Few javelin throwers in the state can match the resume Panguitch senior Taylor Bremner has strung together in his bid to claim a state title.
In the past two weeks alone, Bremner earned second-place finishes at the Davis Invitational and the BYU Invitational. He threw 165 feet and 3 inches at Davis High, finishing about seven feet shy of Brighton's Mike Scheidler. Bremner followed with a throw of 160-03 at BYU a week later — the best distance of any 1A thrower.
Besides going for a 1A crown, Bremner is intent on surpassing his school record of 173 feet.
"He's been working hard at it," Panguitch coach Troy Norris said. "He thinks about it all the time. He really wants to break that school record and I think that's what's driving him now."
If he proves successful in both quests, it will be a fitting end to one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of Utah high school sports.
Bremner's track career — and his life — nearly met a tragic end two years ago as a result of a freak accident. Then a sophomore, Bremner accidentally fell onto his own javelin, after throwing it while chasing away a bumblebee, and drove it into his forehead.
The tip broke the skin just above Bremner's right eyebrow, went through his eye socket and sunk about four inches into his brain. Bremner extracted it himself and went to the local clinic. He anticipated merely getting a few stitches at first, which would allow him to make a baseball game he was supposed to play later that afternoon.
Instead, Bremner was rushed to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City when X-rays revealed a possible skull puncture. He spent 12 days in the hospital and lost nearly 30 pounds during his stay there.
His doctors were astonished Bremner did not lose consciousness at the moment of impact. More amazing still was how he did not suffer a permanent loss of speech or movement or a drastic change in personality, even though the javelin penetrated an area of his brain which controlled those functions.
Bremner really shocked those around him with his decision to return to pick up javelin throwing a year later. Doing so felt like a natural step to him in his recovery.
"Last year I was kind of hesitant to do it at first, but then I realized I can't let that hold me back," Bremner said. "I had the possibility to do well and I needed to go fulfill that potential."
He saw decent results in his first year back. Bremner finished sixth at the 2007 1A state meet. But the Bobcat thrower wasn't satisfied with simply throwing again. He wanted to prove to everyone else he could also be one of the best in the event.
"I knew I had the potential to go become a state champion and, hopefully, that will become a reality this year," Bremner said.
Bremner is no one-event wonder, however. Besides the javelin, he also runs the 200 for the Bobcats and forms a key leg in the 400 meter and sprint medley relay teams. That medley team, which also includes Josh Bateman, Eric Frandsen and Trac Norris, coasted to a win at the BYU Invitational with a time of 3 minutes and 42.63 seconds.
E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com