ON YER MARKS!! SET!! BANG
As the gun blasts, the athletes spring out of the starting blocks and sprint down the track. Speakers crackle as the announcer declares podium finishers. And the stadium resounds as the boys’ state triple jump record is re-broken, now set over 50 feet.
The state track meet was held on May 22-24, and for the most part, it had miraculously fair weather and sunny skies. Saturday had the worst weather, as it was raining and windy for part of the day.
Girls Team Performance
The Powell girls’ team earned a fourth-place trophy, continuing a long-standing tradition of success.
In the 100-meter dash, junior Averie Warner placed 7th during finals. During prelims, she ran a personal best, with a time of 13.10 seconds.
Junior Audrey Johnson placed 5th in the 200-meter. Her best time of the meet was 26.27 seconds.
“I think that state went very well,” Johnson said. “The forecast had inspired much more fear than the actual circumstances.”
Her stand-out performance was in the 400-meter dash, where she placed 1st. In the prelims, she ran a 59.07, and in the finals, a 59.21.
“I put in a lot of effort this season,” Johnson said. “I’m glad to see that it paid off.”
“The girls trophied again,” coach Tracy McArthur said. “We’ve consistently brought home a trophy.”
In fact, the last time Powell hasn’t brought home a trophy (whether it be for girls or boys) was in 2018, and before that, it hadn’t happened since 2003.
In the 800-meter run, senior Kinley Cooley ran a 2:24.29, placing 7th. She also placed 5th in the 1600, with a time of 5:22.99, and 4th in the 3200, with a time of 11:38.50.
Sophomore Karee Cooley placed 7th in the 3200 with a time of 11:44.25.
Averie Warner, Addy Brown, Paige Sanders, and Kindyle Floy ran in the 4×100-meter relay. Their time of 51.71 was a personal record by over a second. They placed 7th.
In the 4×400-meter relay, Powell placed 4th. Audrey Johnson, Kindyle Floy, Autumn Kidd, and Eleasah Horsely ran a time of 4:13.28, another team best.
Both the sprint medley and the 4×800 earned second.
The sprint medley consisted of Kindyle Floy, Paige Sanders, Audrey Johnson, and Kenna Jacobsen. They ran a time of 4:23.16.
“My first event of the meet was the medley,” Johnson said. “It was nice to see our growth accumulate into a second-place result!”
Karee Cooley, Kinley Cooley, Shelby Zickafoose, and Kenna Jacobsen ran the 4×800 in a time of 9:47.59. They were just 4 seconds away from the school record.
In the field events, the girls had four placings.
Paige Sanders placed 3rd in the triple jump (36’10”) and 7th in the long jump (16’6”).
Nalani Jordan placed 5th in the shot put (35’6.75”) and 6th in the discus (117’8”).
Boys Performance
Two Powell sophomores placed in the 110-meter hurdles: Lincoln Crawford and Sawyer Wormald. They placed 6th and 8th, respectively. Crawford’s best time was 17.11 seconds, and Wormald ran it in 17.15 seconds.
The 4×100 team of Lincoln Crawford, Braxton Nelson, Karcher Foley, and Breckyn Kobbe ran a time of 44.56 seconds, finishing 3rd.
The biggest boys highlight was the sprint medley relay. Breckyn Kobbe, Karcher Foley, Sawyer Wormald, and Liam Taylor ran. They placed first, running a time of 3:40.30.
One of the coaches’ favorite memories was the boys’ sprint medley. The Buffalo boys were awarded a rerun Saturday morning, but they couldn’t crack the time.
The 4×800 team placed 7th. The team of Nathan Varian, Korbyn Warren, Colin Walker, and Liam Taylor ran a 8:55.04.
In high jump, freshman Braxton Nelson placed 3rd with a jump of 6-2.
“I was very happy that Braxton placed so well in the high jump,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said. “He didn’t jump great at regionals, but he got third at state and tied his PR!”
In the long jump, Nelson placed 5th, jumping a distance of 22’ 0.25”.
“The boys didn’t bring home a trophy, but they are really young,” McArthur said. “We only had one senior and four juniors that qualified for state.”
Looking forward to next year, the coaching staff mentioned that we lost some good seniors, but overall, it wasn’t a large class. They are excited about the prospect of younger athletes maturing into more competitive athletes, as well as the athletic eighth-grade class.
“The girls brought home a trophy,” head coach Scott Smith said. “The boys are really young, but they brought home a lot of medals. I thought we did really well overall.”
With another trophy added to the case and plenty of young talent on the rise, Powell Track and Field continues to build on a legacy of excellence.
