 events.

ALUMNI ACTION
    Mayra Franco ran some great times at the Big Sky Championships running 11.67 in the 100m dash to finish 7th, and 25.12 in the 200m dash.  Lindsey McFarland ran 2:18.05 in the 800m run, not what she hoped for, but still a solid season for the “energizer bunny”.  Tyrell Yardley ran 46.98 in the 400m dash at the Georgia Tech Invitational.

TEAM PICTURES
    We will take TEAM pictures Monday (May 19th).  Uniforms at Letter Point Charts will be turned in at that time.

TITAN DECATHLON
    The 7th Titan Decathlon will be contested this Tuesday and Wednesday. Anyone can enter, but you must commit to compete in all 10 events, not just your speciality. It's a lot of fun to participate in or just to help officiate and watch. Many have found some new events they are proficient in while others find they really aren't very good at many of the events. But everyone has some fun.

TEAM BARBEQUE
    We will hold this Thursday, May 22nd at 5:00 in the Stadium.  Parents are invited.  We will try to be finished with eating and the awards by about 6:30.

CROSS COUNTRY MEETING
    This will be held May 22nd at 3:30 in the Blue Room.  Contact Coach Wilcox if you have questions.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
May 19 - TEAM Pictures, Uniforms turned in, Letter Charts turned in @ 2:50
May 20/21 - Titan Decathlon @ 3:00
May 22 - XC Meeting in the Blue Room @ 3:30
May 22 - Track Barbeque in the Stadium @ 5:00 pm

Titan Track Bulletin - May 11, 2014

REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS
    The Region One Championships hosted by Syracuse was definitely a case of many highs and a few lows.  Overall, it was a great meet and there are way too many people to thank for their efforts to name all of them.  But thanks to all for your efforts with concessions, gate, officiating, etc.  These are not the efforts that make the results or PR lists, but are equally important to the Titan Track and Field Program.
    In TEAM results, the Boys finished 2nd and the Girls 3rd, just a four points out of 2nd.  Along the way, there were many outstanding performances, including two school records established.  So, here are some of the highs and lows.
High- Daunte Atkinson qualifying for finals in the 100, 200, and 400 dashes; Low- Daunte straining a hip-flexor and not able to run finals;
Highs- Isabella Williams and Sharlie Dimick going 2-3 in the 1600m run in times of 5:01.24 and 5:08.58; High/Low- Isabella spraining her ankle in the middle of the 3200, still placing 4th in a school record time of 11:09.03.  But this injury took her out of the rest of the meet;
Lowest- Ben Jensen getting injured and missing out on a chance to go to State in the javelin (he’s doing fine in case you haven’t heard);
Highs- Region Championships from- Cidnee Davies (long jump, 17'05, and 100m hurdles, 14.98); Suzy Robertson (300m hurdles, 44.98); Jentry Skidmore (100m dash, 12.92); Karson Nielson (110m hurdles, 15.06); Colten Yardley (300m hurdles, 38.51, school and stadium records); Caden Call (shot put, 53'07.75); Kavika Fonua (100m dash, 11.00).
More Highs- Other State Qualifying (top-four) Performances- Cidnee Davies (3rd place 100m dash, 13.24); Jentry Skidmore (4th place 200m dash, 26.64 and 3rd place long jump, 16'10); Brenn Flint (2nd place discus, 117'05, 3rd place shot put, 37'02); Suzy Robertson (3rd place 100m hurdles, 15.29); Colten Yardley (2nd place 110m hurdles (15.09); Diante Lora (3rd place 100m dash, 11.44); Kavika Fonua (4th place 200m dash, 22.82); Hunter Woodhall (4th place 400m dash, 52.41); Dallas Besaw (2nd place shot put, 49'01); Nick Merriman (2nd place pole vault, 13'00, 3rd  place discus, 140'02); Braiden Tovey (2nd place discus, 141'09); Mason Leishman (2nd place javelin, 152'06).
Relay Highs (top-four finishes)- Katrina Dunlap, Mallory Ashby, Sharlie and Jentry (4th place 4x400m relay, 4:12.26); Jacob Winger, Diante Lora, Broderick Hall, Colton Chadwick (2nd place 4x100m relay, 44.27); Lora, Chadwick, Will Haddick, Loren Burrell (2nd place medley relay, 3:44.44); and Woodhall, Nielson, Haddick and Ben Lantz (3rd place 4x400m relay, 3:29.70).
    Complete results can be found at: www.runnercard.com
Senior Highs- Many seniors finished up their high school track and field careers with outstanding performances.  And some finished without reaching all of the lofty goals they may have set earlier in the process.  If you have read your Titan Track “Bible”, you should know that the pursuit of excellence, the journey is more important than the goal itself.  As coaches, we hope you have enjoyed the journey. 
    Alison Levine is the only women to climb the highest peak on all seven continents.  She was born with some physical limitations (heart problem making oxygen transport and circulation to the extremities difficult) that should make a career of competitive chess more logical than mountain climbing.  She chose the more difficult task.  Here is a link to a short clip where she explains the importance of the journey in your pursuits far better than I can.  It’s well worth about three minutes of your time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMNISuwhU_U
    Here is a link to a longer (20 minutes) and much more informative clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHbWN7J9G4o
    She presents some great life lessons of the highs and lows of training, goals, fear, teamwork, etc.  I wish I would have found this earlier in the year.  But it’s still great because she’s talking about things that apply to all aspects of your lives.

