Braves,
Another indoor season is in the books and we had some
amazing things happen on our team. The single biggest difference between this
team and the teams in the past in the number of committed athletes we had on
the team. The more of you who come out and are determined to get better, the
better our team is as a whole. We appreciate each of you and what you have
contributed to the team, regardless of how fast you ran, or how far you threw. As
I’ve said many times, your contribution is measured in work ethic, commitment,
attitude, etc. We are proud of what this team did in those areas.
The Simplot games were a huge success for our team. The past
two seasons we did not have anyone make finals so we were forced to come home
early on Friday night/Saturday morning. This year we had 3 individuals and 2
relay teams qualify for finals. That is a huge jump from years past and
something that the team will hopefully continue to build upon in the years to
come. Trisha Thompson, a freshman qualified in the 3200m with a huge 13 second
PR on Thursday night, marking the 3rd fastest time ever run by a
Bountiful athlete, indoor or outdoor. She ran so well that she nearly had a PR
in the mile in the middle of her 2 mile run. Laurie made it in the 1600m, and
then anchored our medley team which qualified for finals the next day. The
girls medley of Trisha, Sadie, Olivia, and Laurie (whose average age is 15 – 2 freshmen,
a sophomore, and a junior) qualified for finals, which is a pretty awesome
accomplishment in such a competitive meet. They were the final team to qualify
(12th), but finished 8th in finals. That is a feat to be
proud of. Jace Jensen qualified in the 400m with the fastest overall time on
Friday, then anchored the Medley of Ammon, Ben, Andrew, and Jace and qualified for
the final as well. They ran two seconds faster the next day to also finish 8th
overall. Jace was in the fast heat of the 400m running against some of the
fastest guys, not just from Utah, but in the country. He cut in at the 150 mark
in 4th place, but surged over the next 50m and squeezed through some
narrow spaces, showing vision, speed, and agility in the middle of a 400, to
move into first place at the halfway mark. From there he just flew down the
straight away and into the turn leaving no opportunity for the competition to
make a move on him. He won the race going away with a time of 48.77 – the third
fastest time ever run by a Utah athlete on a 200m track. That race,
particularly his move to wiggle into the front, was one of the craziest 400s I have
ever seen. Check out his Instagram post for the full runnerspace video that
really shows the details of the race.
We are thrilled that those three individuals and the relays did
so well, but not because they are just
good athletes, but because of how hard they work to get there. Racing well is
the reward of hard work. If you work hard each day and give your best at every
practice then racing in the fun part. I asked in our team meeting how many had
a PR this weekend and nearly everyone raised their hand, and everyone raised
their hand when I asked if they ran one of their fastest 3 times ever. That is
outstanding considering the first day no one was allowed to wear spikes. We had
17 relay teams, and some of our runners had to run all 3 three relays. Abby and
Naomi come to mind as two that ran every relay. They are distance runners but
were happy to step up and run a 4x200 so others could have another race. There
were others who did so as well and we appreciate your willingness to work for
your teammates. We also saw some fantastic support from each of you during each
other’s races. Watching you cheer for your teammates, no matter what place they
were in, makes us want to continue the Simplot trip. Our goal for the trip this
year was for each of you to have a positive experience and hopefully make you want
to continue to get better as well. When you support, and are supported, it
shows us that you are doing just that and makes the trip way more enjoyable, so
I thank you for that.
Shoutout to Kamora who fully planned on racing but then at
the last minute found herself on crutches unable to walk. She asked if she
could still come and support, which she did and she took hundreds of photos for
you all as well. And thank you to Shayla for being willing to fill in with less
than 24 hours’ notice. We took an awesome group to Simplot and we are proud of
this team and this indoor season. I harp on getting better each day, no matter
if you are the fastest or the slowest, you just need to get a little better
each day. Well, this team did get better each day and now at the end of the
season we can look back and say we got a
lot better. From those first days in November until now, we are a totally
different team, in a good way, and it makes us excited for what is to come
outdoors.
Outdoor track will meet 1 week from today, Monday the 26th
after school for our team meeting and sign up. Practices will begin on Tuesday.
Our team is looking very solid on both the boys and girls side, with our girls
trying to continue their success in cross country, winning the region title,
and our boys looking to win region for the 4th straight year –
something they have never done. Depending on who else comes out for the team,
our prospects for state are look to be higher than in years past as well. We
hope that each of you who was a part of this indoor team comes out for outdoor
as well. I know many of you had schedule conflicts or for whatever reason weren’t
able to do all of indoor. If that applies to you I want you to know we still
want you to join us for outdoor and hopefully your able to be with us each day.
Lastly, there were a few items left in vehicles after Simplot,
so if you are missing something, please let me know.
Thanks for a great season Braves! On to the next one.
Coach Jacobson
