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Championship mettle: Provo sprinter Meghan Hunter becomes the first girl in state history to win the 100, 200, 400 and 800 in the same meet

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Provo's Meghan Hunter smiles on the podium after taking 1st in the 5A Girls' 800 Meter at the 2018 Utah UHSAA State Track and Field Championships at Clarence Robison Track on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Thursday, May 17, 2018.

Provo • Provo High sprinter Meghan Hunter walked onto the track for her preliminary heat of the 400 meter sprint last season, and her father, Iain Hunter, could tell the race wasn’t going to go well.

He called Meghan, who had been dealing with hamstring, back and hip flexor pain, over to the fence next to the starting line.

“Meghan, what do you need to do?” he said.

He hoped she would take herself out of the race and walk away no worse for the wear.

“I need to run,” she said.

Meghan didn’t qualify for the finals, but even if she had she wouldn’t have been able to run. She could barely walk.

Iain Hunter retold the story sitting just yards away from that same fence at BYU’s Clarence F. Robinson Track & Field Stadium, after congratulating Meghan for her third first-place medal of the week.

Hunter won four 5A state track championships in all, in the 800-meter run (2:09.26 finals time) Thursday and in the 100-meter dash (12.20), the 400 (53.12) and the 200 (24.42) Friday. She became the first girl in UHSAA history to do so in the same meet.

“Not going to lie: It was really hard watching all the races at state last year,” Hunter said.

People kept telling her she’d be grateful for the experience one day.

“I never really believed them at that time,” she said. “How could this help me be stronger? This is just the worst that could happen. But it didn’t take too long to figure out that they really were right.”

Iain Hunter, a professor of exercise sciences at BYU, worked with his daughter to set forth a plan to ease her back into running. First she was limited to the bike and elliptical. Then she built up to cross country.

Iain also talked Meghan through the mental side of coming back from injury.

“There were doubts in my mind of, ‘What if I never get to where I was last year?’” she said.

Instead, she surpassed it.

Last month, Hunter shattered the 400-meter state record, besting it by a whopping 0.80 seconds (52.59). She entered state tournament with state-best times in the 200, 400 and 800.

“There’s a lot of setbacks that can happen during track,” Hunter said, “but as long as you do your part and work hard then everything turns out well in the end — whether it’s the way you wanted it to or not.”

On Saturday, even after Hunter had competed in four events the day before and one already that morning, there was no need to pull her aside ahead of the 400 meter sprint. She surged ahead of the pack about 150 meters into the race, and started building up her kick 50 meters later, striding to a definitive first-place finish.

