Collective effort lifts Mountain View to 4A state track and field championship; Orem’s Peter Mecham sweeps distance events
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- The Mountain View boys team poses for a photo after winning the 4A title at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem senior Parker Mecham wins the 4A boys 800-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem senior Peter Mecham (left) and Mountain View senior Wyatt Jeppson compete in the 4A boys 800-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Briggs Parker celebrates after winning the 6A boys 100-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Briggs Parker celebrates after winning the 6A boys 100-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- A Salem Hills athlete competes in the 5A javelin competition at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Mountain View boys track and field reacts to winning the 4A track and field state championship Saturday, May 16, 2026, at BYU in Provo.
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- Orem senior Chase Horne (center) wins the 4A boys 4×100 relay at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- American Fork senior Kaden Fairbanks (right) edges Westlake senior Liam Lungren to win the 6A boys 400-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Josh Beck celebrates after winning the 5A boys 800-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Timpanogos senior Jesse King competes in the 4A javelin competition at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem senior Peter Mecham (right) and Mountain View senior Wyatt Jeppson compete in the 4A boys 800-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem senior Parker Mecham celebrates after winning the 4A boys 1,600-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Springville senior Luke Dodd competes in the 5A boys 110-meter hurdles at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem senior Dylan Dye (center) competes in the 4A boys 110-meter hurdles at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem runners pose for a photo after finishing second in a relay at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Orem senior Chase Horne wins the 4A boys 300-meter hurdles at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge’s Ty Baird competes in the 6A boys high jump at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Briggs Parker celebrates after winning the 6A boys 100-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Mountain View junior Jonathan Herring competes in the 4A boys shot put at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- A Provo athlete competes in the 4A boys javelin at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Briggs Parker gets his medal after winning the 6A boys 100-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Briggs Parker poses for a photo after winning the 6A boys 100-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Briggs Parker (right) competes in the 6A boys 200-meter race at the Utah High School State Track Meet at BYU in Provo on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Despite placing first in just a single event at the three-day Utah state track and field meet at BYU, the Mountain View boys ran away with the 4A state championship.
Their 105-point effort, enough to defeat second-place Orem by 22 points, came because the team collectively saved its best performance of the season for the end.
“The only one that we won was the 4×800 meters,” Bruin head coach Mike Strauss said. “We knew we were going to have to nickel and dime, because Orem had a handful of big hitters, Park City had a handful of big hitters.
“Everybody collectively just gave a little bit extra in each one of those events, and it just added up.”
The Bruins had several podium finishers from its distance squad, which won the cross country state championship last fall.
In the 3,200 meters, Kyle Chipman was second (9:12.48) and Daniel Anderson was third (9:15.18) to score the team 14 points. The duo followed that with second and third place finishes in the 1600 meters — 4:13.56 from Chipman and 4:15.97 from Anderson — and Peter Hedengren ran a PR of 4:21.72 to place fifth.
“We weren’t expecting (Hedengren) to score at all in the mile, so he came up clutch,” Strauss said.
In the 800 meters, Wyatt Jeppson was second (1:52.26), Chipman placed fourth (1:54.46) and Anderson was fifth (1:55.64). Hedengren, Anderson, Jeppson and Chipman ran a 7:49.18 to win the 4×800 meter relay.
“They always represent during cross country, and it’s hard because in track season you can’t win with just distance events. There’s only four distance events,” Strauss said. “And we can stack as many as we want, but in track, when that first place is 10 points, it’s a lot of points to overcome. And so we figured if we could get two or three guys in each one of those events, that’s a lot to ask. … And they followed through big today.”
The effort of the entire team, though, is what pushed the Bruins into triple digits — a feat that surpassed Strauss’ expectations.
Hyrum Stafford hadn’t thrown the javelin better than 145 feet this season, and was out of the country for most of the state meet, attending a close family friend’s wedding in Germany. He said he practiced darts overseas to work on his form, then got home at 11:30 p.m. Friday night and came ready to compete Saturday.
He threw a 162-5, placing third and scoring six points.
