PROVO — Mountain View's Ashleigh Warner and East's Natalie Shields put on a show two weeks ago in the 1,600 meters at the BYU Invitational, and the rematch at Friday morning's state meet was equally exciting.
Trailing most of the race, Warner passed Shields with about 200 meters remaining and narrowly held on collapsing just after the finish line to win the 4A individual title at BYU in the first races of the 2012 state track meet.
"It's been my goal for a few years now to win the mile. I came close the past few years. I was just glad to get this one on my last attempt," said Warner, whose time of 4:50.98 was just off her state record set at the BYU Invitational of 4:50.13.
Shields finished third to North Summit's Erika Birk in that big race two weeks ago with a time of 4:51.03, and her time of 4:51.16 on Friday was just off that pace.
"I'm actually not that disappointed, that's so much faster than I thought I'd ever run in high school at the 1,600. I'm thrilled I got that fast. I'm a little sad I guess, but you can't win everything. I'm happy with the time that I got. I gave it my all and that's all I can do," said Shields, whose the favorite in Saturday's 3,200 race.
Warner and Shields will both be running for BYU next year, and both are ecstatic for the opportunities ahead of them.
"She's great competition, she's so fun to run against, but I'm more excited to be able to run with her next year and push each other," said Warner.
In the 5A 1,600 race, Davis' Shea Martinez captured her second straight state title with a solid time of 4:56.10. It was eight seconds faster than her personal best this season.
"It's so nice. There were so many good girls in the race this year so I was kind of nervous coming in, so I just tried to stay relaxed in the pit," said Warner.
In 3A, Ogden's Sara Feeny edged teammate Jamie Stokes for the first time all season to capture the individual title with a time of 4:59.28. Stokes finished second at 5:01.70.
"I had an injury earlier, so this is my first time beating her," said Feeny, who dealt with a hip injury earlier this year. "I was hoping I'd be able to be back for the big meets like BYU. I'm so happy, the hard work has paid off and it's really fun to run with my teammates right next to me."
Birk easily captured the 2A title, setting a blistering pace over the first two laps, and cruising over the final two laps despite running out of gas.
Her time of 4:57.75 was six seconds slower than at the BYU Invitational, but that was to be expected without much competition in the 2A field.
"It's hard to get a good time. The race was OK. It's easier when I'm with Natalie (Shields) 'cause she has a perfect pace. I went out too fast, I was dead on my last lap," said Birk.
Panguitch's Catania Holman won the 1A meet with a time of 5:24.20.
email: jedward@desnews.com