‘Something special is going on’: How did Utah athletes get so fast?

“It’s off the hook … It’s a great new generation. An embarrassment of riches. It’s amazing.” — Ed Eyestone, BYU track and cross-country coach

It takes a lot to impress Ed Eyestone. He’s been immersed in the running world as an athlete and coach for five decades. He competed in two Olympics. He has coached Olympians and national champions. He’s seen it all. Notwithstanding, like many other observers, he has marveled at what is happening on the Utah high school track and field scene, all of which was on full display at last weekend’s 114th running of the BYU Invitational. It was off the hook.

Two days of competition saw performances that broke the all-time, all-classification records in the boys and girls 4x200-meter relays, the boys and girls 4x400-meter relays, the boys and girls 4x800-meter relays, the boys and girls 1,600-meter runs, the girls 800-meter run, the boys 200-meter dash and the boys long jump. In many cases the runner-up broke the old records, as well.

The highlight of the weekend was produced by American Fork’s Danny Simmons, who won the 1,600-meter run — which is 9.34 meters short of a mile — in 4:01.78. That’s fast in and of itself — it’s the second fastest in the nation this year — but he did it at altitude (4,551 feet). That converts to a mile time of about 4:02-4:03 — or 3:58 with an altitude adjustment. Both are rough estimates.

The last few years have seen a big surge in performances and it’s happening across the board in track events (the field events haven’t kept pace).

For example, in 2010, just four sprinters broke 11 seconds in the 100-meter dash, with a best of 10.83; last year, 37 sprinters broke 11 seconds, six under 10.7. There are 20 sub-11 marks so far this year with the state meet set in two weeks.

In 2010, there was only one runner who broke 4:20 for the 1,600 (4:19.4); so far this year, 21 runners have broken 4:15, four of them under 4:05. Similarly, in 2010, only three runners broke 9:29 in the 3,200-meter run; so far 22 have broken 9:15 this year, nine of them under nine minutes.

On the girls’ side, the sprints haven’t seen quite the same overall improvement, but the distance- and middle-distance races have taken a quantum leap forward. In 2010, no girl ran faster than 5:02 in the 1,600; last year, 17 girls did so, 11 of them under five minutes. In 2010, only two girls broke 11:10 over 3,200 meters, and the fastest time was 11:02; last year, 24 of them did so, 13 under 11 minutes.

Pick almost any event on the track, and you’ll see the jump. In 2010, three girls broke 45 seconds in the 300 hurdles; last year, it was 13.

It appears that this year’s performances will exceed last season’s.

“When I first started coaching in 2000, 4:15 (in the 1,600) and 9:20 (3,200) were the benchmarks,” says Eyestone. He says his incoming recruits have either run 1:48 for the 800, 4:04-4:05 for the mile, 8:50 for two miles, or finished in the top 15 in the national cross-country championships.

Performances are trending up around the country, but perhaps no state has taken a bigger leap forward than Utah, especially in the distance and middle-distance races. “Something special is going on,” says Eyestone. “Across the country there’s been a big improvement for sure, but Utah has more than its fair share.”

According to the latest Athletic.net national rankings, Utahns rank second and fourth in the boys’ 800; second, fourth, fifth and seventh in the boys’ 1,600 (all of them with the disadvantage of racing at altitude); first, fifth and ninth in the boys’ 3,200; seventh in the boys 300 hurdles, third and fifth in the girls’ 1,600 … This for a state that ranks 30th in population, with about 3.5 million people.

Utahns have won four of the last seven individual national cross-country championships. After Simmons won his second national cross-country athlete of the year award last fall, Rich Gonzalez of PrepCal Track said, “Daniel Simmons turned in another All-American season in what is arguably the most talent-rich state in prep distance running.”

Everyone is quick to credit the rise in performances to the use of the carbon-plated running shoes the last few years, and they are certainly a huge factor, but it doesn’t fully explain the sea change in Utah performances since everyone in the country is wearing them.

“There’s better training,” says Eyestone. “And the coaching ranks are better. It’s not the old football coach making up stuff for the track team. Now you are getting better coaches, second-generation people. They have better access to coaching material through the internet; they can see what others are doing.”

With two meets remaining in the prep season — the region and state championships — the assault on the record books isn’t finished yet.

1 of 29

2 of 29

3 of 29

4 of 29

5 of 29

6 of 29

7 of 29

8 of 29

9 of 29

10 of 29

11 of 29

12 of 29

13 of 29

14 of 29

15 of 29

16 of 29

17 of 29

18 of 29

19 of 29

20 of 29

21 of 29

22 of 29

23 of 29

24 of 29

25 of 29

26 of 29

27 of 29

28 of 29

29 of 29