PROVO — Two years later, Syracuse got the happy ending it was hoping for.
In 2017 a dropped baton in the final race of the meet cost Syracuse a share of the state title, but on Saturday that same relay team stormed to the best 4x400 time in Utah this season to put an emphatic stamp on its first track title in school history.
Corner Canyon also won its first track title in school history, while Morgan ended a title drought that stretched back to 1996.
Desert Hills, meanwhile, won a seventh straight title in narrow fashion, with Millard claiming its second straight title and Monticello winning for the second time in four years.
Complete results and photo gallery of the state meet
Here’s a class-by-class look at the state meet:
Class 6A
The heartache Nathan Kaufusi felt at the state meet two years ago as a sophomore was mostly erased by the emotion he felt Saturday.
Two years after a couple of mistakes denied Syracuse its first boys track state title, Kaufusi led a dominant effort at this year’s state meet winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters and anchoring the 4x400-winning relay team.
Syracuse won with 116 points, followed by Herriman in second with 99 points.
“I just feel like I owe it to the team, owe it to my family, owe it to myself, do everything I can to bring home that title. It was the dream when I was a sophomore, and it’s still the dream now,” said Kaufusi.
Kaufusi’s former teammate Hunter Woodhall, who’s now racing for Arkansas, offered some advice recently to Kaufusi.
“The biggest piece of advice that stands out to me that he told me was there comes a point when you stop running with your legs and you start running with your heart. And I’ve kind of taken that into my life,” said the senior.
Syracuse’s only other win at the meet came in the 300 hurdles as Trevor Burrell edged out Lone Peak’s Porter Ellis at the finish line.
Kaufusi wasn’t the only athlete who won three individual events. Herriman’s Blake Freeland sizzled at the state meet, winning the discus, shot put and javelin. His throw of 64’06.00 in the shot put was the best in the entire state this season.
American Fork’s Luke Grundvig was also a double winner in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
Class 5A
For the third time this season, a Corner Canyon boys team captured a state championship trophy.
Led by Van Fillinger’s win in the shot put on Thursday and then three runner-up finishes in the relays, the Chargers won the title with 81 points to finish ahead of two-time state champion Springville’s 69 points.
Corner Canyon also won football and boys basketball titles this season.
The Chargers had a seven-point lead heading into the final 4x400 relay of the meet, and Harrison Taggart, Noah Kjar, Jake Orr and Alex Harbertson combined for a second-place finish to seal the title.
“I’m happy with our team, we really put it together on this last race,” said Harbertson, who ran the anchor leg.
Along with Harbertson, Corner Canyon distance runner Mark Boyle picked up key points with top-five finishes in all three distance events.
Springville’s Grant Gardner was the top performance in 5A as he won the 1,600 meters on Saturday to go along with wins in the 800 and 3,200 meters on Thursday.
Bountiful’s Jace Jensen was also a double winner as he finished first in the 400 meters and 300 hurdles.
Class 4A
Desert Hills’ bid for a seventh straight state championship was up in the air all meet, but it did just enough over the 16 events to keep the streak going.
With Braden Squires winning the 100 and 400 meters and then finishing second in the 200 meters, Desert Hills recorded 71 points to claim the title ahead of Orem and Spanish Fork who tied for second with 64 points.
“It’s so satisfying, it’s definitely a team sport. All of us together, we were over here bawling our eyes out knowing we grinded really hard this whole year, everyone put in work and it’s great to see it pay off,” said Squires.
Ammon Smith picked up a second-place finish in the high jump for Desert Hills, while Tate Denos and Kire Goulding secured points in the hurdles.
The top individual performance of the meet belonged to Orem’s Puka Nacua, who narrowly missed out on breaking the state’s overall long jump state record.
Despite damp conditions on the track at BYU, Nacua jumped 23’10.25, which painfully missed tying the state record set back in 2017 by just a quarter of an inch.
Class 3A
Morgan won its second state track title in school history and first since 1996 in a very unconventional way on Saturday.
Morgan didn’t finish with a single individual champ in 16 events, but scored team points in every event but two as it narrowly held off Grand to claim the 3A title with 96.5 points. Defending champ Grand finished with 89 points.
Carson Wilkins picked up a bunch of points in the distance races for Morgan, while Porter Giles and Kaleb Bowles had some great performances on the track as well.
“We all went out and raced and competed for each other and not for ourselves, and I think that was the key that set us apart from any of the other teams,” said Wilkins.
The star of the 3A meet was without question Hayden Harward. The junior won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters and then showed outstanding speed in anchoring Richfield’s 4x400-winning team.
Emery junior Braiden Howard proved himself to be the fastest runner in the state as he posted the best 100 and 200 meter teams in all classifications on Saturday despite less-than-ideal conditions.
Class 2A
Millard’s Nathan Despain knew the cheers all weren’t for him as he ran the anchor leg in what was basically a 2A state championship victory leg, but that’s how he interpreted it.
“All of the other teams were cheering and it felt like they were cheering for me, even though I knew there were guys behind me they were cheering for,” joked Despain.
Millard’s win in the 4x400 relay was a punctuation mark on a second consecutive state title that was up for grabs heading into the weekend.
The Eagles finished with 130 points to easily beat second-place Parowan, which finished with 93 points.
“Our entire team just came together and we stepped up when we needed to. We just did our best,” said Despain.
Millard’s only individual champ was Tilden Kesler in the 300 hurdles, but the Eagles’ depth was on full display throughout the meet as it placed 21 athletes in the top eight of the 13 individual events.
There were three multi-event winners in 2A: Enterprise’s Levi Randall (100, 200), North Summit’s Cody White (800, 1,600) and Beaver’s Treyson Harris (discus and shot put).
Class 1A
With Adam Bunker’s dominance in the distance, and then depth in the running and jumping events, Monticello is back on top of the 1A mountain again this year.
Monticello tallied 123.5 team points to pull away from two-time defending champion Panguitch to claim the state title.
As he has all year, Adam Bunker led Monticello by winning all three distance events and then showing his versatility by finishing second in the long jump.
Depth is what ultimately pushed the Buckaroos to the title. Reed Hedgelin, Lucas Hatch, Camden Lewis, Cedar English, Cory Bunker and Alan Pettit all placed in the top eight in multiple events.
Panguitch’s Kanyon Lamb swept the hurdles to lead his team to the second-place finish, while Tabiona’s Gaige Riley also won two events.