Several Sanpete athletes shine at state track tournament
Robert Stevens and Matt Harris
5-25-2017
PROVO—Sanpete had some shining stars at the state high school track meet last weekend.
Gunnison High’s Kate Sorensen proved to everyone last Saturday why she is the best hurdler in Utah.
The Gunnison Valley native took home the gold in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles in the 2A state track and field championships and was just one of several standout performances there that hailed from Sanpete.
“It is always great to see years of handwork come together, and for Kate, they came together in a big way over the weekend,” Gunnison High track coach Hollie Bosworth said. “The performances from this weekend show that with wonderful teammates, and a lot of handwork, incredible things can happen.”
For Manti, Austin Robinson was the 2A champion in the pole vault, and the first to ever take gold in the pole vault in school history. Jordan Cheney took third place in the 1600-meter finals and fourth in the 3200. Cooper Parry took third place in the 300-meter hurdles. Izaak Butler took second place in the long jump finals with a 20’00.50’’ jump. As a team, Manti placed third in the sprint medley relay.
“We are so proud of every athlete that went to state,” Jack Rapier, Manti track coach, said. “Like life, we had some disappointments and some great surprises.”
Manti boys’ team score was 54.5, good enough for fourth place in state.
Gunnison’s girls team took seventh place with 37 points, and was complimented by several individual standouts. Sorensen, with the best 300-meter hurdle time in the state, was, of course, the star, cleaning house in the hurdling events and taking third place in the 200-meter sprint.
Fellow Lady Bulldog Jade Wimmer took fourth place in the 400-meter final. Gunnison’s girls relay team took third place in the 4×100-meter relay.
While Manti girls’ team did not show any placing results as a team for state, several Lady Templars performed admirably in individual events. Madison Norris took third place in both the 1600- and 3200-meter finals, and Manti girls’ relay squad placed third in the sprint medley relay.
Rapier says he sees the best example of how hard his kids competed was shown by Annie Hammer, who had a severe ankle sprain right before she ran her leg of the medley relay.
“She ran anyway and set us up for a third place finish, and then promptly sat down and had her ankle swell larger than a baseball,” Rapier said. “The trainers couldn’t believe she ran with that injury, it had to have hurt bad. Templar track nation was well showcased with this year’s team.”
Sheilah Cheruoit of Wasatch Academy was a distance competitor for the Tigers, along with teammate Ashley Lagat. Cheruoit placed fourth in the 1600 meters and fifth in the 3200 meters. Lagat placed eighth in the 3200 meters,
“State track is almost unique in Utah HS sports since all five classifications are there together for two full days of competition,” said Bill Bedford, track coach for Wasatch Academy and North Sanpete High. “Drama, triumph and tragedy are given. In the end, you see the athletes giving their best time after time throughout the two days.”
