STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: GIRLS 3RD, BOYS 2ND
35 hours after the first gun was fired, the Syracuse High Titans walked off the BYU track with a well-deserved 2nd place trophy. Even though it may have said "Boys" on it, the trophy was really for the entire Titan Track and Field program. All members of the TEAM should feel some ownership in and have a sense of pride in this outstanding achievement.
In the week leading up to State, coaches emphasized a few key ideas: the meet would be like a roller coaster with some triumphs and setbacks- how we reacted to the setbacks and moved forward would be key to our chances of success; it was important to concentrate on the things we have control over, not the things we can’t control; and one crazy old coach even said it would be good if we had bad weather because that would help the team that prepared properly and was mentally tougher than the opposition. Well, that coach got his wish, and the Titans went out and proved they were definitely a tough group of competitors. How tough? Kayla Rees was called on to run eight races over the two days. Colten Yardley, Daunte Atkinson, Hunter Woodhall ran seven great races. Isabella Williams and Mace Kucej were on the track six times. Each of them (and many others) put it all on the line and gave 100% each time.
This State Championships update will be an "hour-by-hour" account of the meet. The 35-hours of State started out at the bottom of the "roller coaster" with Brenn Flint being involved in a car wreck before the first gun had been fired. More on her reaction to that trauma later.
8:00/9:00- Isabella Williams ran a tough 1600m race in 5:09.06 to finish 9th- not what she wanted, but it was the toughest field ever for a Utah 1600. Cidnee Davies, Anne Petersen and Jentry Skidmore got caught up going back and forth between the long jump and 100m hurdles and 100m dash. Cidnee made the finals of the hurdles in the #6 position. Anne had a mishap at the 7th hurdle to just miss finals. Cidnee then jumped 17'05 to finish 2nd in the long jump, while Jentry’s 16'04.75 placed her in 8th. Colten Yardley qualified for finals in the 110m hurdles running 14.65 into a big headwind. Tanner Kutterer had the fastest time for a sophomore in the field running 15.91, just missing the finals.
10:00- Kayla Rees (12.46) and Daunte Atkinson (11.26) made finals in the 100m dash. Jentry missed by one spot running 13.12. Brenn showed how tough she is by "getting her mind right" after the car wreck, then throwing a huge PR of 43'04.75 in the shot put. She led the competition until the final round, but had to settle for 2nd with a school record toss and the #12 mark in Utah history.
11:00- Both 4x100m relays ran great to make the finals. The Girls (Cidnee, Arlyne Arteaga, Anne and Jentry), ran 51.19 to finish in the #6 position. The Boys (Broderic Hall, Colten, Mace and Hunter) avoided disaster at the last handoff to finish in 43.32, the 2nd fastest time in the trials. A controversial, but probably correct, ruling placed Herriman, our competition for 2nd place in the TEAM race, in the finals even though they did not finish the race.
12:00- Kayden White threw 141'06 to finish 7th in the discus. Kayla (58.34), Daunte (49.68) and Hunter (49.73) all made the finals in the 400m dash. Kayla was in the #4 spot, Daunte and Hunter #1 and #2.
2:00- Kaycee Adams just missed the podium by 2-inches finishing 7th in the javelin with a throw of 105'08.50. Emmy Smith threw 91'01. Prediction: these two sophomores will be at the top of the podium in 2016! Colten cruised to the fastest qualifying time of the day in the 300m hurdles running 38.23.
3:00- Anne, Arlyne, Taya Tobler and Isabella ran 4:18.15 in the medley relay, the #2 time in the trials.
4:00- Dylan Brower cleared 6'02 in the high jump to finish 6th and make it on the podium.
5:00- Broderic, Loren Burrell, and Carson and Ryan Andreasen ran 3:38.07, the fastest time in the Medley Relay trials. Kayla’s 25.86 in the 200m dash put her in the #3 spot in the finals. Daunte’s 22.45 was the #4 mark in the 200 trials, while Mace just missed finals by .06, running 22.93.
6:00- Jentry, Isabella, Taya and Kayla turned in a great time of 4:03.16 in the 4x400m relay to qualify in the #6 position. Loren, Mace, Carson and Hunter’s 3:25.00 produced the fastest time in the Boys 4x400m qualifying. Loren and Carson turned in their second great legs in the relays.
So, the first day finished up about 7:30 pm with some great field event performances and almost everyone qualifying for finals. And for the first time in Titan history, all six relays were going to be running on Saturday. While things looked good, there was still a great deal of work to be done.
Saturday
The sun was shining bright early Saturday morning, but clouds moved in and rain dominated the day. Perfect conditions to show the toughness of the Titans.
9:00- Camilla Moses finished her first season in style clearing 9'06 in the pole vault to finish 2nd. Looking at the video, her jumps at 9'09 were probably really at 10'09 as it appears the bar was misplaced. Hailee Swank’s 8'00 clearance wasn’t quite what she hoped for, but these two sophomores are going to do some great things over the next two years.
10:00- Ammon Riley, who waited until Region to qualify for State, made the 100's of hours of practice pay off by throwing 46'04 to place 5th in the shot put. We didn’t know how important the four points were at that time.
11:00- Cidnee got out-leaned at the tape to finish 2nd in the 100m hurdles, just missing out on her bid to repeat as State Champion. Her 14.76 was identical to the time given to the winner. Colten couldn’t quite overcome a less than ideal start to also finish 2nd in the 110m hurdles running 14.62.
12:00- Kayla’s 12.54 in the 100m dash put her on the podium for the first time in 4th place. She was just .03 away from 2nd. Daunte also picked up a 4th place finish in 11.24. He was running into a headwind, and trying to recover from a mediocre start. He probably had the fastest time in the field from 20m to the finish. In a story book finish to an incredible Lady Titan career, Brenn threw 137'09.50 to win the discus. She was 3rd going into the finals, but blocked out the weather conditions to finish up with another School Record and the #13 mark in Utah history. There could have been no better way to go out than at the top of the podium.
