Lady Devil distance runner Jocelyn Capener placed in both the 800 and 1600 meters last week at the Alpha Invite in Orem, Utah.

(HERALD PHOTO/Kati Baxter)

EHS hurdler Emma Lonsway finished 12th in the 300 hurdles at last week’s Alpha Invitational, held at Timpanogos High School in Orem, Utah. The Lady Devils finished fifth overall as a team, while Lonsway also finished fifth in the pole vault.

(HERALD PHOTO/Kati Baxter)

EHS distance runneers Jamar McDowell (No.9, left) and Paul Baxter (No. 7) ready themselves at the starting line of the 1600 meters last week at the Alpha Invitational, in Orem, Utah. McDowell finished 25th, while Baxter finished 30th.

(HERALD PHOTO/Kati Baxter)

Lady Devil thrower Alyssa Brown finished fourth in the shot put at last week’s Alpha Invitational, with a throw of 34 feet, 6 inches.

(HERALD PHOTO/Kati Baxter)

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The Evanston High School track and field teams continued their tour of Utah meets last week, competing at the Alpha Invitational in Orem, Utah.

The Red Devils placed third in the 28-team field, while the Lady Devils placed fifth; with boys and girls’ scores combined, Evanston finished third overall. The Red Devils were led by senior Kai Barker, who finished first in the long jump, with a distance of 21 feet, 2.75 inches; he also placed second in the high jump, clearing a height of 6 feet, 6 inches. Talia Conrad was the top finisher for the girls, also placing first in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet, 5.5 inches; she also placed third in the 100 meter dash, with a time of 12.60.

“It was a good trip for us – we had some good performances,” said EHS head coach Roy Barker. “The first day wasn’t terrible as far as the weather – the second day was a lot colder and drizzly, windy. But the kids fought through it, it was good.”

Spring Break is this week, though the EHS track and field teams will be back in action Friday at Rock Springs.

“We’ll probably take about 50 kids over to Rock Springs this week, so that will be good,” Barker said. “It’s Rock Springs in early April, so it will most likely be windy, but hopefully it will be warm, as well.”

Red Devils

Along with winning the long jump and placing second in the high jump, Red Devil senior Kai Barker placed second in the 110 hurdles, as well, posting a time of 15.21. Barker also ran a leg in the 4x100 relay – along with teammates Ayden Hartzell, Brayden Wallace and Gabe Hutchinson – placing sixth (44.78).

“Last year the long jump was something Kai picked up at the end of the season, and he ended up qualifying for state in it,” Barker said. “It’s something he wants to do in the decathlon in college, and we know that he can do it, so we wanted to make sure we got him doing it in an early meet this year. He was able to hit a good mark, and prequalify for state, and he was able to win it.”

Ayden Hartzell also turned in an impressive finish, placing second in the 400 meters with a time of 50.79. Cameron Hiatt placed fourth in the pole vault with a height of 12 feet, 6 inches, while Gabe Hutchinson placed fourth in the 100 meter dash, posting a time of 11.10.

“Cameron hit 12 feet, 6 inches, in the pole vault, which is a prequalifying mark for him,” Barker said. “It was really rainy during that event, so it was tough conditions – it was good to see our pole vaulters compete the way they did.”

In the relay events, the 4x400 relay team of Cameron Hiatt, Jayden Rieker, Ayden Hartzell and Gabe Hutchinson finished third in a time of 3:27.61, while the 4x800 team of Gideon Stahl, Jamison Williams, Paul Baxter and Jamar McDowell finished sixth, with a time of 8:26.03.

Other notable performances on the boys’ side included Treyton Weidrich and Jay Hill in the pole vault, who finished fifth (11’6”) and eighth (11’), respectively; Hutchinson in the 200 meters (10th, 22.86), Jamar McDowell in the 1600 meters (25th, 4:41.32), Paul Baxter in the 3200 meters (17th, 10:05.72), Kenyen Muir in the shot put (20th, 40’5.5”) and Luca Flores in the discus (108’2”).

Lady Devils

On the girls’ side, Talia Conrad prequalified for state in all three of her individual events, winning the long jump (17’5.5”), placing third in the 100 meters (12.60) and fifth in the 200 meters (25.94). She also ran a leg in the 4x400 relay – along with teammates Emma Lonsway, Braelynn Morrison and Jocelyn Capener – placing second in a time of 4:12.40.

“We were able to get Talia into multiple races, and she’s been able to prequalify in all of those events,” Barker said. “And she won the long jump, so that was great for her. That was an event she started doing during indoor track, and she’s doing really well at it.”

The Lady Devils did well in the field events, with Kiara Worthing placing fourth in the long jump with a state-qualifying mark of 17 feet, 3.75 inches. Cassie Barker was second in the high jump, clearing a height of 5 feet, 2 inches, while Emma Lonsway was fifth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 8 feet, 6 inches.

“Kiara, Cassie, Emma – all of these kids are doing really well,” Barker said. “Alyssa Brown is really steady in the shot put – we just have a really steady group right now, which is great.”

In the throwing events, Alyssa Brown placed fourth in the shot, with a toss of 34 feet, 6 inches, and 11th in the discus, with a throw of 85 feet, 4 inches.

Jocelyn Capener placed in both of her individual events, finishing seventh in the 800 meters (2:23.41) and eighth in the 1600 meters, posting a state-qualifying time of 5:16.68. Capener – a talented cross country runner in the fall, and a member of the indoor track team during the winter months – would usually be playing soccer at this time of year, but decided to forgo her senior season on the pitch in favor of outdoor track.