All in a day’s work.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS<br>BOYS<br>TEAM TITLE STANDINGS<br>6A • 1. Davis, 116; 2. Herriman, 81; 3. Syracuse 73. 5A • 1. Springville, 102; 2. Skyridge, 74; 3. Wasatch, 61. 4A • 1. Desert Hills, 114; 2. Orem, 88; 3. Stansbury, 66.<br>1600M — 6A • 1. Bronson Winter, sr., Fremont, 4:13.615; 2. Zachary Winter, sr., Fremont, 4:13.626; 3. Dalton Brems, jr., American Fork, 4:19.23. 5A • 1. Grant Gardner, jr., Springville, 4:10.90; 2. Aiden Troutner, sr., Timpview, 4:12.98; 3. Dallin Mason, sr., Bountiful, 4:15.69. 4A • 1. Ryan Faff, sr., Lehi, 4:15.96; 2. Wyatt Evans, jr., Spanish Fork, 4:18.93; 3. Jensen Lambert, Cedar, 4:22,73. 4X100M RELAY — 6A • 1. Davis, 42.03, 2. Riverton, 42.49; 3. Herriman, 42.75. 5A • 1. Springville, 43.32; 2. Timpanogos, 43.41; 3. Alta, 43.53. 4A • 1. Desert Hills, 42.78; 2. Orem, 42.94; 3. Stansbury, 43.44. 110M HURDLES — 6A • 1. Andrew Simonsen, sr., Davis, 14.42; 2. Caleb Kamalu, sr., Davis, 14.52; 3. Scott Davies, sr., Syracuse, 14.63. 5A • 1. Bennett Hill, sr., Wasatch, 14.83; 2. Maxwell Swain, sr., viewmont, 15.22; 3. Jace Jensen, jr., Bountiful, 15.46. 4A • 1. Carter Reynolds, sr., Desert Hills, 14.33; 2. Trenton Maurer, sr., Cedar, 14.42; 3. Devon Roberts, jr., Bear River. 100M — 6A • 1. Nathan Kaufusi, jr. Syracuse, 10.84, 2. Liam Post, jr., Herriman, 10.87; 3. Dominic Bentil, sr., Lone Peak, 10.88. 5A • 1. William Prettyman, jr., East, 10.65; 2. Zachary Davis, sr., Wasatch, 10.81; 3. Jaedin Johnson, so., Jordan, 11.06. 4A • 1. Zachary Marsden, jr., Desert Hills, 10.906; 2. Caleb Christensen, jr., Sky View, 10.912; 3. Silas Young, jr., Stansbury. 400M — 6A • 1. Dominic Bentil, sr., Lone Peak, 47.76; 2. Nathan Kaufusi, jr., Syracuse, 47.95; 3. Trey Jackson, sr., Lone Peak, 48.45. 5A • 1. Josh Taylor, jr., Skyridge, 47.80; 2. Jace Jensen, jr., Bountiful, 48.22; 3. Andrei Hinckley, sr., wasatch, 49.57. 4A • 1. Zachary Marsden, jr., Desert Hills, 48.87; 2. Branson Williams, sr., Orem, 49.00; 3. Skyler Averett, sr., Ridgeline, 49.66. 300M HURDLES — 6A • 1. Andrew Simonsen, sr., Davis, 37.96; 2. Caleb Kamalu, sr., Davis, 38.12; 3. Scott Davies, sr.; Syracuse, 38.39. 5A • 1. Jace jensen, jr., Bountiful, 38.03; 2. Jake Hill, sr., Wasatch, 39.69; 3. Etienne Newton, sr., Bountiful, 39.81. 4A • 1. Carter Reynolds, sr., Desert Hills, 39.24; 2. Bramdon Slaugh, sr., Uintah, 39.49; 3. Devon Roberts, jr., Bear River, 39.86. 200M — 6A • 1. Dominic Bentil, sr., Lone Peak, 21.67; 2. Nathan Kaufusi, jr., Syracuse, 21.97; 3. Porter Eillis, jr., Lone Peak, 22.22. 5A • 1. William Prettyman, jr., East, 21.65; 2. Sean Holloway, sr., Springville, 22.39; 3. Jace Jensen, jr., Bountiful, 22.39. 4A • 1. Zachary Marsden, jr., Desert Hills, 21.98; 2. Mitchell Wright, sr., Canyon View; 3. Kam Radebaugh, jr., Orem, 22.54. 4X400M RELAY — 6A • 1. Syracuse, 3:18.49; 2. Davis, 3:19.68; 3. Fremont, 3:23.32. 