State qualifiers and blistering times were in abundance at the third annual Utah County Invitational on Saturday.
Prep teams from across the state converged at Timpanogos High and benefited from near-perfect weather conditions as they head to the midway point of this track season.
Timpanogos' boys team took advantage of the home track, turning in some impressive individual performances in the relays and sprinting events.
Mountain View also had a strong showing, placing high in the distance and field events.
The Timberwolves' impressive sprint crew gapped the field, particularly in the medley relay. The team of Chris Bringhurst, Steve Hart, Jon Oliver and Silas Pimentel ran the most impressive medley in memory, turning in a time of 3:34.05. The effort was good enough for a 14-second victory, and less than four seconds off the 5A state record of 3:30.09, set by Bingham in 1996.
Timpanogos' boys also came out on top in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays. Bringhurst and Hart placed first and second, respectively, in the open 400 meters for the T-wolves, with Pimentel coming in second in the 200 meter dash.
Mountain View's distance runners swept the top spots in the 1600 and 3200 meter races, with Coulson Goodwin and Derek Zabriskie placing 1-2 in the 1600 and then trading places in the 3200.
The Bruins also scored individual titles with Brian Smith in the long jump, Bobby Mitchell in the pole vault and Sam Nquatuvai in the shot put.
Other individual winners included Drew Clarke of Riverton in the 110m hurdles, Northridge's Derrick Jackson in the 100m dash, and Clay Bingham of Spanish Fork in the 300 meter hurdles. Copper Hills' Ryan Scott duplicated his 800 meter victory from the UHSTCA meet, and Spanish Fork's Josh Poulter won the 200 meter dash.
For the girls, a balanced field provided intense finishes in almost every race.
Working without two of the three Stewart sisters, Spanish Fork — led by Nachelle Stewart — still performed extremely well. Stewart won titles in the 200 and 400 meter races, along with leading the Dons to victory in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays. Chelsea Loss won the 1600 meters or Spanish Fork, and Amanda Morse placed third in the 100 meter dash.
Mountain View received some help from its All-American basketball player, as Michelle Smith triumphed in the high jump. Sarah Yingling captured the 3200 meter run, and Kim Scott placed second in the 800 meters.
Individual winners for the girls included Mindi Robins of Orem in the 100 hurdles; Kandice Shoell of Taylorsville in the 100 meter dash; Christy Ma of Christian Heritage in the javelin; and Mele Vaisima of Judge in the discus and shot put. Sarah Blad of Riverton won the 300 hurdles, and teammate Brianne Campbell placed first in the long jump.