Top of Utah track and field teams are breaking out their shoes and getting ready for a season of fast times, long throws and high jumps as they begin early season meets this week.
Before the opening salvo, a few teams and individuals look to be top region and state contenders but there might be a changing of the guard in Region 1
Ever since it opened as a school, Syracuse, under the guidance of track and field coach Roger Buhrley, has been patiently building a strong team. This might be the year that team bursts onto the forefront of Region 1.
Last year at the state championships, the Syracuse boys were fourth overall, behind Davis, Bingham and Riverton. While Davis graduated about 100 points and Bingham and Riverton lost numbers as well, Syracuse returns every point this year, making them a region and state 5-A favorite.
Watch for strong performances from Tyrell Yardley, the sprint phenom who tripled last year as the champion in the 100, 200, and 400, and from other Syracuse standouts such as Chris Jackson in the hurdles, Austin Costley in the distances and Aaron Hill and Hunter Naisbett in the throws.
Davis will be hard charging with Alec Pectol in the jumps, Spender Betker in the throws and Kyler Sprague in the hurdles. Other Region 1 standouts include Layton's Tyson Butler in the distances and Mark Paige in the hurdles, Northridge's Skyler Whitney in the javelin, Clearfield's Austin Warner in the hurdles, Fremont's Jeff Diamond in the pole vault, Justin Buttars in the long jump and Ben Johnson in the throws.
For the girls, Davis was the region 1 winner and second in state last year, but the Darts lost a big senior class, adding a little more balance in the region, with possible upsets from Syracuse or Viewmont. The standouts leading Davis are Meghan Hedquist and Jessica Wilding in the distances and Dani Figgins and Sylvia Harrison in the sprints.
Other school standouts include Syracuse's Lindsey McFarland in the 400, Layton's Amy Allred in the 800, Clearfield's Britlie Silvester in the javelin, Weber's Ally Deeter in the distance, and Viewmont's Candace Moyes, Janet Robinson, and Tyler McFarland in the field events.
Region 5
The Ogden girls graduated two major point-scorers and moved up a classification, but behind Avery Calton, the state cross country winner, Jamie Stokes the state two mile runner-up, Lauren Crockett, a nationally ranked high-jumper and state champion, and Kia Wilson, a state 100-meter champion, they'll be a major force to reckon with.
But the Tigers will have to deal with last year's returning state and region champions, Sky View.
Box Elder looks to be in the mix as well behind stand-out distance runner Kelsey Braithwaite, long jumper McKenzie Johnson, and shot and discus thrower Janelle Beukers.
For the boys, Sky View looks to be the top team in Region 5 with Box Elder challenging behind the performances of distance runner Braden Perry, and discus and shot throwers Chris Johnson and Sean Smith. Ogden has standout distance runner Jacob Barton, who will be eyeing some individual titles. Bonneville has a couple stand-outs as well with Josh Peterson in the 400 and Jace Tensmeyer in the hurdles.
Region 11
While Ogden no longer threatens this region, Judge Memorial looks to dominate with an always strong program. But Bear River will be putting on the pressure in both the boys and the girls teams. Bear River will put in strong performances from Kaitlyn Wilcox and Caitlyn Paulsen in the sprints on the girl's side, and a slew of top returners on the boys side, including Jordan Pugsley in the hurdles, Dax Sederholm, Drake Walker and Blaine Worrell in the sprints, and all-around athlete James Taylor in the throws, jumps and sprints.
For Ben Lomond, senior Anna Moulding will be looking to do well in the throws with Dalton Zundel leading the distance races. Morgan has standouts Becca Rees in the javelin with Chase Davis and Jordan Wilde in the boys throws returning as well.
Region 17
With a young St. Joseph girls' team dominating state and region last year, they look to again work their magic in both the region and the state 1-A ranks.
St. Joseph returns all their scoring girls led by Alex Shaw, Emily Brandt, Joanna Matajasik, Nelida Navarro and Melissa Frogh in the distance races, Jackie Bafford in the jumps, Tauna DeHaan in the 400 and Rebecca Maurice in the 200. The boys aren't as strong as the girls, but they return Travis Mirzaoff in the distances with Daniel Philpot covering the 400 on up.
Opening meets begin this Wednesday and Thursday with the season culminating at the state meet May 14-15 at BYU.
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