5/14 update

Braves,

Congratulations again on the region championship this year. The meet was a tremendous success not just because we brought home a team title but because of the effort level I saw out there on the track and the field over and over. There were so many awesome performances that it will be impossible to highlight all of them, but I will try and make a more comprehensive list to share in the future. As I went through the events before the meet and considered all the places that we had a chance to steal more points I saw ten different events where I thought we could move up. I spoke to a number of individuals and challenged them to try and move up. In almost every case, they did just that. One example is when I talked to Sam and Austin about battling to make it into finals of the 300H. I pulled them aside at practice and told them that I believed that we could get 5 people into the final (4 were “supposed” to make it, on paper) and challenged them to displace the 8^th ranked runner and try and move up. On Wednesday it turned out that Sam and Austin were in the same heat right next to each other. Sure enough coming down the home stretch they were neck and neck and clearly pushing each other to try and claim that last spot in the final. Ultimately Austin made it into the final the next day, and I don’t think either of them would have made it had they not been challenging each other. Sam was happy for his teammate and ran a solid leg for us in the medley the next day. Austin finished 6^th the next day after fighting his way into the final. Bountiful had 5 of the 8 people running in the 300H final and we ended up with 22 points from the event, the most on the day.

Stobbe was entered in the high jump but had a rough day and ended up no-heighting and he was clearly frustrated. Determined to make up for the points that he lost we placed 3^rd in the javelin, ran a crucial leg in our 3^rd place 4x100m, and battled his way into 5^th in the 100m after he was ranked 8^th going into the final. Isaac Bills had an enormous meet coming into the shot put event ranked out of the top 8, but had a monstrous PR to finish second. None of the coaches were really surprised by that result as we have seen the type of work he has been putting in – like getting up early during spring break and making his way to the ring to get some more practice in while most kids his age were still sleeping or trying to keep their snap-streaks alive. Ashley had a huge meet qualifying for state in in both hurdles, and earning top ten honors all-time at Bountiful in both events. She took a hard fall at the end of the 300H final which messed up what seemed like was going to be yet another big PR. She didn’t allow anyone time to think as she quickly jumped up and finished the race, then ran a leg of our 4x400. I love seeing that kind of grit and determination.

The more I write the more I want to talk about everyone but I can’t do it. I will share more at practice tomorrow. The last thing I wanted to point out was the final race of the day, the girls 4x400. Due to some crazy occurrence they had to stop the race half-way through, which means that two of our girls had run, and would have to run again. Ashely ended up hurting her leg at the end so we were allowed a sub, and Amelia Tew stepped in, yet again, to run an awesome race. I don’t know how she can have a huge pr in the medley 800 and then be anxiously ready to run the 4x400. That’s a tough turn around but one that she clearly enjoys. Laurie was the one that ended up having to run two 400s in 30 minutes time due to the mix-up and she ran extremely well. I don’t know if many people could even finish a second 400, let alone excel at it. Rachel got the baton in 4^th place, and we needed to at least stay in 4^th to make it to state. She had run 6 races over the last two days and it was clear there was some lingering fatigue. I knew she was somewhat tired, but I also knew she was going to give every last bit of energy she had. After 150m into the race she was still in 4^th and I started to trot across the field to see the finish. While jogging over I said, to no one in particular, “she’s gonna get second; write it down.” I said it a few times to make sure I had witnesses. On the final straight away she and the 3^rd place girl had closed the gap on the second place girl and it wasn’t clear how it was going to shake out over the final 20 meters. For a moment it kind of looked like Rachel might not be able to pass them. As she has done countless times over her career she showed a mental toughness that is unique to her. She describes running the 400 like this, “you run as fast as you can, then at the end, you run even faster.” That is literally the only way to describe that race, and sure enough she went by those girls, finished second, and collapsed across the finish line. Half of our team then came over and gave her an ovation in what I felt was a gesture of appreciation, not just for that race, but for years of giving everything she’s got.

The kind of mental toughness that I have described in a few of our athletes here is present in so many of it. It is contagious, and our team has gotten stronger and stronger over the course of the year. Without some extreme mental toughness over those two days our team would never have won. I’m proud not just of what we accomplished, but of what our team is becoming. We are mentally stronger now than we were at the beginning of the year.

Moving forward, we have the jv region meet on Tuesday at woods cross. All those not competing at state are welcome to compete there. State is Friday and Saturday, and a list of those who have qualified for state is below. All our relays have qualified so some of you who did not qualify individually will still be entered in a relay.

On Monday the SBOs are hosting a pizza party for the track team in Mrs. Ludwig’s room during lunch. Come on up and enjoy some pizza and hang out with the team. On Wednesday, the Nielson’s have invited the team to their home for dinner. That will be at 5 PM, and I will send more information out on this in the next day or two.

Can’t wait to get back to practice tomorrow and be ready for an awesome state meet.

If I have left anyone off this state qualifying list, please let me know.

