Bingham's teams are favored to grab titles

For the Bingham Miners track and field teams, it is supposed to be business as usual this season. Both girls and boys teams look to be strong favorites to win the region and contend for the state title.

However, they might be looking over their shoulders this year as upstart Riverton will be trying to hunt them down.

"It's good to be the hunted," says Bingham head coach Jeff Arbogast. "They've got enough kids out there to mount a challenge."

Still, the Miners are the consensus pick to win Region 3 and to possibly give Davis, Mountain View and Viewmont a serious run for their money at the boys Class 5A state meet.

Riverton, on the other hand, is very excited to be mentioned in the same sentence with the dominant Miners. It's taken awhile for the south valley school to generate a strong team, but it appears that they have arrived.

"We're excited about it," says head coach Brent Hawkins. "It's been kind of fun because we think we have a chance on both sides (girls/boys)," he said. As for the large task of taking down rival Bingham, the second-year coach thinks his team has a shot, but they need show improvement.

"The rivalry is fun . . . but we're going to have to get a better effort from them (Riverton) to make it happen," Hawkins added.

The rest of region play is a bit scrambled. Copper Hills, Kearns and Hunter have their own strengths and weaknesses. Right now they appear too one-dimensional and unable to compete with Bingham and Riverton. West Jordan has been working on multiple coaching changes over the past few years. New coach Mark Nielson says that the team is too young to compete right now but may regain their stride in a couple of seasons.

The girls' situation looks very similar. Bingham, Riverton and Copper Hills all have strong teams, but the Miners depth could sway things in their favor.

Distance runner Kim Quinn is only a junior, but she's the best in the region and one of the top milers in the state. The Bingham sprinters are loaded with talented seniors and juniors that dominate this group.

The Riverton girls are ready for a break-out season. The team is full of experienced runners and throwers. Expect them to push Bingham for the region title.

Copper Hills looks to be a solid third. They don't seem to have the balance of Bingham and Riverton.

Kearns, Hunter and West Jordan will struggle to find their way. They face rebuilding, low numbers and have no way to counter the depth of the other three schools.

Here's a team-by-team look from Region 3.