Several state records fall on 1st day

PROVO — The high school track and field championships started off with a bang Friday at Brigham Young University, setting the stage for excitement in today's final events.

After considering the times posted by the state's prepsters on Friday, a day of mostly preliminary events, it is almost scary to think about what they could pull off in the final day of competition.

Four different classification state records were established by the girls on Friday, with the hot weather providing conditions for blistering times.

In the 5A race, Davis and Spanish Fork are head to head after Day 1, with the Dons holding a slim 30-24 lead. Orem leads the 4A team competition with 31 points, with Judge Memorial out in front of 3A with 47 points. North Sevier leads 2A with 39 points, and Milford holds a one-point lead over Rich with 35 points.

5A: Davis jumped out early, led by sophomore Candace Eddy's state-record effort to win the 1,600-meter run in 4:54.38. She was pushed the whole way by Lone Peak's Lacey Cramer, who shocked all in attendance on her way to a huge personal record, also breaking the existing state record with her second-place time of 4:55.44.

The Darts also got individual titles from Jordan Harris in the javelin (118 feet, 10 inches) and Allison Dunford in the shot put (40-07.25). Spanish Fork stuck close with high finishes from Becca Rowley (shot put) and Kelly Roach (javelin), but the majority of the Dons' points will come on the track today. Super twins Nachelle and Natalie Stewart have yet to officially post any points for Spanish Fork, although they are seeded near the top of each of their respective events. The Dons also have 5A's No. 2 seed in the 4x100-meter relay. The state's top seed in the 4x100-meter relay, Hunter, was disqualified in the preliminary run, leaving Bingham as the fastest seed for today's competition. Viewmont's Bailee Whitworth won the long jump (18-00).

4A: Orem's Mindy Robins got a good start to what she hopes will be a memorable weekend with her 4A state-record jump of 18 feet, 10.5 inches to win the long jump. She also anchored the Tigers' top-seeded 400-meter relay team and is the favorite in the hurdles races today. Kendy Christiansen and Krystal Harper (3,200) and Natasha Martin (100, 200) will team with Robins to likely propel the Tigers to their second consecutive state title today.

In the mile, Sarah Edwards of Woods Cross ran to the win in 5:15.75, with grandfather and former BYU football coach LaVell Edwards looking on. The shot put title went to Cottonwood's Leima Moala (42-10), with Bonneville's Tiffany Helstrom winning the javelin (127-01).