It may be cliche to say that the MHS Track and Field team has hit the ground running, but there is no better way to describe the opening weeks of their season.  With four official meets behind them, the Dragon track athletes are not only showing up, but competing at the front of the pack.  Their athleticism, drive and a determination to get better and better is producing the results they are looking for.

Thus far, Malad has competed at track meets in West Side, Preston, Malad and Logan against nearly 30 other teams from around southern Idaho and northern Utah.  With the schools ranging from 1A to 4A class, the various teams brought considerable competition that helped push the Dragon tracksters to contend at their best level.  Week after week, the MHS athletes are setting new season or personal records in their events, even setting new school records in multiple events.

At their home meet held Wednesday, April 10, the Dragons celebrated several big wins.  Shaving significant time off of his previous run, Brycen Talbot came in first in the 3200 m race with a time of 10:53.57, his best time this season yet.  Braylen Tripp jumped to first place in both the long jump and triple jump, measuring 20’ 7” and 40’ 10.5” respectively, beating his own impressive records from the previous year as a state champion.

The MHS women’s team had an impressive meet as they tallied up six first place finishes that led to their overall team win with 165 points.  Freshman Halie Palmer led out in the 100 m dash with a time of 13.49 and in the 200 m dash with a personal best of 27.55.  Brynlee Bastian crossed the finish line first in the 400 m run at 1:02.59, coming back strong in her senior year after battling an injury the previous year.  Oaklie Hebdon, signed track athlete for the ISU team following graduation, took first place in the long jump with a distance of 16’ 5”.

  The women’s team were especially excited for their first place wins in the 4X200 relay and sprint medley relay(SMR) that not only won the day but set new school records.  Running the 4X200 relay for the Lady Dragons were Bastian, Hebdon, Halie Palmer, and Mikell Keetch with a time of 1:50.18.  The same team also competed for the win in the SMR, composed of two 100 m legs, followed by a 200 m leg and a 400 m leg, coming in at 1:53.54.

The following Saturday, Hebdon broke the women’s 400 m run that has been standing for several years at the Grizz Invitational Meet held in Logan, Utah.  Setting a new school record and personal record, Hebdon came in at 57.68, beating her previous best by nearly 2 seconds.

The MHS track and field coaches are proud of the success that their athletes are seeing, but are even more proud of the growth in numbers and events that their team has had this season.  

The Women’s team has more athletes this year than it has had in several years, providing more options and openings for their team.  There have been more throwers, jumpers and even some takers for the intense pole vaulting event.  The team has been filling all the relay and distance running events, something the coaching staff is very excited about.  “Our girls program is looking really good this year with a lot of potential,” they shared.

Speaking of the Men’s team, they also commented, “The boys have a lot more runners competing in the distance races, like the 2 mile and 800 and they are very aggressive and competitive.”  It also seems that more athletes are taking on more events as they are willing to try and compete in new things.  “Everybody is at least doing three and four events at a meet, and that is huge.  It really makes a difference!  It’s been nice to have kids willing to work and put in the effort.”

The Malad track team has a packed schedule as they finished out the month’s meets.  They will next compete at the Brad Matthews Invitational meet hosted by Declo High School on Thursday, April 18.  The next afternoon they will compete again at the DirectCom meet held at the ISU Davis Field against more than 30 other teams.