Park City Miners bring home three first-place finishes at 4A state track and field championships

With "Y" Mountain in the background, PCHS competes in the Utah State Championships for Track & Field at BYU. Photo: TownLift // Michele Roepke

PROVO, Utah — Eli Warner crossed the finish line in 10.72 seconds to win the boys 100-meter dash, then anchored Park City High School’s 4×200-meter relay team to a first-place finish at the 4A State Championships at BYU over the weekend. He also placed third in the 200 meters.

On the girls side, Mallory Carter took the 400-meter dash title with a time of 55.88 seconds, added a sixth-place finish in the 200 and ran the anchor leg of the girls 4×200 relay to a third-place finish.

The performances helped lift both Park City squads in the overall team standings. The boys placed third behind Mountain View and Orem, while the girls finished eighth. Snow Canyon won the girls team title.

Sprints and hurdles

Warner, a senior who attended Jeremy Ranch Elementary School, will head to Tufts University in Boston after graduating from PCHS in less than a month. He has committed to play football and said he intends to walk on for track.

“I’m interested in becoming double-signed,” Warner told TownLift. “I’d say the 100 is my favorite to run.”

With temperatures around 80 degrees at BYU, Warner said the conditions suited him just fine.

“Personally, I like it hot, so I think the weather today is perfect,” he said. His extended family lives in Florida and Georgia, and he was born in South Carolina.

“Coach Dave is a great coach, and I’ve learned a lot of life skills from him,” Warner added.

Senior Owen Osorio, who also plays football for Park City, finished sixth in the 200 and seventh in the 400. Brogan Price placed second in the boys 300-meter hurdles in 38.10 seconds and eighth in the 110-meter hurdles. Oliver Timpson finished fourth in the boys 300 hurdles, while seniors Leo Gorder and Max Andres placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the boys 400.

In the girls 300-meter hurdles, Ashtyn Holder placed ninth.

Distance events

Paige Wagner, a standout senior ranked fourth in the state in the 800, finished eighth in that event and 11th in the 1,600. Sam LaBrin placed 10th in the boys 1,600 and seventh in the 3,200. Rhys Weidenhamer finished 11th in the boys 3,200.

Relays

The boys 4×100 relay team of Warner, Osorio, Max Andres and senior Brian Roberts placed third. The girls 4×100 relay placed fourth.

Warner, Gorder, Timpson and Roberts combined for the boys 4×200 win — the team’s top relay finish of the meet. Carter, Siena Hogan, Bryn Cunningham and Hailey Olsen placed third in the girls 4×200.

In the boys 4×400, Gorder, Timpson, Andres and Osorio took second. The girls 4×400 team of Hogan, Wagner, Josephine Peterson and Cunningham placed third.

The girls 4×800 relay of Peterson, Piper Petrole, Weidenhamer and Wagner placed fourth. The boys 4×800 team of Garvin Gurule, Xander Markewich, LaBrin and senior Rylan Betker finished eighth.

Field events

In the javelin, Josh Hofer placed seventh for the boys.

Coaching staff

The “Coach Dave” Warner referenced is longtime head coach Dave Yocum. Asked about the team’s season heading into the meet, Yocum pointed to the bigger picture.

“BYU puts on a nice event every year and we’re happy to have qualified again to compete,” Yocum told TownLift. “At this, the most important meet of the year, it’s not about records, it’s more about place.”

He added: “We can’t wait to start using the brand new track and field facility at PCHS next year.”

Assistant coach Ivan Radcliff, a retired bobsled national team member who competed at the World Championships and carried the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic torch through his hometown of Houston, Texas, said the atmosphere at BYU was energizing.

“It’s great to see so many parents come out,” Radcliff said. “In addition, our coaching staff ensures that we go out and show support for all the other athletes from other schools, as well as our own.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the field events at State, the Park City boys javelin athlete Josh Hofer placed in 7th.