12:30- Two great honors for two great Titans: Treston Cullimore received his 2nd Academic All-State Award (the other for Football) and Tyler Fessler the Willie Cowdin Award. The Cowdin Award is for athletes who have overcome adversity to pursue excellence in Track and Field. Congrats to both of these great Seniors!!
1:00- Cidnee, Arlyne, Anne and Jentry ran great legs to place 5th in the 4x100m relay. Their time was 50.64 and produced a higher finish than projected. Broderic, Colten, Mace and Hunter followed up by running 43.11 to place 3rd in the 4x100. There were several teams with faster athletes running, but these were two TEAMS!!!
2:00- Kayla ran very tough to place 2nd in the 400m dash in 57.39, just missing her school record in her 6th race (so far) of the meet. Daunte (49.22) and Hunter (49.66) also ran tough to finish 2nd and 3rd in the 400m dash. They were just getting warmed up. Colten left no doubt in the 300m hurdle final as he destroyed the field running 37.81. This was the fastest time of the day by nearly a full second. Huge points were gained in the Boys javelin as Mason Leishman (165'10.50) and Adam Johnson (164'01.25) placed 3rd and 4th and made it to the podium. With both finishing ahead of the top-seed from Herriman, the Titans were back in the hunt for a trophy after being behind by almost 40 points earlier in the day.
3:00- Isabella finished 8th in the 800m run in 2:19.58. This was another loaded field and her time would have normally put her in the top 3-4.
4:00- Kaycee and Cidnee struggled in the high jump. The weather conditions were terrible- but no excuses were heard. The reaction by Kaycee showed something: she is a competitor who really cares, and she will be back to dominate the event before she graduates. Anne, Arlyne, Taya and Isabella finished 6th in the medley relay running 4:23.56. It was a courageous race by Bella, running about 45 minutes after her open 800. Broderic, Mace, Hunter and Ryan all ran great legs to place 3rd in the medley relay in 3:37.62. Kayla battled to the finish line in her 7th race turning in a 26.22 to place 4th in the 200m dash. Daunte, running his 6th race, also finished 4th in the 200m, turning in a 22.41. Both races were run into the wind.
5:00- A very tired crew of Jentry, Taya, Isabella and Kayla ran four courageous legs in the 4x400m relay to place 7th in 4:06.11. A great deal had been asked of these four, and they delivered every time.
6:00- Going into the Boys 4x400, the stakes were obvious: Herriman had an 8-point lead and had not qualified for the finals; if the Titans won, they would pick up the 2nd place TEAM trophy; a 2nd place finish in the relay would make it a tie; 3rd place or below would result in 3rd place for the TEAM. With the seniors, Colten and Daunte, getting Mace and Hunter pumped up and ready to go, the outcome should have been obvious before the gun was fired. Loren and Carson had run great in the trials to get this crew to the finals, and they were ready!! Colten ran a great lead-off leg, Mace ran like he was possessed, Hunter took off like he always does when he gets a baton in his hand (like a bat out of Hell), and Daunte brought the stick home!! While the time of 3:19.73 was not the State Record they had hoped for, it did secure the first State Track and Field trophy in Titan history. What a great climax to 22-hours of Track and Field- the greatest sport in the world.
7:00- Presentation of Trophies!! For the first time in Syracuse history, there was a reason to stick around for this "event". And it was sweet!! 13 Girls and 14 Boys (including alternates in relays) had scored points. Each and every point was important. The support of so many (including parents) who braved the weather for two days and stuck it out to the end was a factor in some of those points. For those who were there, I’m sure you will never forget the 4x400 relay and trophy presentation that followed. Also present were the great, dedicated "co-head" coaches who helped make this all possible.
Congratulations on the incredible performances that were the result of 1000's of hours of hard work and sacrifice.
SOPHOMORE/JV REGION
In this last-chance to PR, several Titans turned in some great performances at Davis High. Picking up first-place finishes were: Tanner Kutterer in the 110m hurdles (16.98); Jake Reynolds, 800m run (2:07.45); Dahson Arave, long jump (18'11.50); and Everton Checketts, pole vault (12'00). Everton’s jump tied the sophomore class record and is #5 all-time at Syracuse. Not bad for the "Kamikaze" vaulter.
OGDEN HALF-MARATHON
Gabby Young ran 1:48:42 to finish 6th in her age group at the Ogden Half-Marathon. Ashley Walker placed 14th running 1:54:34. Congrats!!
DISTRICT JUNIOR HIGH CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thanks for the help at the District Championships. Everything went great due to your efforts.
PICTURES / UNIFORMS CHECKED IN
Monday, May 18th- Right after school in the stadium. Have your uniforms ready to turn in.
TITAN DECATHLON
Tuesday/Wednesday at 3:00.
BARBECUE / AWARDS
Our end-of-year celebration will be held Thursday, May 21st in the Stadium (weather permitting). We will move inside if necessary. All athletes and parents are invited to attend. We will start eating at 5:30 and expect to hand out awards at 6:30.
XC MEETING
Coach Wilcox will go over the summer training program for Cross Country May 28th. All interested in running should plan on meeting in the Blue Room at 3:30.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
May 18 - TEAM Pictures taken and Uniforms turned in
May 19/20 - Titan Decathlon @ 3:00 pm
May 21 - TEAM Barbeque and Awards @ 5:30 pm
May 28 - XC Meeting in the Blue Room @ 3:30 pm
Jun 5/6 - Great Southwest Classic at Albuquerque, NM
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it." Voltaire
You did it.
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