Frogley completes year with 2 state titles at Alta

It was an amazing story even before Alta's Matt Frogley nailed the winning goal to beat Brighton in the 5A title game.

With the 1-0 victory, he now has two championships in less than a week.

"It was awesome — everything just kind of worked out for me," Frogley said.

That's an understatement, considering that the senior also won the 400 meters as a novice at the state track and field meet back on May 20.

Because of his sudden emergence, both BYU and Utah State have a strong interest in the 6-foot-2 sprinter.

"It's been kind of nice," he said. "I really didn't have any options."

Frogley says his parents are pretty excited, not only for his success in track but also at the prospect of not having to pay a high college-tuition bill.

About four weeks ago, the three-sport athlete took the advice of friends and gave track and field a shot. Running in the prestigious and highly competitive BYU Invitational, Frogley was good enough to qualify in the 200 and 400 meters.

He's been called a freak of nature and at the state meet, he showed off all his talents. With little training and only a few races under his belt, Frogley won the finals of the 400 meters and surprised everyone.

"I've always been fast," he explained. "But I didn't think I'd win a state championship."

Frogley's winning time of 48.66 was just good enough to eke out a victory over Timpanogos' Chris Bringhurst, who finished a close second at 48.67.

Just getting there was satisfying enough for Matt. The senior (who also played football for Alta) says he owes a lot of his success to his teammates and coaches for supporting him in both sports.

During the Region 2 Track and Field Championship, Frogley had finished a preliminary race and then had to jog across Jordan's field in time to play for the Hawks soccer team. It finally culminated in last Friday's 5A soccer final at Juan Diego High School.

In a scoreless final between Alta and Brighton, the tense game ended late in overtime when Frogley kicked in the game-winner.

The 1-0 victory added another title to his name and the most memorable one, he says.

"Without a doubt, it's soccer," he said. "It's been my lifelong sport."

Two state titles in six days is also a heck of a way to finish his senior year.

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E-mail: tpeterson@desnews.com