High school track preview: The Top 30 Treasure Valley athletes to watch this spring
The first handful of high school track meets are taking off as Treasure Valley athletes shake off nearly two years of rust.
The global coronavirus pandemic shut down the track season last spring just as it was getting started, creating a wide-open race for individual and team state championships this season.
Two years away from the track will surely create some surprises. But we surveyed the area’s track coaches to gain some clarity as athletes round into top form.
Below are the top boys and girls to watch this spring. They are not ranked in order. They are grouped together by classification and sorted alphabetically by school.
TOP GIRLS TO WATCH
Rosina Machu, Boise
The senior didn’t start running competitively until high school. But she’s proven a quick learner, signing with Gonzaga after finishing second at the 5A state cross country meet last fall.
Sammy Smith, Boise
The freshman made a splash on the high school scene last fall, winning the 5A state cross country title and earning first-team all-state honors in soccer. She’s also won multiple junior national cross country skiing titles.
Megan Rose, Capital
The senior sprinter set the Idaho indoor record in the 60-yard dash in February at 7.79 seconds. Now the Utah signee has her eyes set on the all-class, 100-meter state meet record (12.07 seconds) that has stood since 1989.
Lizzie Ramey, Capital
The senior broke the school pole vault record at 11-foot-1 in her first try of the season. The Utah Valley commit spent the offseason training with Stacy Dragila, a former Olympic gold medalist, and topped 12 feet during the indoor season.
Lizzie Dildine, Eagle
The senior and BYU commit has a 2019 cross country state title under her belt. She’s placed at state in the 1,600 and 3,200 and as a freshman and sophomore. She’ll try to break through with her first individual state track title this spring.
Avery McBride, Mountain View
The Boise State soccer commit broke out as a freshman at Borah, winning the 5A state and district titles in the 300 hurdles. She set a personal record of 44.41 seconds at state, a record she’ll surely improve upon this spring.
Kennedy Voorhies, Rocky Mountain
The sophomore cleared an impressive 5-4 in her first high jump of the season. That mark won the 5A, 4A and 3A state championships in 2019.
Abby Stamper, Timberline
The younger sister of a three-time, 5A 800-meter state champ, the junior is making a name for herself in the same event. Her season debut time this season of 2:19.51 is the best in the state so far.
Paige Tekippe, Bishop Kelly
The senior is a threat for multiple 4A state titles. It’s just a matter of picking which ones to chase. As a sophomore, she anchored BK’s 4x100 state title team and finished second in the 100 (12.44), fourth in the 200 (25.88) and third in the long jump (17-8.25).
Lacy Yates, Emmett
The Weber State signee won a state discus title as a freshman in 2018 before finishing third in 2019. With a personal best throw of 137-0, she’s aiming for another discus championship and possibly a shot put title, too.
Noelyn Shriver, Middleton
The senior from North Idaho signed with BYU as a thrower. With a personal best of 148 feet in the discus and 39 feet in the shot put, she’ll look to take the Treasure Valley by storm.
Cassandra Vasquez, Nampa
The Idaho State commit has anchored the Bulldogs’ distance team for four years. She placed at state in the 1,600 and 3,200 as a sophomore. Now the reigning 4A district cross country champion eyes a breakout senior campaign.
Madison Tesnohlidek, Fruitland
She took second in the 100 (12.88) and third in the 200 (26.71) at the 3A state meet as a freshman. She’s the favorite in both events and will help the Grizzlies rack up points in their relays.
Kendall Clark, Melba
The coronavirus erased her freshman season. But the sophomore is already making waves, turning in the state’s best triple jump so far in any classification (34-10) and clearing 5 feet in the high jump in her season debut.
Brenna Bagley, Liberty Charter
The 1A classification’s defending 400 state champion (1:00.61), the senior is also a threat in the shorter sprints. She took second in the 200 (27.17) and sixth in the 100 (13.47).
TOP BOYS TO WATCH
Mason Lawyer, Boise
The junior broke the elusive 50-second barrier in his first 400 race of the season Thursday with a time of 49.64. That kind of speed puts you on the podium at state, if not on top of it.
Nathan Green, Borah
Despite losing his junior season to the coronavirus shutdown, the Washington signee enters the season with a sparkling resume. The distance runner has already racked up three individual state track titles, three state cross country titles and three Gatorade athlete of the year awards between the two sports. He’s the prohibitive favorite in any event he enters.
Barrett Davis, Eagle
He made an impression as a sophomore, finishing fifth in the triple jump and 10th in the long jump at state. But he’s quickly established himself as a title contender in both events, hitting 21-4 in the long jump and 44-0 in the triple jump already.
Seth Rathbun, Eagle
The senior showed how far he’s come with a shot put throw of 57-10 on Thursday. That’s the best throw this season by more than 2 feet. He and Rocky Mountain’s Jarrell Lucas will battle for throwing supremacy all season.
Justin Hagerman, Kuna
The senior uncorked a high jump of 6-2 to open the season, a mark that would have finished third at state last year. Kuna’s 30-year-old high jump record of 6-6.25 is in danger.
Eli Lawrence, Meridian
The son of an Olympic triple jumper from the Bahamas, Lawrence set a personal best by nearly 3 feet to win the 5A triple jump title as a freshman at 45-4. The junior has already broken that mark twice this season, reaching 48 feet Thursday.
Jarrell Lucas, Rocky Mountain
A reigning state medalist in both the shot put (third) and discus (fourth), the senior stands poised to climb up the podium. His personal record in the discus (172-11) would have won the past two 5A state titles.
Cruz Flores, Caldwell
A reigning district cross country champ, the senior has already established himself as the front-runner for the 4A distance races. His 1,600 (4:34.17) and 3,200 (9:48.33) times are already some of the best in the state, and they should only come down as the season goes on.
James Onanubosi, Bishop Kelly
The junior sprinter made quite an appearance as a freshman, finishing second at the 4A state meet in the 100 (10.85) and 200 (22.12). His days of finishing second might be behind him.
Landon Helms, Emmett
The junior set a 4A state record in the pole vault at 15-6 while also winning the 110 hurdles (14.48) as a freshman. He starts the season injured but could return in time for district and state.
Axel Sanchez, Emmett
The Montana State-Northern football commit turned heads with his first shot put throw of the season, setting a personal record by more than 10 feet at 55-8.5. That would have earned him a second-place finish at the 4A state meet last year.
Weston Jeffries, Fruitland
An Idaho signee, an injury kept Jeffries from showcasing his talents at the 2019 3A state meet. Now that he’s fully healthy, he’ll take his place as one of the state’s top throwers in both the shot put and discus.
Thomas Symms, Homedale
Jeffries will have plenty of competition from inside his own conference in Symms. He won the 3A state discus title in 2019 at 157-3, more than 20 feet clear of second place. He surpassed that mark at 162-4 in his first try this spring.
Trayton Nelson, Idaho City
The senior already unleashed a shot put throw of 55 feet early in the season. That would have won him every state title but 5A and 4A two years ago.
Connor Gardner, Liberty Charter
A reigning 1A state cross country champ, the senior stands as the favorite for the 1,600 and 3,200 state title after finishing fourth in both in 2019. He’s also added the 800 this year, making him a threat to score tons of points for the Patriots.
