4A/6A state track: Timpanogos, American Fork girls hold off challengers to win team state titles
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- Timpanogos athletes celebrate after winning the 4A girls title at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork athletes celebrate after winning the 6A girls title at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork athletes celebrate after winning the 6A girls title at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Timpanogos senior Bria Anderson starts the 4A girls 400-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork junior Desirae Riehle reacts seeing her winning time in the 6A girls 400-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Timpanogos senior Bria Anderson wins the 4A girls 800-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork runners (from left) junior Desirae Riehle, senior Brynli Ruchti and junior Cambria Hasler pose for a photo after competing in the 6A girls 400-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Nadia Chiara competes in the 6A girls 300-meter hurdles at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Payson senior Braxton Shirley (left) stands atop the podium after winning the 5A boys high jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Addelynn Meldrum wins the 6A girls 800-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Runners start the 6A boys 800-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Skyridge sophomore Ty Baird competes in the 6A boys high jump competition at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork senior Daniel Simmons stands atop the podium after winning the 6A boys 1,600-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- The American Fork 4×400 relay team (center) poses for a photo after winning their race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024. Lone Peak (right) came in second.
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- Lone Peak senior Addelyn Meldrum wins the 6A girls 1,600-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork senior Daniel Simmons wins the 6A boys 1,600-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Mountain View junior Kyle Steadman stands atop the podium after winning the 4A boys 1,600-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork senior Noah Nielson (center) competes in the 6A boys 800-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- The American Fork 4×400 relay team celebrates after winning its race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- The Timpanogos team competes in the 4A girls 4×400 relay at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- An American Fork athlete competes in the 6A girls discus at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Maeser senior Victoria Memmott competes in the 2A girls long jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024. She finished second.
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- American Fork runners (from left) senior Daniel Simmons, senior Noah Nielson, junior Rykert Bement and coach Timo Mostert pose for a photo after the 6A boys 800-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork senior Noah Nielson wins the 6A boys 800-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- A Payson athlete competes in the 5A boys high jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- American Fork junior Cambria Hasler congratulates junior Desirae Riehle (right) after she won the 6A girls 400-meter race at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Payson senior Zayden Cook competes in the 4A boys shot put competition at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Orem freshman Sophia Johnson competes in the 4A girls long jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Orem senior Allyson Olson competes in the 4A girls long jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Timpanogos sophomore Elise Cheney competes in the 4A girls long jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
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- Payson sophomore Kambri Muir competes in the 4A girls long jump at the state track and field meet at BYU on Saturday, May 19, 2024.
The 2023 state track meet didn’t end the way the Timpanogos and American Fork girls teams wanted. The Timberwolves lost a close battle to Timpview in the 5A competition, while the Cavemen ended up behind rival Lone Peak.
But those disappointments were laid to rest in 2024.
Both teams got redemption as they won their respective state championships at the state meet at BYU’s Robison Track and Field Complex in Provo on Saturday.
“All of our girls had to perform,” Timpanogos head coach Jody Benson said. “They had been there last year, which was a heartbreaker for them losing to Timpview. But I know all of them were determined this year, especially the seniors. The senior girls just really stepped up.”
The Timberwolves were reclassified to Class 4A this year, so while they didn’t have to take on Timpview there were still plenty of competition.
Leading the way for Timpanogos was senior Bria Anderson, who won the 400-meter race, finishing in 55.38 seconds, and the 800-meters, crossing the line in 2:12.91.
But the part she was most proud of was seeing her team come through to get the first-place trophy.
“It was so amazing,” Anderson said. “I just can’t believe it. So many people stepped up and we got points we didn’t expect. I’m just so grateful for my whole team. We did it all together. We lost together last year and we won together this year.”
Even with all the successes, the outcome was in doubt heading into the final 4×400 relay as Snow Canyon was only a few points behind.
“It was very nerve-wracking to watch,” Anderson said. “I was so nervous, but I didn’t have any doubts about it at all. I knew that they would pull through and they did. They did so well.”
The team of senior Katelyn Carlile, senior Aldana Navarrete-Lamas, senior Sarah Howell and junior Brooklyn Sturdivant ended up coming in third (Snow Canyon was 10th), so those six points allowed Timpanogos to win by just over eight points (76-67.83).
“We tried to be strategic,” Benson said. “We pulled a couple of girls out of the 800 because we knew that they wouldn’t score and so they’d be fresh for the 4×400. We knew it would come down to it.
“I’m super excited for these girls. It was a team win. Every single one of them, just all cheering each other on and all wanting to just do their very best. That was what we asked.”
American Fork’s win wasn’t quite as dramatic, as the Cavemen knew they had a big enough lead over Lone Peak to not need points in the final events.
But that wasn’t American Fork’s style.
The Cavemen 4×400 relay team of junior Cambria Hasler, senior Brynli Ruchti, senior Victoria Stratton and junior Desirae Riehle went out and put the cherry on top of their championship by setting the 6A record (3:46.56).
