After weeks of indoor training and canceled meets, the Evanston High School track and field teams finally had the opportunity to compete outdoors over the weekend, taking part in the 2023 Alpha Invitational in Orem, Utah, albeit with a pared-down version of their roster.

The Red Devils placed 8th in the 30-team field, while the Lady Devils placed 13th; with boys and girls’ scores combined, Evanston finished eighth overall. The Red Devils were led by junior Kai Barker, who finished third in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, four inches; he also placed fourth in the 110 hurdles, with a time of 15.60. Talia Conrad was the top finisher for the girls, finishing fourth in the 100 meters, with a time of 12.85.

“They postponed the meet from earlier in the week to Saturday, so that made it tough — a lot of our kids had already made plans for Spring Break,” said EHS head coach Roy Barker. “Our numbers weren’t great, but we still took a lot of kids, and they were able to compete. The girls have had two meets now, and the guys now have some marks. It was good — we had some state qualifiers, and it was good to get on the track. We performed really well, I was happy.”

With Uinta County School District #1 at the tail end of Spring Break, the EHS track and field teams will send a streamlined version of its roster to Utah Saturday for a meet in Taylorsville. The home invitational scheduled for next Wednesday, April 12, will most likely be canceled due to field conditions, though a final decision had yet to be made as of press time Thursday afternoon.

“We’re doing our best,” Barker said. “The kids are bummed about not being able to get outside consistently and really get after it, but they’re keeping their good attitudes. Everyone is working hard, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Red Devils

Red Devil junior Kai Barker had a solid outing for his first meet of the season, placing third in the high jump (6 feet, 4 inches), and fourth in the 110 hurdles (15.60); he also ran a leg in the 4x100 relay — along with teammates Gustavo Cervantes, Juan Navarro and Zeke Walton — finishing seventh in a time of 44.35.

Jaun Navarro also turned in an impressive finish, placing third in the long jump with a distance of 21 feet, 10.5 inches. Cameron Hiatt just missed prequalifying for state in the pole vault, placing third with a height of 12 feet.

In the relay events, the 4x400 relay team of Cervantes, Walton, Joey Leon and Isaiah Lange finished third in a time of 3:34.38, while the 4x800 team of Ayden Hartzel, Derek Parks, Braezden Mecham and Lange placed eighth, with a time of 8:30.09.

“Kai prequalified for state in the high jump and the 110 hurdles, so it was a good day for him,” Barker said. “Juan prequalified in the long jump, and we had two relay teams — the 4x100 and the 4x800 — that qualified. We just missed the 4x400.”

Navarro’s mark of 21 feet, 10.5 inches in the long jump places him second on Evanston’s all-time list, behind only former Red Devil great Clay Caswell’s mark of 23 feet, 1.5 inches.

“That 22-foot barrier is a big deal for a kid long-jumping in high school,” Barker said. “Juan is hitting that barrier. When you’re hitting 22, you’re getting out there.”

Other notable performances on the boys’ side included Zeke Walton in the 400 meters (10th, 51.91), Conner Olsen in the discus (12th, 118 feet, 8 inches), Braxton Bauer in the shot put (13th, 41 feet, 6.5 inches), Paul Baxter in the 3200 meters (30th, 10:24.50), Lange in the 800 meters (30th, 2:08.14) and Jamar McDowell in the 1600 meters (63rd, 4:52.01).

“Our throwers didn’t have their best day, but we did have a sophomore [Conner Olson] who threw the discus pretty well,” Barker said. “I’m anticipating them coming back next meet pretty strong.”

Lady Devils

On the girls’ side, Talia Conrad prequalified for state in both of her individual events, placing fourth in the 100 meters (12.85) and 13th in the 400 meters (1:00.83). She also ran a leg in the 4x400 relay — along with teammates Aubrey Horrocks, Courtney Sims and Emma Lonsway — placing fifth in a time of 4:16.48.

“Talia’s 100 time of 12.85 — we haven’t had a girl go sub-13 for quite a few years,” Barker said. “That 12.85 is a pretty impressive mark.”

The Lady Devils also did well in the field events, with freshman Emma Lonsway finishing sixth in the pole vault (8 feet, 6 inches) and Kiara Worthing placing seventh in the long jump (16 feet, 7.5 inches).

“Kiara Worthing just missed qualifying in the long jump,” Barker said. “She put out a really good mark for a freshman.”

In the throwing events, Jessica McMurtrey and Cassidy Coley finished seventh in the shot put (31 feet, 3.5 inches) and discus (90 feet, 9 inches), respectively.