5A • 1. Skyridge, 3:21.20; 2. Springville, 3:24.58; 3. Olympus, 3:24.97. 4A • 1. Orem, 3:22.69; 2. Snow Canyon, 3:23.88; 3. Canyon View, 3.24.13. SHOT PUT — 6A • 1. Blake Freeland, jr., Herriman, 59-09; 2. Jaren Kump, sr., Herriman, 58-06; 3. Karter Shaw, sr., Herriman, 52-06. 5A • 1. Mitch Nelson, sr., Wasatch, 51-04.25; 2. Hunter Greer, sr., Timpanogos, 51-03.25. 4A • 1. Trey Andersen, jr., Lehi, 53-01; 2. Easton Payne, sr., Bear River, 51-10.75; 3. Kyle Abundo, sr., Juan Diego, 15-79. JAVELIN — 6A • 1. Blake Freeland, jr., Herriman, 179-05.50; 2. Cody Canard, jr., West Jordan, 177-02.75; 3. Caleb Wuthrich, jr., Davis, 177-02. 5A • 1. Logan Wilkey, sr., Timpanogos, 171-01.50; 2. Stetson Ryan, sr., Bountiful, 164-06.75; 3. Gabe Sweeten, jr., Timpanogos, 163-05.50. 4A • 1. Cooper Legas, jr.,194-03.50; 2. Matt Kitchen, sr., Dixie, 174-07.25; 3. Remi Hill, sr., Orem, 172-03. LONG JUMP — 6A • 1. Cameron Farley, Copper Hills, 21-00.00; 2. Jeffrey Bassa, fr., Kearns, 20-07.75; 3. Edward Burton, jr., Syracuse, 19-11.75. 5A • 1. Jordan McCann, sr., 19-09.00; 2. Jarod Berg, Skyridge, 19-06.75; 3. Braxton Moser, jr., Box Elder, 19-04.25. 4A • 1. Caleb Christensen, jr., Sky View, 22-00.25; 2. Puka Nacua, jr., Orem, 21-09.75; 3. Kyle Henderson, sr., Uintah, 21-6.75. POLE VAULT — 5A • 1. Jackson Morley, jr., Viewmont, 13-06.00; 2. Paden Howard, sr., Box Elder, 12-06.00; 3. Tate Renckert, sr., Alta, 12-00.00. 4A • 1. Isaac Semadeni, sr., Logan, 14-03.00; 2. Ethan MacKay, sr., Spanish Fork, 14-00.00; 3. Isaac Phillips, so., Logan, 11-06.00.<br>GIRLS<br>TEAM TITLE STANDINGS<br>6A • 1. Lone Peak, 112; 2. Herriman, 79; 3. Syracuse, 69. 5A • 1. Corner Canyon, 66; 2. Woods Cross, 61, 3. Box Elder, 59. 4A • 1. Cedar, 118.5; 2. Desert Hills, 58; 3. Orem, 53.<br>1600M — 6A • 1. Abby Jensen, jr., Westlake, 5:00.94; 1. Ali Bybee, jr., Lone Peak, 5:00.96; 3. Mazzie Melaney, sr., Fremont, 5:00.96. 5A • 1. Carlee Hansem, fr., Woods Cross, 4:57.68; 2. Heidi Sumsion, fr., Springville, 5:03.62; 3. Madison Moffitt, sr., Timpanogos, 5:04.16. 4A • 1. Alissa Fielding, sr., Mountain View, 4:59.94; 2. Mic Webster, jr., Cedar, 5:02.17; 3. Anna Martin, so., Lehi, 5:02.83. 4X100M RELAY — 6A • 1. Lone Peak, 48.21; 2. Weber, 48.50; 3. Syracuse, 48.96. 5A • 1. Corner Canyon, 49.15; 2. West, 49.22; 3. Box Elder, 49.98. 4A • 1. Orem, 48.85; 2. Tooele, 49.81; 3. Desert Hills, 49.84. 100M HURDLES — 6A • Emma Aldred, sr., American Fork, 14.73; 2. Katrina Broadhead, sr., Layton, 15.06; 3. Madeline Martin, sr., Hillcrest, 15,22. 5A • 1. Lindsey Middleton, sr., Timpview, 14.30; 2. Alexis Koetitz, sr., Box Elder, 14.61; 3. Brianna White, sr., West, 14.69. 4A • 1. Halle Livingston, jr., Ridgeline, 15.07; 2. Taylor Abbott, sr., Ben Lomond, 15.48; 3. Elizabeth Wilkinson, jr., Bear River, 15.61. 