Built for speed — Layton Christian Academy's track team could go far

BJ Porter, who is probably better known for his basketball skills, is coming off of a second-place high-jump performance at state. Porter recently signed to play basketball at the University of Portland.

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Summary

The small 1A school of Layton Christian Academy isn't the favorite to win Region 17 — that belongs to St. Joseph. Still, the Eagles have several athletes who could take both the girls and boys track teams a long way this season.

For the boys team, high-flying BJ Porter is coming off a second-place high-jump performance at state, but he's probably better known for his skills on the hardwood. Porter — who is a first cousin of NFL first-round-pick-to-be Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech — recently signed to play basketball at the University of Portland and was also named Class 1A MVP by the Deseret Morning News.

The 6-foot-4 high jumper will be helped by a strong relay team that features several of his teammates from Layton Christian's state champion basketball team. DJ Lester, Dominique Wilder, Mike Thompson and Micah Clark make up the boys powerful 4x100 relay team.

With half the season gone, Layton Christian coaches believe this year's relay team is one of the top three in the state.

Wilder and Lester will compete in several other events including the 100-meter dash and the long jump. Distance runners Cullin Johns and Chris Morris have taken the top spots in the 800 and 1,600 meter races.

The girls team is looking to Staz Neely for point production in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Neely had performed well at state last year and should be one of the favorites to win the 100-meter dash along with St. Joseph's Carissa Bauer.

Jensine Jamison and Alyssa Miller add depth to the sprinters and relay teams. Layton Christian's girls are the defending champions in the 4x100 relay and have most of that team back this season.

Sophomore high jumper Sara Elswick and distance runner Ali Garcia are having good years and both are expected to step up their games at the region championship.

Newcomer Jasmine Porter is the team's top javelin thrower, and Christina Richards has emerged as one of girl's best mid-distance runners. If the Eagles have a weakness, coaches say they would like to bolster the distance group and strengthen the medley relay team. They're also short-handed in some throwing events. With good talent on the track, the girls team must rely on speed to produce the points.

E-mail: tpeterson@desnews.com