Davis takes meet; Syracuse's Yardley makes statement

KAYSVILLE — If Syracuse sprinter Tyrell Yardley was seeking to make a big splash as the latest 5A title contender, he couldn't have picked a better way to do it.

Yardley posted an impressive performance on the final day of the Davis Super Meet on Wednesday afternoon, picking up victories in both the 100 and 200 meters to earn athlete of the meet honors.

The junior finished comfortably ahead of the pack in his first event, the 100 meter dash. Yardley crossed the line in 10.95 seconds, well ahead of Davis sprinter Ryan Avery who placed second after finishing in 11.24.

Avery got a jump on him out of the blocks, but Yardley overtook him and pulled away in the last few meters.

"I've always been a better finisher," Yardley said. "I always get beat at the start, so I like to finish strong."

Yardley topped himself in the 200. He finished in 21.93 seconds. It was not only a full second ahead of Davis sprinter Jon Ferguson — who finished in 22.96 to claim second place — but it also eclipsed the meet record of 22.10 in the event set by West Jordan sprinter Jake Garlick in 2000.

Nabbing a pair of impressive victories early on means Yardley will have a target on his back going into other meets now. He expects to see stiff competition, but also feels like he'll be ready for it.

"It's going to make them work harder," Yardley said. "I'm not going to let them work harder than me. I'll keep working harder every day in practice.

Davis finished as the top team once again. The Darts scored 198.5 points to overwhelm their competition. Bingham placed second with 102 and Viewmont came in third with 92.

Davis scored in every event except the 4x100 relay, a race where the Darts' relay team was disqualified.

Three Davis athletes claimed victories in individual events. Jon Ferguson won the long jump with a best jump of 21 feet and 1 inch. Tony Hill earned performance of the meet after his winning throw of 58' 03" in the shot put fell just four inches shy of tying the meet record.

Seth Gutzwiller duplicated Yardley's feat of two first-place finishes. The senior claimed victory in the 1600 with a time of 4:33.84. He followed up by taking the top spot in the 3200 with a time of 9:57.05.

Gutzwiller, who earned a 5A championship in cross-country last fall, hopes this is a sign he can enjoy a similar breakout in track this spring.