PROVO — With a couple of exceptions, there are some dogfights looming this afternoon as the final day of the state high school track and field championships conclude at BYU. Following limited finals and intense trials on Friday, at least half of the team championships still appear to be up for grabs.
Friday featured finals in just four events in each classification (only three for 1A, 3A and 4A boys). The dominant players after day one that seemed destined to win championships are St. Joseph of Ogden in 1A girls, Judge Memorial in 3A boys, and most likely Mountain View in both 4A boys and girls. The other six team races are too close to call, and as one coach said late Friday, "even with a commanding lead, we still have to go out and run tomorrow."
Perhaps the biggest surprise on Friday came in the 3A girls long jump, where Ogden High freshman Katelyn Jensen, who had not broken 16 feet this season, leaped 17-5 to easily win the gold. The most dominating performance came from Mountain View's Leif Arrehnius in the discus, where his winning throw of 205-9 beat his nearest competitor by more than 44 feet.
In boys races, Davis has a 2.5-point lead on defending champ Viewmont. Weber, Jordan and Bingham trail the Darts and Vikes.
Viewmont's Trevor Heiner won the high jump at 6-8, while Brock Money of Davis took the discus with a toss of 170-3.5. Weber's Nick Fisher won the 1,600 in a time of 4:17.35, edging Davis' Josh Adams by just over a second, and Brady Leavitt of Jordan took the pole vault at 14-4. Davis vaulters placed third through fifth in that event to give the Darts the first day lead.
Mountain View has a 12-point lead over Provo after just three events. Jared Keller of Mountain View won the 1600 at 4:20.68, with Provo runners Jared Rohatinsky and Reagan Frey placing second and third. Arrehnius won his event, and Lone Peak's Chris Smith was tops in the high jump at 6-4.
Judge Memorial has an 11-point lead in 3A boys over Cedar, but the Bulldogs seem destined to win the title today. Judge placed one-two in the 1600 behind Pat Smyth (4:24.62) and Nik Hlady (4:27.71). Those two could take the top two spots in this morning's 3200 meters as well. Daniel Dompier of Cedar won the high jump at 6-6, while Emery's Bruce Clement took the discus at 157-5. But with Bulldogs qualified in almost every final today, it would be an upset if Judge Memorial doesn't its first-ever boys track state title today.
The 2A boys' race will be tight, with North Summit (28 points) leading defending champ Richfield (25) and Juab (24.83). T.J. Scow of North Summit captured the discus on Friday with a winning mark of 155-2. Juab's Royce Orme won the 1600 (4:31.82), Jan Jensen of Juan Diego was tops in pole vault at 13-0, and Millard's Tyrel Beckstrand won the high jump at 6-2, edging Juab's Wade Nielsen on fewer missed. In 1A, St. Joseph has a 12 point lead on Duchesne, with defending champ Panguitch right in the hunt. Champs crowned on Friday included Levi Lefevre of Bryce Valley in the 1600 (4:24.59), Shane Nementz of St. Joes in the discus (141-1) and Escalante's Chad Cottam in the high jump at 6-2.
The 5A girl's race finds Viewmont (24 points) leading defending champ Alta by one and Northridge by three. Northridge's Stacie Lifferth got her team off to a fast start with a win in Friday morning's 1600 in a time of 5:11.33. Nicole Farnsworth of Viewmont won the shot at 40-7.75, and placed third in the javelin behind Alta's Sarah Butler (128-5) and fellow Viking Jamie Jensen. The other individual winner was Weber's Kathryn Sevy in the long jump at 17-7.
Mountain View stayed on track to win its 11th consecutive title with wins by Heidi Magill in the 1600 (4:56.17) and Amy Mack in the javelin (129-7). The Bruins lead Pleasant Grove, Box Elder and Orem, the other most likely contenders. Spanish Fork's Diane Stewart won gold in the long jump with a leap of 18-6.75. Tipaleli Fotu of Pleasant Grove took first in the shot at 40-2.
Perhaps the most interesting race this afternoon will be in 3A girls, where defending champ Judge Memorial and Ogden are expected to do battle. Hurricane took the lead on day one, as Illima Sam Fong won both of her events, the javelin at 122-11 and the shot at 38-7.5. Jensen of Ogden won the long jump as mentioned, and Park City's Elli Reed took the 1600 at 5:12.72. Look for Ogden and Judge to take this one down to the final couple of events before one emerges as champ.
Manti used a sweep of the top three places in the javelin to take the 2A lead. Jenny Nielson won the event at 131-0, with Sarah Dettinger second at 125-5 and Nielson's sister Jessie third at 105-6. Manti holds a 34-27 lead over Juan Diego, with Richfield and defending champ North Summit right in the hunt. Other 2A winners on Friday were Alexi Phillips of Juan Diego in the 1600 at 5:27.45, South Sevier's Jessica Barker in the shot at 35-1, and Samantha Hamblin of Kanab in the long jump at 16-10.
St. Joes took a 17-point lead in 1A girls, with Panguitch, Duchesne and Wayne in the battle. Brittany Dehaan of St. Joes won the 1600 (5:29.37), Jenna Sawyer of Panguitch was a double winner in the shot (35-0) and javelin (114-10), and Hailee DeYoung of Waterford won the long jump at 16-9.75.
Today's events include finals in all remaining track events, starting with the 3,200 meters, and field events in several categories. Awards and team trophies will be presented at approximately 6 p.m.