Southern Utah high school athletes turn in notable performances at Dixie Invitational track meet

Written by Jeff Richards
April 26, 2022
Athletes compete at Dixie Invitational track meet, St. George, Utah, April 22-23, 2022 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Cedar High School boys and the Springville girls were the top point-earning teams at the Dixie Invitational track meet staged at Dixie High School on Friday and Saturday.

Athletes compete at Dixie Invitational track meet, St. George, Utah, April 22-23, 2022 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

The meet attracted 15 schools, including all seven Region 10 members plus several smaller Southern Utah schools. Springville, which was one of just two northern Utah teams participating, scored 94.5 points in the girls’ meet, while Region 10’s Desert Hills was the runner-up with 89 points.

Meanwhile, on the boys’ side, the Cedar Reds scored 105.5 points to take first place as a team, while Region 10 rivals Snow Canyon and Pine View tied for second with 90 apiece.

Cedar coach Greg Harris said his team’s top highlights included senior Seth Sonerholm winning the 800-meter run in a time of 1:55.44, with junior teammate Logan Peel right behind him in 1:56.93. Peel also took second in the 1,600-meter run, while Sonerholm placed fourth.

Additionally, Ammon York and McKoy Smith both qualified for state in the 300-meter hurdles, placing a respective first and third in that race, Harris said.

Cedar’s boys’ and girls’ 4×800 relay teams both qualified for state, he added.

“Our girls and boys teams have both been working hard and are seeing consistent improvement each week,” Harris said.

Among the noteworthy performances in the girls’ meet, Snow Canyon senior Hailee Phillips won both the 800-meter and the 1,600-meter races, setting two new school records in the process. Her time in the 800 was 2:16.05 and her 1,600 time was 5:01.41, both of which are the best 4A times in the state this season.

Athletes compete at Dixie Invitational track meet, St. George, Utah, April 22-23, 2022 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

Additionally, senior sprinter Kristin Cook of Snow Canyon won the 100-meter dash in 12.28 seconds, which was about a third of a second slower than the 11.94 time she’d posted the previous weekend when she had taken part in the Farmington Invitational in Davis County as a solo entrant.

Also at Farmington on April 15, Cook set a new 4A state record in the 200-meter dash. She placed second overall in the event with a time of 24.50 seconds, eclipsing the old 4A mark of 24.52, set by Kaysha Love of Herriman in 2013.

Following are selected top boys’ performances at the Dixie Invitational, with emphasis on athletes from Southern Utah schools:

  • Kaden McKinlay of Desert Hills won the 1,600-meter run in 4:22.98.
  • Snow Canyon sophomore Trevor Gough won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.43.
  • Dixie junior Caidan Cooper won the 100-meter dash in 11.15. He also won the 200-meter dash in 22.49. Meanwhile, Dixie teammate Aiddin Wilson, a sophomore, won the 400-meter dash in 52.11.
  • Senior Colton Lichfield of Hurricane won the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 0.5 inches. Hurricane sophomore Owen Iloa won the high jump by clearing 6 feet, 4 inches.
  • Sawyer Woods, a junior at Pine View, won the javelin with a throw measuring 182 feet, 10.5 inches. Pine View teammate Faagalu Aetonu, a senior, won the shot put with a mark of 49 feet, 3.5 inches. Additionally, Pine View sophomore Teancum Jensen won the discus throw with a top effort of 144 feet, 1.5 inches.
Athletes compete at Dixie Invitational track meet, St. George, Utah, April 22-23, 2022 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

Highlights of the girls’ meet included:

  • Sarah Ellis of Crimson Cliffs won the 3,200-meter run in a time of 11:08.86.
  • Senior Addy Pace of Canyon View won the 400-meter run in 59.84.
  • Desert Hills junior Kooper Dennison won the 200-meter dash in 25.93.
  • Senior Kara Acor of Desert Hills won the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 1 inch. She edged runner-up Lainee Leavitt of Snow Canyon, who also cleared that same height.
  • Madison Terry, a senior from Enterprise, won the discus event with a throw measuring 122 feet exactly.
  • Pine View senior Arden LaFemina won the long jump with a leap measuring 16 feet, 10.5 inches.
  • Senior Mary Degraffenreid of Millard won the javelin throw with a mark of 126 feet, 5 inches. Sa’de Turlington of Desert Hills took second with a throw measuring 116 feet, 6 inches

Among the top relay finishes, Canyon View High won both the girls and the boys sprint medley races. 

For complete meet results, visit runnercard.com.

Dixie High School Invitational, April 22-23, 2022

Boys top 10 team results

  1. Cedar, 105.5
  2. (tie) Snow Canyon, 90
  3. (tie) Pine View, 90
  4. Springville, 81
  5. Desert Hills, 58.5
  6. Dixie, 55
  7. Crimson Cliffs, 53.5
  8. Hurricane, 47.5
  9. Millard, 31
  10. Enterprise, 20

Girls top 10 team results

  1. Springville, 94.5  
  2. Desert Hills, 89   
  3. Pine View, 72.5  
  4. Cedar, 72   
  5. Snow Canyon, 52   
  6. Crimson Cliffs, 49.5  
  7. Canyon View, 48   
  8. Hurricane, 43.5  
  9. Millard, 26   
  10. (tie) Dixie, 23 
  11. (tie) North Sanpete, 23 
  12. (tie) Bonneville, 23 

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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