Grand County High School track and field athletes Kylah Ricks and Veda Gritts rewrote the school record books with their performances at the Mr. Mac Brigham Young University (BYU) Invitational in Provo, where top schools of all sizes from Utah and surrounding states competed Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5.
Each athlete etched their name atop the list of all-time performances twice with their results in Provo. For Grand County High School (GCHS), Ricks broke her own school records in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter races, shaving about 12 seconds off her time in the latter with a second-place time of 11:19.00. She shaved about three seconds off her school record in the 1600, running a second-place 5:13.73. Panguitch junior Taylia Norris won both races, taking the 3200 at 11:16.49 and the 1600 at 5:13.36. Ricks also placed third in the 800-meter race with a 2:22.48, about one second off the school record pace.
“Kylah said her goal is to have the school record in the 800, 1600 and 3200,” GCHS track and field coach Dennis Wells said.
In the field, Gritts turned in a second-place 38-foot, 10-inch throw in the shot put, breaking the school record. She also broke her own school record with a 114-foot, 7.5-inch throw in the javelin, taking sixth at the BYU Invitational.
In the discus, another event Gritts consistently places among the top athletes, she scratched her first throw and was unable to recover, not placing in the top eight in the event.
“The discus is an event where one bad throw can send you off course,” Wells said. “She scratched her first throw and her next two weren’t as far as she could throw.”
Overall, the GCHS girls placed sixth in the 1A-3A division, scoring 33 points. The GCHS boys placed fourth in the 1A-3A division, No. 1 among Utah schools, with 44.33 points.
Sprinter Eli Hazlett won the 400-meter race by almost two seconds at 48.25, while also taking third in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, running 11.36 and 22.32, respectively.
Hazlett joined forces with Kaine Allred, Corbin Arbon and Connor Guerrero to take second in the 4×100-meter relay, running a 43.96.
Other individual scoring finishes came from Connor Guerrero in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdle events. He placed seventh in the shorter race at 16.04, and fourth in the longer at 41.07. Teddy Park also tied for eighth in the high jump at 6 feet. Several other athletes finished just short of the top eight, including Jayden Dowd in the javelin (12th, 141 feet, 2.5 inches) and both Sage Stroder (12th, 124 feet, 11.25 inches) and Jarom Shumway (14th, 121 feet, 11 inches) in the discus. Stroder is the top-ranked freshman in the event statewide.
The GCHS Red Devils were scheduled to compete in Manti at the Region 15 Track and Field Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 7 and 8, where Wells said the Red Devils’ most formidable opponents would be Richfield and Emery
“The boys should win the region title, and the girls have a chance, but they’ll have their hands full, especially with Richfield,” Wells said. “We’ll finish higher at state than the other teams in the region, however, because our top scorers will still get their points with the other regions in the mix.”
The state championship meet is scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18, at BYU in Provo.
Gritts beats all-time school record in shot put
“We’ll finish higher at state than the other teams in the region, however, because our top scorers will still get their points with the other regions in the mix.”
