Asics Highlights
It’s surprising but true. With all the rain and snow we received in Utah over the weekend a few track meets out there managed to go on.
Here are some highlights from one, the Asics Invitational held at Timpanogos High School on Friday and Saturday:
Most Impressive Performances —
zach Blackam, Orem: It makes a quite a statement when you can beat a defending state champion. That’s exactly what Blackham accomplished when he uncorked a winning jump of 6 feet and 8 inches to win the high jump. Blackam’s jump was two inches better than the best jump of Taylorsville senior Mike Staker. If you recall, Staker was the 5A title winner in the boys high jump last spring. Very impressive.
Angela Kaplar, Lone Peak: Kaplar posted some nice times in sweeping first-place finishes in the 110 and 300 hurdles. She started out by finishing in 15.05 to easily win the 110 hurdles. Kaplar posted a winning time of 47.59 in the 300 to complete a strong day. It should be fun to watch the battle between her and Davis hurdler Brooke Jensen at the 5A meet this spring.
Dominque Thompson, Kearns: Thompson is piling up victories in her bid to succeed Nachelle Stewart and Natalie Stewart as 5A’s most dominant short-distance runner. The Cougars’ top sprinter claimed victory in the 100 with a time of 12.74 and followed up with a win in the 200 after finishing in 26.39. With sprinters like Viewmont’s Bailee Whitworth and Riverton’s Aubrie Haymore also looking strong early, the race to a state title should be exciting.
Kelsey Brown, Mountain View: There’s a reason why the Bruins are favored to repeat as team champions in Region 7 and 4A. When you have athletes like Brown, you can rack up points in a hurry. She sparkled in the mid-distances, winning the 400 with a time of 58.84 seconds. Brown followed up that performance by finishing in 2:23.13 to win the 800. Both were comfortably under state qualifying marks.
Quade Chappuis, Lone Peak: Chappuis might be the most serious challenger to Syracuse sprinter Tyler Yardley in 5A after posting a big win in the 100 meter dash. Chappuis crossed the finish line in 11.16 seconds, one of the better times of the year. It is still a little way off from Yardley’s top time of 10.95 posted at the Davis Super Meet, but Chappuis has less ground to make up than most other 100 title hopefuls.
Most Impressive Teams —
Timpanogos– The host team held serve at its home stadium on the girls side. Timpanogos edged Mountain View by a point — 117 to 116 — to win the girls title. Becca Hutton led the way for the T-Wolves, winning in the shot put with a distance of 36 feet and 5 inches.
Bingham — The Miners’ early trip to Utah County paid off well. Bingham scored 125 points to win the boys team title on Saturday, 15.5 points ahead of second place Orem. Leading the way for the Miners were Keith Sasine and Mike Edmunds. Sasine won the pole vault after clearing a height of 12 feet and 6 inches. Edmunds claimed first in the 200 with a time of 23.14 seconds.
—