100M — 6A • 1. Krista Farley, sr., Weber, 12.26; 2. Abby Tycksen, sr., Herriman, 12.30; 3. Emily Ellis, sr., Lone Peak, 12.36. 5A • 1. Meghan Hunter, jr., Provo, 12.20; 2. Paje Rasmussen, fr., Corner Canyon, 12.48; 3. Calli Adamson, jr., Skyridge, 12.55. 4A • 1. Julia Hunt, sr., Cedar, 12.41; 2. Amy Ballard, jr., Lehi, 12.54; 3. McKenna McCloy, so., Tooele, 12.64. 400M — 6A • 1. Emily Ellis, sr., Lone Peak, 55.83; 2. Alison Richter, fr., Lone Peak, 56.29; 3. Elizabeth Butler, so., Clearfield, 57.46. 5A • 1. Meghan Hunter, jr., Provo, 53.14; 2. Nicole Critchfield, sr., Corner Canyon, 56.09; 3. Annie Murdock, so., Highland, 56.45. 4A • 1. Jasie York, jr., Cedar, 55.47; 2. Larissa Dabb, jr., Canyon View, 57.24; 3. Kennedy Peck, jr., Desert Hills, 57.32. 300M HURDLES — 6A • 1. Emma Aldred, sr., American Fork, 44.92; 2. Brittany Cardall, jr., Syracuse, 45.10; 3. Gwyn Romrell, sr., Riverton, 45.38. 5A • 1. Alexis Koetitz, sr., Box Elder, 44.28; 2. Lindsey Middleton, sr., Timpview, 45.09; 3. Ally Gomm, jr., Provo, 45.20. 4A • 1. Chloe Taylor, jr., Desert Hills, 44.06; 2. Julia Hunt, sr., Cedar, 44.65; 3. Olivia Smith, so., Ridgeline, 44.81. 200M — 6A • 1. Emily Ellis, sr., Lone Peak, 25.07; 2. Sarah Wynn, fr., Syracuse, 25.36; 3. Brittany Cardall, jr., Syracuse, 25.65. 5A • 1. Meghan Hunter, jr., Provo, 24.42; 2. Nicole Critchfield, sr., Corner Canyon, 25.36; 3. Paje Rasmussen, fr., Corner Canyon, 25.62. 4A • 1. Jasie York, jr., Cedar, 25.16; 2. Julia Hunt, Cedar, sr., 25.54; 3. Amy Ballard, jr., Lehi, 25.64. 4X400M RELAY — 6A • 1. Lone Peak, 3:50.83; 2. Riverton, 3:56.84; 3. Davis, 3:59.97. 5A • 1. Woods Cross, 4:00.24; 2. Maple Mountain, 4:01.06; 3. Box Elder, 4:01.13. 4A • 1. Cedar, 3:56.60; 2. Park City, 4:01.92; 3. Desert Hills, 4:03.24. DISCUS — 6A • 1. Losa Latu, sr., Herriman, 117-09.50; 2. Hailey Nicholls, sr., Copper Hills, 115-11.25; 3. Hokulani Sagapolu, fr., Fremont, 115-09. 5A • 1. Jaimee Paletta; sr., Maple Mountain, 121-11.75; 2. Lauren Olsen, sr., Woods Cross, 119-03.50; 3. Tashena Ashby, jr., Bountiful, 111-11.25. 4A • 1. Miley Houghton, sr., Salem Hills, 119-04.25; 2. Sammy Thomas, jr., Tooele, 110-11.50; 3. Merce Tarrayo, jr., Cedar, 108-00. HIGH JUMP — 6A • 1. Lauren Rawlings, so., American Fork, 5-04.00; 2. Kamryn Wiese, so., Syracuse, 5-02.00; 2. Daisy Barker, sr., Layton, 5-02.00. 5A • 1. Kendra Middleton, sr., Timpanogos, 5-03.00; 2. Abby Meck, Skyridge, 5-01.00; 3. Adreanna McKee, Boc Elder, 5-01.00. 4A • 1. Alexis Martin, jr., Hurricane, 5-06.00; 2. Halle Livingston,jr., Ridgeline, 5-04.00; 3. Madison Clark, Desert Hills, 5-04.00. POLE VAULT — 5A • 1. Catherine Nemelka, sr., Timpview, 10-00.00; 2. Lindsay Akagi, sr., Corner Canyon, 9-06.00; 3. Whitney Smith, sr., Timpanogos, 9-00.00. 4A • 1. Tabitha Hansen, jr., Logan, 2.59. 8-06.00; 2. Jaysen Dudley, jr. Logan, 8-00.00; 3. Colette Held, jr., Logan, 8-00.00.


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