“We were down by 16 points but we knew we could score some points in the 200 and the discus,” American Fork head coach Brett Myrup said. “And they exceled. That kind of sealed it, so it took the pressure off. The relay team just went out to have fun, to go for the record and got it. We knew they had the times to get it, so we were hoping they were fresh enough for it.”
It was the end of a big day for Riehle, who set the 6A record in the 400-meter dash by breaking the 54-second mark (53.99).
“At the beginning of the race, I just wanted to go out there and do what I do,” Riehle said. “I was like, I don’t care what time I run. I just want to run. During the race, I was like, I can do this. Then we got to the last 50 meters and it was burning. It really hurt, but I had to push through the pain and keep going.”
She was in front of the pack but the real shock came when she looked up at scoreboard and saw her time.
“I was like, wow!” Riehle said. “I thought a ran a 57. Then I saw I had set a personal record by a full second. It was really amazing.”
In addition to Riehle’s wins, American Fork senior Clara Baker won the shot put (41-9.5), came in third in the discus and fifth in the javelin. Other Cavemen also tallied plenty of points to give American Fork the win.
“These girls are awesome,” Myrup said. “They just take care of themselves. They’ve been working together for a couple of years now and they push each other.”
Lone Peak senior Addelynn Meldrum had a great meet as well, winning the girls 800-meters and 1,600 meters.
In the boys competition, American Fork star Daniel Simmons capped his stellar career as he broke the state record in the boys 1,600 meters (4:01.27) and the 3,200 meters (8:36.79), as well as being part of the winning boys 4×800 relay team (along with junior Ryker Bement, junior Kaden Evans and senior Noah Nielson).
“It’s been a wild meet, with lots of nerves and lots of overcoming pain,” Simmons said. “Both the 1,600 and 3,200 were difficult I went in wanting big things and got big things, but just not as big as I wanted. But they were both personal records and big-time efforts, so I knew I was doing my best.”
Other local 6A individual champions included Westlake junior Sariah Gerald (girls 100-meter hurdles), Lone Peak senior Nadia Chiara (girls 300-meter hurdles), American Fork senior Noah Nielson (boys 800-meters), Lone Peak sophomore Matthew Bryant (boys discus), Lehi senior Kate Glazier (girls long jump) and the Lone Peak girls 4×800 relay team (sophomore Anna Bybee, sophomore Zoey Nilsson, sophomore Brielle Nilsson and freshman Paityn Rohatinsky).
Utah Valley Class 4A title-winners included Timpanogos senior Mathew Hall (boys 200-meters), Orem senior Ava Trimble (girls 1,600-meters), Mountain View junior Kyle Steadman (boys 1,600-meters), Mountain View junior Julie Moore (girls 3,200-meters), Orem senior Austin Westfall (boys 3,200-meters), Payson senior Braxton Shirley (boys high jump), Timpanogos senior Brendan Croft (boys pole vault), the Timpanogos girls 4×200 team (junior Aria Maile, senior Eva Stavast, junior Brooklyn Sturdivant and junior Georgia King) and the Mountain View girls 4×800 team (senior Abby Stone, sophomore Sophia Waite, junior June Zimmerman and junior Julie Moore).
Area athletes who won titles in the smaller classifications included Juab senior Grady Bowles (3A boys javelin), Juab sophomore Jaden Heap (3A boys long jump), Maeser senior Eli Brickey (2A boys long jump) and the American Heritage 4×100 team (senior Anne Marie Gibbs, freshman Lacey Gibbs, junior Bree Harmon and freshman Ellen Reed).
For complete details from the state track and field meet, go to https://meettrax.com.
Team scores
Class 4A
Girls
1. Timpanogos
Boys
1. Snow Canyon, 128
2. Crimson Cliffs, 76
4. Mountain View, 60
6. Timpanogos, 41
7. Orem, 39
8. Payson, 33
14. Provo, 11
Class 6A
Girls
1. American Fork, 140.5
2. Lone Peak, 124
7. Westlake, 30
12. Lehi, 19.5
17. Skyridge, 5.5
Boys
1. Corner Canyon, 152
2. American Fork, 85
7. Lone Peak, 33
8. Skyridge, 29. 5
12. Pleasant Grove, 24
16. Lehi, 17
18. Westlake, 4
Class 3A
Girls
1. Union, 94
2. Canyon View, 88.5
17. Juab, 2
Boys
1. Morgan, 102.5
2. Juab, 87
Class 2A
Girls
1. North Summit, 130
2. North Sevier, 121
5. American Heritage, 34
9. Maeser, 18
Boys
1. Beaver, 80
2. Millard, 75
14. Maeser, 18
15. American Heritage, 7.5
16. ALA, 5
Class 1A
Girls
1. Rich, 193
2. Panguitch, 158
11. (tie) Tintic, 7
Boys
1. Panguitch, 147
2. Milford, 100
8. Tintic, 30