Other notable performances on the girls’ side included Braelynn Morrison in the high jump (12th, 4 feet, 8 inches), Lonsway in the 100 and 300 hurdles (16th and 19th, respectively), Aubrey Horrocks in the 1600 meters (26th, 5:40.43), Courtney Sims in the 200 meters (57th, 29.64) and Marley Renelle in the 800 meters (64th, 2:51.58).

Alpha Invitational

Results

Girls Results

100 Meter Dash

4. Talia Conrad 12.85, 54. Braelynn Morrison 13.93, 66. Courtney Sims 14.15, 104. Marissa Parks 15.10, 114. Kyndall Fernandez 15.51

200 Meter Dash

57. Courtney Sims 29.64, 97. Kyndall Fernandez 32.78

400 Meter Dash

13. Talia Conrad 1:00.83

800 Meter Run

64. Marley Renelle 2:51.58

1600 Meter Run

26. Aubrey Horrocks 5:40.43

100 Meter Hurdles

16. Emma Lonsway 17.54, 41. Kiara Worthing 18.83, 48. Coaley Clifton 19.38, 55. Braelynn Morrison 20.15, 57. Brenna Fackrell 20.21, 67. Rachel Johnson 22.36, 72. Chase Blair 23.54

300 Meter Hurdles

19. Emma Lonsway 49.93, 37. Brenna Fackrell 54.49, 49. Coaley Clifton 57.34

4x100 Relay

8. Coaley Clifton, Brenna Fackrell, Kiara Worthing, Courtney Sims 52.69

4x400 Relay

5. Talia Conrad, Aubrey Horrocks, Courtney Sims, Emma Lonsway 4:16.48

High Jump

12. Braelynn Morrison 4’8”

Pole Vault

6. Emma Lonsway 8’6”, 10. Ellie Asay 7’6”

Long Jump

7. Kiara Worthing 16’7.5”, 15. Brenna Fackrell 15’6.5”

Shot Put

7. Jessica McMurtrey 31’3.5”, 17. Marty Dick 29’4.75”, 18. Alyssa Brown 29’2”, 21. Cassidy Coley 29’, 28. Lexi Matthews 28’3”,

Discus Throw

7. Cassidy Coley 90’9”, 19. Alyssa Brown 78’3”, 28. Marty Dick 72’8”, 44. Lexi Matthews 59’6”

Boys Results

100 Meter Dash

36. Juan Navarro 11.67

200 Meter Dash

23. Juan Navarro 23.49, 68. Ethan Moberley 25.14, 106. Michael Kopp 27.50

400 Meter Dash

10. Zeke Walton 51.91, 12. Gustavo Cervantes 52.02, 33. Joey Leon 55.08, 45. Ayden Hartzel 56.65, 50. Jaxon Sharp 57.48

800 Meter Run

30. Isaiah Lange 2:08.14, 48. Cameron Hiatt 2:11.95, 52. Jamar McDowell 2:12.26, 53. Aidan Conrad 2:12.31

1600 Meter Run

63. Jamar McDowell 4:52.01, 86. Braezden Mecham 5:01.02, 111. Dallin Horrocks 5:15.42, 124. Mason Young 5:27.16, 128. Croydon Francis 5:33.21

3200 Meter Run

30. Paul Baxter 10:24.50, 46. Jamison Williams 10:57.92, 48. Gideon Stahl 11:09.64

110 Meter Hurdles

4. Kai Barker 15.60, 39. Marcus Tober 19.02

300 Meter Hurdles

51. Zander Hernandez 56.71

4x100 Relay

7. Gustavo Cervantes, Juan Navarro, Kai Barker, Zeke Walton 44.35

4x400 Relay

3. Gustavo Cervantes, Zeke Walton, Joey Leon, Isaiah Lange 3:34.38

4x800 Relay

8. Ayden Hartzel, Derek Parks, Braezden Mecham, Isaiah Lange 8:30.09

High Jump

3. Kai Barker 6’4”

Pole Vault

3. Cameron Hiatt 12’

Long Jump

3. Jaun Navarro 21’10.5”, 42. Brayden Wallace 18’.5”

Shot Put

13. Braxton Bauer 41’6.5”, 20. Kenyen Muir 39’5”, 52. Grady Ivie 26’7.25”

Discus Throw

12. Conner Olson 118’8”, 19. Kenyen Muir 111’3”, 21. Braxton Bauer 109’2.5”, 39. Grady Ivie 86’5”, 46. Rylan Ivie 77’9.5”