“That was something Jocelyn decided with her family,” Barker explained. “Obviously, she’s a great runner – I think it was a really difficult decision for her. Coach Barton with the soccer program was very gracious and understanding of what Jocelyn wanted to do this year, and she does want to possibly run in college. This will really help her. We have a good relationship with the soccer program, so it worked out.”

In the relay events, the team of Liesl Botts, Hallie Prete, Jasmine Tapia and Jocelyn Capener placed sixth in the 4x800 (10:33.66), while the 4x100 team of Brenna Fackrell, Cassie Barker, Kiara Worthing and Braelynn Worthing finished 10th (52.78).

Other notable performances on the girls’ side included Emma Lonsway in the 300 hurdles (12th, 49.12), Lila Horton in the 400 meters (33rd, 1:08.70) and Braelynn Morrison in the high jump (10th, 4’8”).

Alpha Invitational

2024

Girls Results

100 Meter Dash

3. Talia Conrad 12.60, 45. Coaley Clifton 13.81, 68. Brenna Fackrell 14.17, 85. Cambree Young 15.02, 89. Addi Asay 15.27

100 Meter Hurdles

14. Emma Lonsway 17.54, 17. Celeste Swensen 17.65, 19. Kiara Worthing 17.68

200 Meter Dash

5. Talia Conrad 25.94, 34. Braelynn Morrison 28.47, 55. Coaley Clifton 29.23, 55. Brenna Fackrell 29.23, 91. Cambree Young 31.32

300 Meter Hurdles

12. Emma Lonsway 49.12, 20. Cassie Barker 51.24

400 Meter Dash

33. Lila Horton 1:08.70, 50. Addi Asay 1:17.46

800 Meter Run

7. Jocelyn Capener 2:23.41, 42. Hallie Prete 2:38.18, 54. Jasmine Tapia 2:41.69, 58. Marley Renelle 2:43.93, 74. Mya Horton 2:48.98

1600 Meter Run

8. Jocelyn Capener 5:16.68, 37. Hallie Prete 5:37.80, 70. Liesl Botts 5:52.70, 75. Jasmine Tapia 5:58.31, 79. Eliza Day 6:03.92

Girls Discus

11. Alyssa Brown 85’4”, 20. Leah Sturges 71’6”, 34. Kiernynn Simmons 57’6”

Girls Shot Put

4. Alyssa Brown 34’6”, 15. Kiernynn Simmons 29’, 26. Leah Sturges 25’11.5”

Long Jump

1. Talia Conrad 17’5.5”, 4. Kiara Worthing 17’3.75”, 11. Celeste Swensen 16’.5”, 23. Brenna Fackrell 14’9.75”

High Jump

2. Cassie Barker 5’2”, 10. Braelynn Morrison 4’8”

Pole Vault

5. Emma Lonsway 8’6”

4x100 Relay

10. Brenna Fackrell, Cassie Barker, Kiara Worthing, Braelynn Worthing 52.78

4x400 Relay

2. Emma Lonsway, Braelynn Morrison, Jocelyn Capener, Talia Conrad 4:12.40

4x800 Relay

6. Liesl Botts, Hallie Prete, Jasmine Tapia, Jocelyn Capener 10:33.66

Boys Results

100 Meter Dash

4. Gabe Hutchinson 11.10

110 Meter Hurdles

2. Kai Barker 15.21, 17. Jay Hill 17.77

200 Meter Dash

10. Gabe Hutchinson 22.86, 14. Ayden Hartzell 23.10, 62. Nathan Ungerman 25.00, 70. Brenner Lym 25.64

300 Meter Hurdles

10. Jay Hill 43.28

400 Meter Dash

2. Ayden Hartzell 50.79, 14. Jayden Rieker 52.66, 29. Luke Robinette 54.54, 34. Brenner Lym 55.62

800 Meter Run

35. Jamar McDowell 2:06.57, 55. Gideon Stahl 2:11.93, 71. Aidan Conrad 2:18.78

1600 Meter Run

25. Jamar McDowell 4:41.32, 30. Paul Baxter 4:44.03, 51. Bryan Baxter 4:54.30, 66. Jamison Williams 5:02.36, 79. Justin Moon 5:10.16, 82. Croydon Francis 5:14.24

3200 Meter Run

17. Paul Baxter 10:05.72, 35. Bryan Baxter 10:38.42, 45. Jamison Williams 11:01.89

Boys Discus

22. Luca Flores 108’2”, 34. Kenyen Muir 95’11”, 49. Jordan Welling 81’

Boys Shot Put

20. Kenyen Muir 40’5.5”, 35. Steven Bowen 33’11.5”, 47. Jordan Welling 29’3”

Long Jump

1. Kai Barker 21’2.75”, 10. Treyton Weidrich 20’2.25”, 32. Brayden Wallace 18’2.75”, 42. Michael Kopp 16’9.25”

High Jump

2. Kai Barker 6’6”

Pole Vault

4. Cameron Hiatt, 12’6”, 5. Treyton Weidrich 11’6”, 8. Jay Hill 11’, 10. Brayden Wallace 10’6”, 10. Raife Weidrich 10’6”

4x100 Relay

6. Ayden Hartzel, Kai Barker, Brayden Wallace, Gabe Hutchinson 44.78

4x400 Relay

2. Cameron Hiatt, Jayden Rieker, Ayden Hartzell, Gabe Hutchinson 3:27.61

4x800 Relay

6. Gideon Stahl, Jamison Williams, Paul Baxter, Jamar McDowell 8:26.03