Punchers post new personal records at BYU
PROVO, UTAH – Ten athletes on the Big Piney High School outdoor track and field team participated in the elite 2023 Brigham Young University High School Invitational on May 5-6 at the BYU Track Stadium in Provo.
More than 140 teams from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and as far away as Alaska entered the meet. Programs ranged in size from urban schools in the Las Vegas and Salt Lake City areas to rural locations like Big Piney. Many preliminary events consisted of well over 200 contestants.
Senior Colby Jenks swept the competition in the boys’ 800-meters to snag gold in the finals for the event. Jenks pulled ahead of Richard Crane from Richfield, Utah, by 0.23 seconds to secure first place at 1 minute, 52.69 seconds.
Representing Big Piney in throwing events, senior Hannah Runyan captured fifth place out of 116 athletes in the 1A-3A girls’ shot put finals with a toss of 35 feet, 1 ¾ inches. Runyan bagged 11th place in the 1A-3A discus finals, clearing 102-10 ¾.
Sophomore Micah Strong qualified for the girls’ 400-meter finals after placing sixth in the 1A-3A quarterfinals for the event. Shaving 0.60 seconds from her quarterfinals time, Strong snapped up 13th place in the finals at 1:00.18.
Strong took 16th place in the 1A-3A 200-meter dash quarterfinals, at 27.52 seconds, and 18th in the 1A-3A 100-meter dash quarterfinals, at 13.24 seconds.
In distance events, sophomore Emma York earned 53rd place in the girls’ 3200-meter finals, clocking in at 12:13.30. She also placed 134th in the 1600-meter run finals at 5:37.49.
Sophomore Jolynn Jones came in 81st place in the girls’ 1600-meter run finals, crossing the finish line in 5:29.29. She placed 27th in the 1A-3A 400-meter dash quarterfinals at 1:04.69.
Posting a time of 2:36.39 in the girls’ 800-meter run finals, freshman Lizzy Brandt finished 180th in the event. She also placed 190th in the 1600-meter run finals with a sub-6-minute time of 5:50.79.
Freshman Kodee Greene picked up 70th place in the girls’ 1A-3A 200-meter dash quarterfinals, at 29.30 seconds, and 131st in the 100-meter quarterfinals, at 14.36 seconds.
Senior Brandon Jones secured 147th place in the boys’ 800-meter dash finals, timing in at 2:05.92. He came in 45th place in the 1A-3A 400-meter dash quarterfinals at 53.96 seconds.
Sophomore Kelby Staley placed 226th in the 800-meter dash finals with a time of 2:10.12. Staley also placed 30th in the 1A-3A quarterfinals for the 300-meter hurdles, at 44.18 seconds, and 41st in the 110-meter hurdles quarterfinal, at 18.26 seconds.
In sprinting events, sophomore Caden Clifford placed 90th in the 1A-3A 200-meter dash quarterfinals, at 25.09 seconds, and 104th in the 100-meter dash quarterfinals, at 12.34 seconds.