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. – Natalie Shields
PROVO — The first day of the state track meet was breezy, often chilly and at times buckets of rain dumped on BYU's track.
The conditions, however, for the first races of the day were spectacular, and fans who arrived early were treated to a fantastic 4A girls 1,600-meter race.
Trailing most of the race, Mountain View's Ashleigh Warner overtook East's Natalie Shields with about 200 meters remaining and narrowly held on, collapsing just after the finish line to claim the coveted 4A individual title.
"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 time of 4:50.13 set at the BYU Invitational two weeks ago.
Shields wasn't disappointed at all with her second-place time of 4:51.16.
"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, who's the favorite in Saturday's 3,200 race.
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 Martinez.
Davis grabbed an early lead over Weber and Fremont after Friday's opening day, a lead it should pad throughout the second day on Saturday.
The 4A race is wide open after the first day with Orem, Springville and Mountain Crest in the hunt.
Mountain Crest's Karlee Kartchner captured the long jump with the best jump of the day at 18-00.50, but her hope of surpassing the 19-foot mark just wasn't realistic once the heavy rains moved in around 10 a.m.
"For the most part we're looking really good, so hopefully going into tomorrow we have lots of people in the finals," said Kartchner.
Neither Sky View or Timpview expect to factor in the team race, but a pair of juniors from each school turned in some of the best performances of the day.
In one of three 100 meter heats contested in the rain, Timpview's Lauren Baxter turned in the fastest time in the state this season at 12.13. She also qualified for the finals in the 200 and 400, three events where she's the defending state champion.
"I'm feeling really good, really excited about tomorrow. Coming out as good as last year would be awesome," said Baxter.
Sky View's Brenna Porter was even more dominant. Her 200 time of 24.82 is the best in the state this year and her 300 hurdles time of 42.86 is also the best in Utah.
"I just decided I was going to go for it today and see what I could do. I'm excited about the results, so hopefully I can just repeat it tomorrow," said Porter.
Park City thrower Megan Glassman set a new 3A record in the javelin with a throw of 149-00.25.
Park City and Ogden, which enjoyed a 1-2 finish in the 1,600 meters to open the day, are tied for first in 3A after Day 1. 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 a (hip) injury earlier, so this is my first time beating her," said Feeny. "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."
North Summit is a heavy favorite in the 2A girls race, and not surprisingly opened up a sizable advantage after the first day. The Braves even set a new 2A record in the sprint medley with a time of 4:10.27. Erika Birk anchored the record-setting race just a few hours after winning her own 1,600 with a blistering time of 4:57.75.
Email: jedward@desnews.com