2017 State Qualifiers by athlete 

Rachel Whipple 

100H 

300H

High Jump

Tashena Ashby

                Discus

Norris Tukuafu

                Shot Put

Nathan Losee

                Discus

Adam Amott

                110H

                300H

Julia Miller

                Long Jump

Kohle Newbold

                400m

                200m

Ashley Wilkinson

                100H

                300H

Laurie Murphy

                1600m

                800m

Dallin Mason

                3200m

Anna Sophia Rorrer Warren

                3200m

Bailey Basinger

                Discus

                Shot Put

Ben Marlette

                110H

Hunter Munk

                300H

Blake Nielson

                400m

                800m

                High Jump

Davis Stobbe

                Javelin

Isaac Bills

                Shot Put

Nainoa Medeiros

                Discus

5/7 update

Braves,

We had a pretty busy week with meets Thursday-Saturday. The week was filled with pretty sweet performances. With the effort and work that was put in this week we are setting ourselves up for a great region meet on Wednesday and Thursday. It is crazy to think that region is here.

A few highlights from the week included taking two busses to the meet on Thursday, showing that we have a big group that wants to compete. Kiwi had a solid PR in the 300H on Thursday. It is fun to watch her race because she always has a big smile on. It turns out that her grimace/game face looks like a smile. Another highlight was watching Marcus run the 800 at East. He has been working hard for years and went out fast on the first lap to go get a PR. Even though he didn’t PR, he ran a tough race and looked spent – it was clear that he gave all he had on that day. After the race his one frustration was that he didn’t PR. He didn’t care that he was exhausted or in pain (because the 800m is straight up the most painful race ever created in Track & Field), what he cared about was his goal. To me that shows a determination and fearlessness that is required to be successful in this sport and in life during and after high school. Too often we are scared to give our all in practice or at a meet because we are scared to put ourselves through the pain of a race done with full effort. Too often we are scared to give our best effort because if we fail to reach our goal we won’t have any convenient excuses.

Goals are ever evolving (as we continuously set new heights) so failing to reach a goal is not the determination of failure, just as reaching a goal set too low is not the determination of Success. What you do and what you become in your journey towards reaching your goal is what really defines success or failure. Would any of us really consider 4^th place at the Olympics to be a failure? Yet I’m sure many Olympic favorites who don’t perform their best and end up in 4^th do not feel like it was a success. Goals are ever-changing and are different based on perspective. What is good for one person may not be for someone else. Marcus was disappointed by the 2:11, but many of us would be thrilled to run that time. Results cannot be the determination of success, only the process can. What you do day in and day out to reach your goals is the true measure of success. I’ve coached region champions who were not successful because they didn’t put in the work and squandered their potential. The 1^st place finished only fueled selfishness and rewarded a lack of effort, all because they had enormous natural talent. I’ve coach people who didn’t even qualify for region who were profoundly successful because they put in the work each day and as a result became a better athlete, a better teammate, a harder worker, and so forth.

Marcus came back in the 4x400 (another example of his work ethic) and ran a 56 split, which was an awesome result. It feels good to get the result, but he would have been successful with or without it. The fact of the matter is that most of us on our team (and every team for that matter) are not insane natural athletes, so everything we get is something we have to earn. The process drives the results. Marcus ran a great 400 because of the work he put in over the years.

Rachel Whipple set a new school record on Friday in the 100H. That was an incredible accomplishment. School records don’t come around every day or year. The last school record was in 2015, and before that 2013, and before that, 2009. Rachel is another example of what hard work every day can accomplish. I can tell you she didn’t earn that spot based on talent alone. She worked her way over a 3-year high school career to get there, and I would bet big that she worked as hard or harder than anyone else on that list – and that is how she got to the top.

Another highlight at BYU was Nate Losee finishing 6^th in the discus. Scoring at the BYU invitational is incredibly difficult given that you compete against the best athletes from 3A, 4A, and 5A, which is why only 3 people on our team did (keeping in mind that we didn’t enter them in all their events) – Rachel (100H, 300H), Adam (110H) , and Nate (discus). Nate didn’t have his best throw but still placed – that is a great performance. Again, it’s a testament to what our throwers do every day at the track. They have to get there earlier to practice every day so they can get some throws in before the baseball team gets out there. We’d let them keep throwing anyway, but they are getting so good we don’t want them hitting some poor kid in left field.

Norris came with us Friday at 5 AM and stayed the entire day to watch and support his teammates even though he no marked in the morning. Finding joy in your teammates success is an essential ingredient to a championship team, and this week is the week of our region championships. We will talk about entries and details of the meet on Monday at practice. Throwers, instead of getting out to the discus early come up in the stands so we can talk about the region meet briefly before getting to work. We have an opportunity in front of us that doesn’t come around every year. I don’t know how I am going to get through the next three days before the meet, because I just cannot wait. I am excited to put our team on full display and reap the rewards of a hard fought season. Come tomorrow ready to work and refine so we can be at maximum performance on Wednesday/Thursday. If we are going to win region, we have to make good things happen in each of our events. we can’t just hope that we have a good time by the time we cross the line, and we can’t just hope that we make it into finals. We have to put pressure on the athletes around us and will our way across the line and battle every step, or spin, or glide, and fight our way into finals or into the top 4 or top 8. If we make good things happen instead of letting things happen to us, we will have a chance at the end. If we are complacent or lack determination, the trophy will go to another team, most likely the one that made good things happen. Let’s be the ones that make things happen in our favor. Let’s be the ones who fight for every point and put pressure on the rest of the heat/flight to perform at our level or to miss finals. Let’s be the ones who are mentally tough and can fight through adversity. Let’s be the ones who put ourselves and our teammates in position to perform our best. If we can do those things we can win as a team.

Good things to come. See you all on Monday.

Coach Jacobson