Braves,
What a week. Our boys came home with a region title and our girls finished 4th - both had some incredible performances and inspiring effort. After a recap - which will be incomplete because there is no way I can highlight each event - there will be some announcements concerning the upcoming week.
I don't even know where to start. We knew going in that the Box Elder girls team would most likely win, they just have too deep of a team. We knew our boys would win if they performed like we knew they could. Our throwers had some big time performances, going 1, 2, 8 in the boys discus. Nate, Tre, and Garrison scored a 19 points in that event alone. Lovely had a 7 foot personal improvement to finish 2nd in the discus, after winning the shot put with a throw of 40 feet, while wearing converses. Max won the shot as well with a PR throw of 48 feet and Tre finished 4th. The Javelin was huge for the boys as they went 1, 4, 5, 6 - Max, Noah, Kohle, and Kekoa. Earlier in the day Kekoa asked me how far he would need to throw to score at Region. He through nearly 20 feet further than that. On the girls side McKenly qualified for state by finishing 4th and Danielle finished 6th. That is 30 points in one event. The work these javelin throwers have been putting in with Coach Munk has really been paying off.
On the track side of things after the first day in the standings the boys were a little behind, but that quickly changed when Bridger ran the 4th fastest time in school history in the 110H with a time of 14.92, followed by Adam in 3rd and Ben in 5th. Kristalynn and Rachel finished 3rd and 4th in the 100H - scoring 31 points together. Our girls 4x100 had to have a 4th place finish or better in order to qualify for state, and they battled all the way to the line to secure the 4th place finish. It was the first of 3 relays they would qualify that day. AK, Mason, and Newbold went and scored some big points in the 400. AK jogged the final 70 meters hoping to save some energy for his 200 and still won, with Dallin and Kohle finishing 5th and 6th. Dallin and Kohle were only running the 400 for the 3rd or 4th time this year, and to finish the way they did, and they go back in the medley was super impressive.
Bridger followed up his 110H win by running the 100m about 4 minutes later well enough to get on the podium, but he was clearly unsatisfied by the his time. He turned around and won the 300 hurdles by over a second, showing once again why he has the 2nd fastest time in the entire state of Utah. Jeremy ran a tough race to finish 4th and qualify for state, with Adam right behind in 5th. Rachel finished 3rd in the the 300H. Blake has now run his last 3 800m races finishing within half a second. That is not easy to do. He finished with a 2:00 flat once again, and is poised for an improvement. Track is so full of ups and downs that when you have consistency like that, you know you are set up for a big jump. He ran a tough race finishing just behind a field of seniors and juniors. That's going to be his field next year.
It was around this time that things got crazy. Our girls medley needed a 4th place finish to make it to state. The teams in our region are very talented, so they had to run well to have a chance at making it. Kristalynn and Kamora ran the 200s well despite a shakey hand off, the Elizabeth ran the 400 with a personal best time. When Amelia got the baton to run the 800 she was in 5th place. It was her time to put the team on her back. She moved reeled in the 4th place girl after about 300m and then started gunning for the 2nd and 3rd place girls. With 200m to go she pulled up along side the 2nd and 3rd place girls. It was unbelievable how much ground she had made up. At that point she had gapped the girl in 5th by so far we were guaranteed a spot at state, but she continued to challenge until the line. Finishing in 4th place (less than 1 second from 2nd) and making it to state was HUGE for our team. And it only got better from there. The boys were in the same situation, needing a 4th place finish. Our 200 runners seriously got out and put us in great position. Newbold ran his season best 400 and handed off to Dallin in second place. Dallin was sort of caught in no man's land, 4 seconds behind the first place runner, and another 4 seconds in front of the next group. That is probably the toughest place to run an 800. He ran extremely tough - both he and Kohle just finished a tough 400 final beforehand - and finished 2nd, well ahead of the 3rd place runner. Those kids showed some serious desire to qualify for state in that race.
At this point the boys had already clinched the region title, but that doesn't stop anyone who has worked as hard as they have. The boys 200m finshed with a 1, 2, 6. AK won it, Bridger came back in his 8th race in two days to edge a Box Elder kid at the line by .01. He was behind the whole race but his competitive edge kept him from pulling up, and his lean was the difference.
With so many awesome races in one day, it is impossible to say one was the best, but the girls 4x400 may have defined the season up to this point. Again, they needed a 4th place finish to qualify for state, and there are some crazy relay teams in the region. I knew we had a shot, but it wouldn't take much for us to miss it considering the competition. Julia started it off and ran her best time of the year, finishing very strong. Victoria took the baton and the girls around her just took off on the turn. Coming off the turn she was in fifth. There is a point in most races where I decide I can't watch anymore because I am too nervous. I looked away and walked toward the finish line ready to get her split, mumbling under my breath, "let's go Vic, just get her (Amelia) in a good spot." By the time I looked up Victoria was in the midst of splitting 3 different girls and moving into first place. It was unbelievable and she just ran by these kids. Her run left me speechless as Amelia took the baton. Still in first off the turn, the girls behind her were closing fast. Amelia had just run her fastest 800m to date, and went staggering off the turf with fatigue. Most people sit back after that race and watch the 4x400 thinking to themselves how grateful they are to not have to run anymore, because they just ran an 800. Amelia is not most people. The girls were closing on her hoping to go around her before the turn, but Amelia held them off. I'm thinking to myself, I hope she can finish strong and keep us in good position. I was NOT expecting her to gap those girls and leave them behind, but that's exactly what she did. She turned on the burners and left 'em. I was left wide eyed looking around to see if anyone else was seeing what I was seeing. Rachel got the baton in first, Box Elder was in second, and their anchor leg is one of the best runners in the state, not just the region. Though Rachel had the lead, Box Elder's plan was to close the gap on the backside then make it a race for the final 200. Rachel came around the turn and I yelled to her that she was going to be challenged and that it was her time. Now if you have ever seen Rachel run, you may not think that she is also a graceful dancer, because of how aggressively she runs - it's a skill that cannot be taught, and the parity is a testament to her athleticism. As soon as I said that to her, she put her head down - which she does when she is ready to roll and it moves slightly back and forth because of how hard she is throwing her arms - and took off. Sure enough the Box Elder girl closed the gap, and they were side by side with 100m to go. Just as her teammates had before her, she left her behind.
That was a pretty special race. It was a pretty incredible day. Our multiple event winners included: AK, who won the 200, 400, and finished 5th in the 100. Tooley, who won the shot put and the javelin. And Bridger, who won the 110H, the 300H, finished 6th in the 100, and 2nd in the 200m. The 31 points he scored earned him MVP of the meet.
As much as I would love to feel sentimental right now about the journey of this season, there is one more week to go. The state championships are on Friday and Saturday this week. There is also a jv region meet on Tuesday. If you are not qualified for state, please email me the events you would like to run on Tuesday. If you are qualified for the meet, you will need to talk to event coach to see if you should run anything on Tuesday. Most likely you will not, but there are a few relay runners who will be running Tuesday. This week is going to go fast, and the practices will be short, but crucial. Be there on time and ready to roll.
Let's make this last week together a special one, and let's work hard. Remember to enjoy your teammates' company, because the season is over after this week. I'm proud of this group, not just for the finishes at region, but for the overall commitment and dedication shown. We've worked hard this season, let's make the last week the best one.
Coach Jacobson
