The Kanab High School boys and girls track teams traveled to St. George last Friday and Saturday to compete in the Snow Canyon Invitational Track meet.
A total of 44 teams from all over the state of Utah came down to take advantage of the warm southern Utah weather for their season opener.
The Lady Cowboys were led by seniors Mikelle Church and Abbey Bateman. Church placed second in the high jump with a state qualifying, and personal best jump of 5’ 4” and fifth in the long jump with another state qualifying jump of 15’ 8.25”. Bateman started out what is sure to be another stellar season, with a state qualifying throw of 31’ 3.75” in the shot put. The senior also was a member of the girls 4x400- meter relay team. Other promising performances for the girls team came from Savannah Bateman in the 200-meters and shot put, Emrey Kabonic in the javelin and Emilie Gilberg in the long jump.
The boys team was not to be outdone and turned in several state qualifying marks as well at their first meet of the season. It was a triple/double kind of weekend for the Cowboys with three separate boys turning in state qualifying marks in two different events. Senior Collin Szymanski qualified in both the discus and the shot put, despite it being the first time he had ever thrown the shot in competition. Senior Saxton Unsworth qualified in both the 110 hurdles and the long jump, while junior Travis Stewart punched his ticket in both the 100 and 200-meters, while also turning in a stellar long jump. Other standout performances came from Jackson Clark in the 110- meter hurdles as well as several young Cowboys getting their first high school track meet under their belt.
The icing on the cake for the weekend was the boys 4x800-meter relay Team breaking the school record in the event, previously held by Ben Bistline, Raymond Briener, Parker Collins and Jake Shakespear. While not an event 2A schools compete in, the boys jumped into the field of 4A-6A competition and represented the Cowboys well. The members of the new school record team are senior Coleson Frisby, junior Jackson Clark, junior Tyson Brinkerhoff and junior Daxton Jones, so be sure to watch for this record to fall again and again this season and next.
“Our goal for both teams for this meet was to get our veteran track athletes back on the track and shake the rust off, while also to give our newbies a chance to see what high school track is all about,” said Coach Levi LeFevre. “Both goals were accomplished plus some nice bonuses in the form of state qualifying marks. We are a young team this year, but it’s going to be fun to see where both teams go.”
The Cowboys compete this Saturday, right here in Kanab, at the Kanab Invitational, where they will get the whole team in on the action. The Kanab Invitational has been running for over 20 years and we invite everyone to come on down to the track and cheer on both teams. The action starts at 10 a.m. and will continue throughout the day and late afternoon. Track is back, and it’s good to be a Cowboy!