“I felt good. I was feeling good in Germany,” Stafford said. “The darts really helped with my form. It really made me perfect it. And so I was hoping for a big throw, and then I came out in PR by like 20 feet.”
Strauss said sprinter Paul Dunn wasn’t projected to reach the finals in the 100 meters or 200 meters, but he reached both, placing fourth in the 100 (10.99) and fifth in the 200 (21.98) to score nine points.
There is no magic formula to get your team to perform its best at the season’s end, Strauss said, but he attributed the successful finish to the culture that was built throughout the spring.
“I just really feel like our captains, our upperclassmen, really got people together, followed through with them, and just loved each other enough to make it happen,” he said. “For kids and athletes, if you feel like it’s an environment that you can be safe to try something new and be brave enough to go after it, you’ll try it. And that really started to come together here at the backside of the season.”
Mecham gets the trifecta
Standing between Mountain View and its share of individual championships was Orem’s Peter Mecham, who made the most of his final prep track and field meet.
The Stanford commit — who will first serve a church mission to Asunción, Paraguay — turned on the burners in the 3200 meters (9:12.22), 1600 meters (4:13.05) and 800 meters (1:51.47) to sweep the distance races.
“I feel really blessed to have been able to get those three wins in open events, because none of those were a given,” Mecham said. “I came into it nervous for all of them. None of that was for sure going to happen, so I feel really blessed to have had that kick at the end.”
Racing his friends from Mountain View, many of whom he went to junior high with, Mecham said his strategy in the 3,200 meters and 1,600 meters was to sit and kick, and that it played out like he hoped it would. The 800 meters required a tough kick against Chipman, who had the lead at the final turn, but Mecham managed to overtake him and flash three fingers at the line to show how many races he won.
Mecham, who also won the 4A cross country title last fall, credited his coaching, team culture and ability to run with joy for his success. He said the training has been paramount, and he practiced shorter reps this spring to improve in the 800 meters and 1600 meters.
Reflecting on his prep career, he said running isn’t always easy, and said there were time when he wished he did a different sport, but that it was all worth it.
“This kind of an environment makes it feel worthwhile,” Mecham said. “I also think that more than just the big moments. I think it is just how you grow as a person makes it all worth it. Being able to learn things about yourself. Spending three hours a day practicing your social skills with your friends. There’s so many things that running does to you that just makes you a more well-rounded person. I think those are the things that make it worth it.”
Utah Valley area boys individual winners
6A
100 meter: Briggs Parker, Skyridge, 10.70
400 meter: Kaiden Fairbanks, American Fork, 47.36
Discus: Matthew Bryant, Lone Peak, 176-4.0
Shot Put: Matthew Bryant, Lone Peak, 64-8.25
Long Jump: Taylor Roberts, Lone Peak, 22-10.25
High Jump: Ty Baird, Skyridge, 6-4
5A
800 meter: Josh Beck, Pleasant Grove, 1:50.27
Long Jump: Brigham Griffiths, Maple Mountain, 23.2.5
4×200-meter relay: Timpview; Braxton Wilkerson, Dylan Snow, Kaleb Hubbs, Lance Reeve, 1:27.38
4A
300-meter hurdles: Chase Horne, Orem, 37.33
800 meter: Peter Mecham, Orem, 1:51.47
1600 meter: Peter Mecham, Orem, 4:13.05
3200 meter: Peter Mecham, Orem, 9:12.22
Pole Vault: Brennan Powell, Timpanogos, 12-0.0
4×800-meter relay: Mountain View; Peter Hedengren, Daniel Anderson, Wyatt Jeppson, Kyle Chipman, 7:49.18
3A
100 meter: Jaden Heap, Juab, 10.63
200 meter: Jaden Heap, Juab, 21.20
4×100 meter relay: Juab; Jaden Heap, Triston Coleman, Korbin Mace, Quentin Robinson, 41.93
4×400 meter: Juab; Triston Coleman, Ty Eldridge, Korbin Mace, Jaden Heap, 3:22.74
High School
Collective effort lifts Mountain View to 4A state track and field championship; Orem’s Peter Mecham sweeps distance events
Girls track and field state championships: Salem Hills’ Kambri Muir clears injury, hurdles to break state record
