Hunter sprinter takes lead

KEARNS — When she grabbed the baton on the final leg of the 4x100 relay, Hunter sprinter Jazmine Wittman had a sizable gap between her and lead runner Chelsea Baker. It didn't matter how much distance was between them.

Once Wittman got going, she passed Baker as if she were standing still and gave Hunter an easy relay victory.

Wittman's speed served her well throughout the final day of the Region 3 track meet at Kearns High. Besides the 4x100 relay title, Wittman swept both the 100 and 200 meters.

It should not come as a huge surprise that she won both events. Wittman posted the fastest time of any female athlete in the 100 this season so far after winning it in 12.07 seconds in a meet at SUU last month. And she has also stayed among the top five in the 200 for much of the season.

Still, she isn't widely considered the favorite in either race.

All season, the focus has been on the dominance of Spanish Fork's Natalie and Nachelle Stewart. Together, the twin duo have won multiple state titles in 100, 200 and 400 meters.

If facing them is truly a David-vs.-Goliath scenario, Wittman isn't convinced she'll be filling the underdog role. In fact, she likes her chances to blow away the competition in the 5A state meet this weekend at BYU.

"If I run my fastest time, I'm pretty sure I can beat them," Wittman said, who is hoping to run a flat 12 seconds in the 100. "I really want to do that. Even if I don't beat my personal record."

Wittman's collection of region titles is a nice change of pace from what happened to her last spring. At that time, a potential region title was stripped away after she was disqualified for wearing a necklace — contrary to UHSAA rules.

Although she could have appealed the ruling because the necklace contained a religious symbol, Wittman instead made certain she wore nothing even remotely resembling jewelry before her races this time around.

"I made sure I had nothing on," Wittman said. "Nothing."

With region titles in hand, and the realistic possibility to make noise at state, Wittman has brought a level of respectability to the Hunter track team.

"She's drawn a lot of attention to Hunter," said Amelia Gallegos, who runs the 4x100 relay with Wittman. "Her accomplishments throughout the year have really (showcased) the school."