CONTRATS HUNTER WOODHALL
    Hunter traveled to Mesa for the Desert Challenge Games for Paralympians.  He ran 23.42 in the 200m dash 54.67 in the 400m dash to place 1st in his age group in both events.  It was a great experience for him and a chance to meet some great fellow-athletes.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
    Jenna Uusitalo has made great contributions to the Titan programs as an example of hard work, commitment and support.  Maddy Neyts may have fallen a little short of some goals, but no one has worked harder to achieve some lofty standards.  Ashton O’Neil battled injuries her senior year but still helped the TEAM with some good relay legs.  For two years, the “Flintski’s” (Bryson and Braiden) have done everything they can to help make Titan Track and Field better.  Kalli Helmand Brayden Burrell are a big part of the “crew” that makes sure the meets are run well and that results are correct.  That keeps other coaches off this old coaches’ rear end.  

JV/SOPHOMORE REGION
    This will be held Tuesday at Davis High.  ALL sophomores are eligible to compete.  Juniors and seniors may compete in events in which they competed in during the regular season, but did not qualify for the Region Championships.  Make sure you are at practice Monday if you plan on competing.  Those going will be excused at 1:20 and the bus will leave at 1:30.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
    28 Titans will be competing at State in individual and relay events.  This year the chase for TEAM trophies is very wide open.  Both Boys and Girls will be in the hunt for some hardware.  We want as much support as possible for both days.  There will be a bus and we will pay your entry fee.  I will need to know ahead of time to have you excused for Friday.  There will be a TEAM meeting Thursday after school in Room 2118 for everyone (competitors as well as supporters) going so we can go over all final information.

TEAM PICTURES
    We want to take pictures with the ENTIRE TEAM in them Monday, May 19th.  We were missing many when we took pictures the first time.  We will have you turn in your uniforms and completed letter charts after the pictures.  AVOID THE FINE LIST- have your uniform turned in on time.  No need to wash them- they will all get cleaned this summer.

TITAN DECATHLON
    Who are the best overall athletes at Syracuse?  That question will be answered May 20th and 21st at the Titan Decathlon.  Anyone can enter, but you must commit to compete in all events.

TEAM BARBEQUE
    We will hold this Thursday, May 22nd at 5:00 in the Stadium.  Parents are invited.  We will try to be finished with eating and the awards by about 6:30.

CROSS COUNTRY MEETING
    This will be held May 22nd at 3:30 in the Blue Room.  Contact Coach Wilcox if you have questions.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
May 13 - JV/Sophomore Region at Davis @ 3:00
May 16/17 - STATE at BYU @ TBA
May 19 - TEAM Pictures, Uniforms turned in, Letter Charts turned in @ 2:50
May 20/21 - Titan Decathlon @ 3:00
May 22 - XC Meeting in the Blue Room @ 3:30
May 22 - Track Barbeque in the Stadium @ 5:00 pm

Titan Track Bulletin - May 4, 2014

WEBER/LAYTON TRI
    This was a rather low-key meet as many athletes competed in some different events or only entered one or two in getting ready for the invitational meet Friday.  Weber’s Girls won the meet scoring 77 points to the Lady Titans 60 and Layton’s 19.  In Boys competition, Syracuse finished with 77 points to defeat Weber (69) and Layton (24).  There were many PR’s and some movements up the Region Ranking list, but no School Records or Top-Ten performances.
 
