Trojans run away with girls and boys state track titles

“It’s a great day to celebrate our Morgan track family,” head coach Brennen Fuller shared after the state meet.  “We preach family, and these kids came through for each other and for the team!”  

Coach Fuller added, “After taking two second place trophies last year, our team motto/slogan for this year was ‘Unfinished Business.’  We emphasized that it would take this whole track family to redeem ourselves.”

“On our wristbands we passed out before the state meet, it said ‘unfinished business’ and ‘F.O.E,  Family Over Everything.’ These kids came and took over the state meet as a family!’

In the end, they can now say they finished the business!! “

In a historic year of firsts for the Morgan High girls’ sports programs, the Trojan girls’ track and field team joined the girls’ golf team in bringing home a first-ever Track and Field State Championship!  With two events remaining the girls trailed Juan Diego in the team race 63 to 67.  But Morgan’s coaches weren’t worried, they knew they had seniors Lucy Tripp and Grace Gordon, who had already racked up three individual gold medals between them, running in the 200m race and the 4x400 relay.  Tripp and Gordon went 1-2 in the 200m to give Morgan an 81-67 lead that they stretched to 91-73 with a first place finish in the 4x400m relay race.  Tripp finished the day with four gold medals and Gordon with two golds, a silver and a 4th place. In the team race, Canyon View finished third (65) while Union placed fourth (56).

Not to be outdone by the girls’ team, the boys’ team won their third state championship in four years, reclaiming their title after placing second to Richfield in 2022. Morgan boys’ have titles in 2019, 2021, and 2023 under Brennen Fuller and Bryan Weir and won their first title in 1996 under Dave Clark.  

Headed into the final two events for the boys, the Trojans comfortably led Juab 81 to 60.  Morgan senior Jimmy Savage claimed fourth place in the 200m race to add five more points to extend the lead, and the 4x400 team added icing on the cake with a second place finish to complete the scoring at 94 points to Juab’s 72 and Unions 68.5.  Brogan Garrett was Morgan’s lone individual male champion with a first-place finish in the 400m (49.01).  

Girls’ Team 

“Our girls’ relay teams came to win!  We took first in the 4x100, first in the 4x400 and fourth in the medley,”  Fuller noted. “Each person on the team worked to build each other and showed up for each other.”

In the medley relay, Brier Gailey, Caitlyn Flitton, Grace Gordon, and Melanie Bybee combined to run a 4:23.52 race and finish fourth.  The 4x100 relay, composed of Bailey Beckstrom, Flitton, Gailey, and Lucy Tripp topped the podium with a time of 50.41.  In the 4x400 relay, the last event of the day, with the Lady Trojans basically assured of the championship because no one could catch them in points, the team ran with heart and conviction to finish for the family.  Sharon Gunn, Alexis Weirers, and Tripp ran an excellent race finishing the third leg behind North Sanpete.  In spectacular fashion, Gordon raced after the North Sanpete runner, tracked her down and passed her, winning the final high school race for the girls’ team.  

Individually Tripp racked up four gold medals.  She was first in the 100m (12.44), first in the 200m (25.96), first in the 4x100m (50.41) and first in the 4x400m (4:03.00).

Gordon was right behind Tripp individually with two golds, a silver and a fourth.  In the 400m race Gordon, who signed to run track for Colorado State University Monday night, finished in 56.94 almost two seconds faster than her closest competition.  She also won a gold in the 4x400 relay.  In 200m, Gordon earned second to Tripp (26.16) to claim her silver and fourth in the medley relay (4:23.52).  

Bailey Beckstrom claimed two medals in the hurdles.  In the 100m hurdles, she finished eighth (16.50), and in the 300m hurdles she ended third (47.14).  Senior Alexis Weiers, who signed to run at Black Hills State, scored seventh in the 800m (2:24.83).  

In the field, junior Abby Titus was a double medalist placing third in the high jump (5-00.75) and seventh in the long jump (10-05.50).  Grace Thomsen also medaled in the high jump coming in seventh  (5-00.75).

Seniors Sisilia Mafi (35-07.50) and Leineta Mafi (31-11.50) were double Morgan winners in the shot put.  Sisilia Mafi placed third, and Leineta Mafi took eighth.  Senior Amaya Rogers tossed the javelin 95-09.50 feet to claim seventh place.

Boys’ Team

The boys’ team, behind Brogan Garrett’s individual state championship in the 400m (49.01), won their championship point by point in each event with each person contributing to the title. With only one state champion and no runners’ up, the breadth of talent of the team was evident as race by race, the team slowly tallied their first place score!  They started amassing their winning points with a fifth place finish in the 3200m race by senior Josh Nicolaides (9.57.10).  In the mile, Brooks Anderton also claimed fifth (4:32.92).  

Jacob Carter (11.17) and Jimmy Savage (11.25) placed third and seventh in the 100m, and Savage repeated on the podium with a fourth place finish in the 200m (22.77).  Tucker Giles scored fourth in the 800 m (1:59.21).

In the hurdles, Jarron Ball grabbed fifth in the 110m race (15.98). and Gavin DeWitt raced to a sixth place finish in the 300m race (42.14).

Morgan’s relays recorded two second place finishes and one fourth.  In the medley relay, Jimmy Savage, Zac Nelson, Brooks Anderton, and Tucker Giles earned second place (3:35.54) as did Anderton, Esplan McClellan, Christian Nunez, and Giles in the 4x400 relay (3:28.46).  In the 4x100 relay, Savage, Shaun Moore, Nelson, Jacob Carter.ran a 43.83 to place fourth.

The field athletes contributed to the title as well.  Kenny Whitmer placed third in high jump clearing 5-10.00 while at the long jump pit, Jacob Carter took fifth with a leap of 20-04.50, and   Zac Nelson jumped 20-03.25 to take seventh.  Shaun Moore earned third in the shot put with a throw of 47-11.50 and took fourth in the discus with a throw of 138-03.  In the javelin, Rhett Nye claimed third (161-01), and Gavin DeWitt placed seventh (148-01.25).

Morgan’s Unified Track Team also found success at the State Meet as well. In the 50m, sophomore Phoenix Grasteit took first in 9.28, and senior Chiara “Kiki” Johnson placed second (9.38).  In the shot put, Johnson brought home the gold with a throw of 20-10.75.  Their 4x100 team won gold in 1:11.  Team members were Johnson, Grasteit, Katelynn Savage and Brielle Jackson. λ