Great Southwest Highlights

Several Utah athletes did their home state proud in the 34th annual Great Southwest Track & Field Classic over the weekend. Buoyed by several strong individual performances, the Utah girls team scored 117 points to finish third at the meet and the boys team scored 113 points to finish fourth.

For those who couldn’t make the trek to Albuquerque to witness the three-day meet in person, here are some highlights from the weekend:

Top performer:

Shaye Maurer, Cedar

Maurer didn’t just win the girls’ heptathlon, she dominated en route to finishing first in the seven-event bonanza. The SUU-bound Cedar grad won the high jump, 200 meter dash and 800 meters and finished second in the 100 hurdles.

Her winning height in the high jump — 5 feet, 8 inches — tied for the no. 1 all-time mark in the heptathlon. Maurer’s 200 time of 25.03 seconds ranked second all-time. And her 100 hurdle time of 14.10 ranked third all-time — even though she only finished second in the event overall.

This kind of performance seems appropriate who won four state titles in each of her final two years at Cedar.

Other notable winners:

Tyrell Yardley, Syracuse

At the rate he is going, Yardley is going to create sky-high expectations for his senior season. He’ll definitely be a favorite to repeat his sprint sweep.

Yardley edged out Riverton grad Matt Maughan by .07 seconds to win the 100 meters in 10.62 seconds. He came up just short of victory in the 200 meters elite race, finishing in 21.17 — .011 behind Arizona sprinter Ryan Milus — to claim second in that event.

Nate Fletcher, Timpview

Fletcher proved his worth in an event not normally seen in Utah high school track meets — the 2000 meter steeplechase. Fletcher won the event in 6:20.49, edging out New Mexico runner Damon Campbell by 2.25 seconds for the top spot.

Lauren Crockett, Ogden

Crockett claimed victory in the high jump after clearing a top height of 5 feet and 10 inches. Pretty impressive work for the sophomore phenom. There’s no doubt she will be a huge favorite to repeat as a state champ in 2010.

Kelsey Brown, Mountain View

Brown won the 800 meters in convincing fashion. She finished in 2:10.92, nearly four full seconds ahead of her closest competitor. That event has been her bread and butter for the past couple of years. Brown already has a couple of state titles in the 800 and a third can’t be too far away in 2010 with a performance like this.

In addition to the winners listed above, the following athletes claimed either second or third place finishes on the final day of the meet:

Aubrie Haymore, Riverton: 100 meters (2nd), 400 meters (2nd).
Matt Maughan, Riverton: 100 meters (2nd)
Brayden Brunson, Delta: 200 meters (2nd)
Mike Keith, Bingham: 400 meters (2nd)
Shalaya Kipp, Skyline: 3200 meters (2nd)
Jon Nelson, Timpview: 3200 meters (2nd)
Austin Costley, Syracuse: 2000 meter steeplechase (3rd)
Shaye Maurer, Cedar: high jump (3rd)
Kuyler Thompson, Syracuse: hammer throw (2nd)
Tiffany Hellstrom, Bonneville: javelin (3rd)

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