HERRIMAN TWILIGHT INVITATIONAL
    As an alternative to the two-day BYU Invitational, the Titans traveled Herriman Friday for their Twilight Invitational.  This turned out to be a good move as there were four School Records established and 21 state qualifying marks achieved.  It was a well-run meet with some tough competition.  Herriman captured both team titles with the Titan Boys finishing 2nd and the Lady Titans 3rd.  Herriman is easily the favorite to win the Girls 5A title and their Boys are also a favorite to make it a sweep.
    Highlights for the Girls included:
Cidnee Davies- 1st 100m hurdles (14.75, School Record, SQ), 1st pole vault (9'00, #2 all-time), 2nd long jump (17'04, #2 all-time, SQ);
Suzy Robertson- 1st 300m hurdles (44.56, School Record, SQ), 3rd 100m hurdles (15.24);
Isabella Williams- 2nd 800m run (2:17.78, School Record, SQ), 1st 3200m run (11:56.26);
Jentry Skidmore- 2nd 100m dash (12.45, #2 all-time, SQ), 2nd long jump (17'06, SQ), 3rd 200m dash (22.46, #3 all-time);
Sharlie Dimick- 2nd 1600m run (5:13.81, SQ);
Mallory Ashby- 2nd pole vault (8'06); and
Cidnee, Suzy, Sharlie and Katrina Dunlap- 1st medley relay (4:19.47, SQ).
    There were many more big PR’s set in the meet.  Abby Palmer improved her best in both the long jump (14'07) and 300m hurdles (53.26).  Arlyne Arteaga also had a PR in the 300m hurdles with her 57.15.  Kelsie Taylor (1:09.75) and Amber Mecham (1:12.16) each chopped 2-seconds off their seasonal bests in the 400m dash.  Ashley Carter dropped her 800m best to 2:49.51.  Renee Peterson almost matched her 11-second PR of 6:10.48 that she had set on Wednesday.
    Boys highlights included:
Colten Yardley- 3rd place 300m hurdles (39.34, School Record, SQ), 4th 110m hurdles (15.49, SQ);
Daunte Atkinson- 1st 400m dash (49.95, #2 all-time, SQ), 1st 200m dash (22.62, SQ), 2nd 100m dash (10.89- wind negated a #2 all-time and SQ mark);
Caden Call- 2nd shot put (52'05, #2 all-time, SQ);
Dallas Besaw- 4th shot put (50'08, #3 all-time, SQ, 4' PR);
Nicholas Merriman- 1st pole vault (13'00, #3 all-time, SQ), also outdoor PR’s in the long jump (19'09.50, #4 all-time) and 110m hurdles (15.80, #7 all-time);
Will Haddick- 2nd pole vault (12'06, #4 all-time, SQ);
Mason Leishman- 2nd javelin (158'01, SQ);
Karson Nielson- 3rd 110m hurdles (15.19, SQ), 4th 300m hurdles (40.66);
Ryan Andreasen- 3rd 800m run (1:59.95, #7 all-time).
    Blake Taurone chopped over a second off his 300m hurdle best in capturing 7th in 41.61, the #9 all-time mark and also PR’ed in the 110m hurdles in 16.31.  Loren Burrell continued to drop his time in the 800m run as he ran 2:04.39.  Will Cannon chopped almost 30-seconds off his 3200m run time as he ran 11:05.01.  Zach Griffin ran a PR 2:09.61 to win his heat in the 800m run.  Jacob Winger (11.63) and Cristian Rivera (11.82) PR’ed in the 100m dash, while Ben Lantz had a big breakthrough running 54.16 in the 400m dash.
    The meet proved to be a great alternative to spending seven hours on the bus and 24 hours in the sun at BYU.
    Complete results can be found at: www.runnercard.com

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
    Renee Peterson has dropped over 10-seconds off her PR in just one week to gain one of the honors.  While some nagging injuries have limited Lauren Busby to just participating in the pole vault (where she has the #6 all-time mark), her contributions in all aspects of helping the TEAM are incredible.  Zach Griffin, Loren Burrell and Ryan Andreasen all had huge PR’s in the 800m run and will continue to improve.  And Will Haddick’s patience has paid off as he has qualified for State in the pole vault.  His celebration Friday was well-deserved.

ALUMNI ACTION
    Lindsey McFarland dropped her 800m PR to 2:13.61 to finish 3rd in the Border Clash at Boise State.

REGION ONE CHAMPIONSHIPS
    Syracuse will host the Region One Championships Wednesday and Thursday with action beginning at 3:30 each day.  EVERYONE will be involved- it may be as a competitor, official or “cheerleader”.  Most will be involved in all three areas.  We have a great opportunity to challenge for the TEAM titles and we will need the support of everyone.  More information concerning the meet will be sent out later.

NORTH END JUNIOR HIGH CHAMPIONSHIPS
    We will host the eight North End junior highs Friday for their District Qualifying meet.  Events will begin at 3:00. 

JV/SOPHOMORE REGION
    Details have not been finalized concerning this meet.  ALL sophomores are eligible to compete.  Juniors and seniors may compete in events in which they competed in during the regular season, but did not qualify for the Region Championships.  The meet will be held May 13th- not sure where yet.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
May 7/8 - Region One Championships at SHS @ 3:00 pm
May 9 - Jr High North End at SHS @ 3:00 pm
May 13 - JV/Sophomore Region at TBA @ TBA
May 16/17 - STATE at BYU @ TBA