On March 24-25 fifty-seven high school track teams, from all over the state of Utah and beyond, traveled to St. George last weekend to try and escape the abnormally wet spring weather we’ve been having. The Pine View Invitational played host to over 1,600 athletes and, while it was a little colder for St. George than is typical, the weather mostly cooperated and the Cowboys took full advantage, turning in 24 personal bests and an additional 13 seasonal bests on the weekend.
All photos by Samnatha LeFevre. Left to right:
Sophomore, Wyatt Orton launches the discus during the Milford Invitational.
Senior sprinters, Waylon White and Derek Brown lean for the finish line in a close finish of the 200-meter prelims.
Cowboy hurdlers, Emrey Kabonic and Olivia Raddatz race to the finish of the 100-meter hurdles.
Taylor Janes, fights to stay in bounds from her head to her toes during the shot put.
The Cowboys were led by Senior trackster, Travis Stewart, who competed in the MVP division in all three of his races. He started out his day with a stellar performance in the 100 meters, turning in a time of 11.33 and taking 8th overall. He then had a quick turn around and ran a 50.17 in the 400, his second fastest time in the event ever. To cap off the weekend, he then ran a great race in the 200 meters against a pretty significant head wind.
Another stand-out performer, Daxton Jones, punched his ticket to state once again, this time in the 100 meters. The Senior turned in a time of 11.82 in the event, with teammates Derek Brown and Preston Brown coming in under 12 seconds as well. Not to be outdone by the sprinters - Senior distance runner, Tyson Brinkerhoff punched his ticket to state as well in the 3200 Meters. This was his first time running the distance this season and his time of 10:35.67 qualified him for State by almost four seconds, putting him well ahead of where he was at this time last year.
The Lady Cowboys had several head turning performances this weekend as well. Starting with Freshman distance sensation, Kenidee Glazier. Glazier, not only ran personal bests in all three of her races, but broke her two school records as well. Her new records of 5:17.71 in the 1600 and 11:16.13 in the 3200 will surely fall again this season as she continues to improve each meet.
Fellow Freshman, Rylee Little, a name you may recognize from our State Champion Girls basketball team, tied her personal best in the high jump of 5’ 2”, and took second overall at the massive meet. She then turned around and ran personal bests in both the 400 meters and 200 meters. She will be one to keep an eye on this year for sure.
On April 1, The Cowboy and Lady Cowboy track teams traveled over to Milford last weekend and came home with some hardware, plus four new state qualifying marks on the day. The throwers got it done this time with two Sophomores leading the charge! Wyatt Orton qualified for State in the discus with a throw of 114’ 6”, with teammate Karter Ramsay falling just shy with a throw of 112’ 3.5”. Taylor Janes was not about to let the boys have all the fun with her qualifying throw of 32’ 3.5” in the Shot Put at her first track meet of the year. A mark she will surely break in meets to come.
Kenidee Glazier punched her ticket to State in the 400 meters with a time of 1:00.82. For those keeping track, that is the fourth individual event that the Freshman has qualified in for the year so far. She was also able to cap off her day with the anchor leg of the girls 4x400 meter relay which ran a state qualifying time of 4:34.28. That relay team also consisted of Rylee Little, Madi Orton and Savannah Bateman, who all ran great legs for the Lady Cowboys.
Some interesting sibling rivalry transpired as brothers Travis and Nate Stewart battled it out in the javelin to determine who could throw further. Elder brother Travis Stewart started things out (at his first meet competing in the event) with a throw of 126’ 10”, younger brother Nate Stewart then rallied, throwing a personal best of 127’ 8”. We’re sure to see more of this friendly rivalry in the future.
Full results from both meets, as well as the entire season can be found online at runnercard.com.
