Track Update #9

Darts -
We are getting used to the cold, rainy weather this season. We persevered the storm at BYU to come home with a 1st place finish on the boys side and a 2nd place finish on the girls side. It was a great opportunity for us to prepare for the upcoming state meet which will be held on the same track. Despite how soaked we got in the first three hours of the meet, it was a lot of fun to watch you compete and cheer for your teammates. I was impressed with your attitudes and with your toughness.

The boys scored 68 points to win by 23 over 5A rivals Timpanogos and Bingham. It might have been even closer if Riverton had not run away from the rain. We are looking strong going into the region and state championships (with our only loss at the Coaches Meet the Saturday of prom), but anything can happen in a state championship and we need to maintain focus and energy. We were led on Saturday by 1st place finishes from Tony Hill in the shot put (55'03), Jon Ferguson in the long jump (22'07), our boys 4 x 100 team of Benson Richards, Taylor Carling, Jon Ferguson, and Ryan Avery (season best 42.37), and Ryan Avery in the 100m dash (11.08). I liked Ryan's quote in the Deseret News: "There was like an inch of water out there, but that wasn't what I was worrying about as I was running. I was just worrying about my finish and everything. It was definitely good to have a pretty good time for bad weather." We also got some big points from Devin Lang in the 800 (3rd - 1:58), Seth Gutzwiller in the 3200 (6th - 9:44), Dan Hayward in the pole vault (4th - 13'00), Dallin West in the pole vault (7th 12'00), Luke Allred in the discus (5th - 136'), Kyler Sprague in the 300m hurdles (5th - 40.69), and our 4 x 400 team of Ben Keaton, Kye Kunz, Eric Johnson, and Benson Richards (3:27 - state qualifying).

On the girls side we narrowly lost to Cedar City. The final score was Cedar 62 and Davis 60. Cedar City is one of the top 3A teams every year. Winning at BYU is extremely difficult to pull off, but we gave them a good battle. There were 4 or 5 areas where a little more would have gotten us the win. I hope that none of the girls take individual blame for the loss, but instead learn the valuable lesson that every point counts in a big meet like this. Winning definitely isn't everything, but learning to give your all for your TEAM is an important lesson in athletics and in life. At the state meet, every chance you get, think about giving your best effort for your TEAM. Even if the only thing you are able to do at state is cheer, be the best cheerer that you can. Down the home stretch of every race, do your best to catch just one more runner. Do it for your TEAM. It is going to be a close battle with Riverton, and if we give everything we can, we have to be satisfied with the outcome.
The girls had some strong performances and many season best marks. It started off in the rain with the 3200 where Candace Eddy finished 1st in 10:56, Katie Swanson was 8th (state qualifying - 11:29), Julianne Wirthlin was 10th (state qualifying 11:30) and Meghan Hedquist was 11th (11:30). Candace came back to finish 4th in the 800 (qualifying for state with 2:20). Brooke Jensen finished 5th in the 100 hurdles and 6th in the 300 hurdles. Dani Figgins was 6th in the 100m dash and 4th in the 200m dash. Rachel Jackson was 8th in the 400 with a pr 1:00.10. And our relays really carried the way for us scoring 28 points. The 4 x 100 was 1st (Brooke, Dani, Missy Lott, and Sylvia Harrison). The 4 x 400 took 1st - and nearly got the school record (Rachel Jackson, Dani Figgins, Brittany Sumsion, and Chelsea Jackson). And the medley relay team finished 2nd (Brooke Jensen, Kelsey Datwyler, Michelle Clouse, and Brittany Sumsion).

Athletes of the Week: Rachel Jackson, Julianne Wirthlin, Dallin West, and Luke Allred

Coming Up:
May 6-7: Region Championships at Syracuse; 3:30 pm - I want everyone coming the entire time - even if you are not competing.
May 12: Sophomore Region Championships at Fremont; 3:00 pm
May 15-16: State Championships at BYU; 8:00 am - I would like to see as many of you there all day on Saturday as we can get. Let's make it the biggest fan club in the entire meet.

I'm proud of all that you guys and girls have accomplished this year. Let's finish the season with 4 championships and make let's make it memorable.
Coach Talley
801-580-8713