The state track and field meet can do that to a coach.

Even on a warm, cloudless spring day, Gary Nielson, the Juab coach, was worried about the fact that it was a warm and cloudless spring day.

"It's the first warm meet we've had all year," Nielson said. "Heat is going to be a factor for us today. We're counting on a lot of points out of late-day events, but the kids are being smart, drinking water and getting prepared."

Obviously.

Juab's boys jumped into the lead on the strength of their field events, which constituted the majority of points awarded Friday. The Wasps had a pair of first places from Russell Nielson, a third place in the pole vault from Lorenzo Jensen and another third place from Kade Brough in the discus.

It could have been better, but it could have been worse. A lot worse. The first day of a state tournament is filled with land mines for track and field teams. Even more so for Juab, which relies on scoring a lot of points in field events.

"We're counting on getting big points from our field events," Nielson said. "Those happen in an instant. With running events, you can fall down or trip, get up and catch up. With throws and jumps, it can happen in an instant."

The Wasps' girls weren't so lucky, though their day was far from terrible. Juab sits in fifth place with its 17 points starting today's competition.