MURRAY — Murray's track and field teams raised a few eyebrows on their way to finishing the season with an extra kick.
The girls team capped the season with a second-place finish in Region 6 and took fifth place in 4A at the state meet. At BYU, the girls team impressively finished higher than region champions like East, Box Elder and perennial power Woods Cross.
The Spartan girls felt like they needed to vindicate themselves after coming up short in the region championship.
"We were expecting that," said head coach Ashley McSwain. "We came away from the region really disheartened."
McSwain isn't bragging or being overconfident about his girls team. He's just telling it like it is.
Region champion high jumper Jackie Stoddard won state in the high jump at 5-feet, 4 inches, beating Mountain Crest's Jaciee Kuresa. Senior Annie Skordas didn't win at state but she was able to score points in a couple of events. The sprinter finished third in the 400 meters, then took fourth in the 200. Skordas also ran the anchor leg for the fifth-place 4x400 relay team.
McSwain will be hard-pressed to find adequate replacements for Stoddard and Skordas. The versatile Stoddard was one of the team's best in the three different events, including the javelin, long jump and high jump. Distance runner Monique Torres and high jumper Jessica Riches will also be lost to graduation.
McSwain says next year's team has some quality pieces but he isn't sure how they'll fit together. Replacing the talented seniors will be a challenging task.
Murray should have productive sprinters in Kylie and Amy Murakami. Kylie ran a good 200-meter race at the region championship in May. Junior Morgan Sjoblom should also pick up the slack in the hurdles and high jump. Sprinter Sami Heusser could factor into the 400 meters, too.
The boys team pulled off a surprise win at the Region 6 championship. McSwain said the team got it done because of great teamwork and an improved state of mind.
"We had a much better attitude on this year's team," he said.
At the region championship, the boys team produced points in several events. McSwain said that will always be the biggest difference in track and field.
Winning the region championship certainly was the highlight of the season for the boys team. It hardly won a single event at the region championship, but it combined for enough points (123.5) to outlast East (120.5) and Cottonwood (103).
Murray's Paul Holman won the region in the javelin with a toss of 148-05. Junior thrower Mitch Meier contributed points with a second-place win in the shot put. Sprinter Clayton King also pitched in with a third-place finish in the 200. Mario Castello and Colton McComb also scored points to help pull off the upset at region.
Even though they couldn't keep that momentum going at the 4A state meet (15th place), McSwain is confident that his boys team will be better. Holman, who was a senior, will be missed but a good mix of throwers and sprinters return, making Murray a favorite to defend its region title. King and McComb are back, along with Meier.
E-mail: tpeterson@desnews.com