Thursday and Friday prelims set the stage for an exciting Simplot Games finale on Saturday
For Immediate Release
Date February 17, 2017
Contact: Amanda Meixel (702) 370-4484
E-mail: media@simplotgames.com
Thursday and Friday prelims set the stage for an exciting Simplot Games finale on Saturday
Pocatello, Idaho – Fierce competition on Thursday and Friday at Simplot Games sets up an exciting day of finals on Saturday, February 18. Here is what to watch for on Saturday:
Casey Clinger, a senior from American Fork, Utah, sets his sights on the Simplot Games record in the 3200 meters. Last year he broke the meet record, but so did competitor Garek Bielaczyc who edged him out in the final lap to capture the new meet record of 8:57.03. Clinger qualified first with a time of 9:22.69 and races in the finals on Saturday at 3:40 p.m.
Tara Davis, from Agoura Hills, Calif., recently surpassed the Simplot Games record she set last year of 20’10”75. She now holds the national high school indoor record at 21’11. Look for big things from Davis on Saturday in her senior year in the girls’ long jump starting at 8:30 a.m., triple jump at 12:30 p.m., and 60-meter hurdles at 1:08 p.m. Davis qualified second today in the hurdles with a time of 8.31.
Lexy Halladay, a freshman from Boise, Idaho, looks to make her mark in the girls 1600 meters at 1:55 p.m. on Saturday. She qualified third on Thursday with a time of 5:13.16. But she will have tough competition from Brie Oakley, a senior from Centennial, Colo., who qualified first with a time of 4:59.96, and Ally Geisler, a senior from Kaysville, Utah, who qualified second with a time of 5:13.08. The meet record in the girls 1600 is 4:46.97.
In her final Simplot Games, Celeste Mucci of Melbourne, Australia, will compete in the girls’ high jump at 11 a.m., long jump at 8:30 a.m., and 60-meter hurdles at 1:08 p.m. She qualified first today in the hurdles with a time of 8.26.
Saturday’s girls’ 60-meter dash at 12:15 p.m. and the 200 meters at 1:38 p.m. should be exciting again this year as Arria Minor, a sophomore, from Denver, Colo., takes on Jasmin Reed, of Agoura Hills, Calif. Minor currently has the fastest 200 time in the country at 23.85. Minor qualified first today in the 200 with a time of 24.58, followed by Emily Ellis, a junior from Highland, Utah, with a time of 25.49, and Reed qualified third with a time of 25.50. The Simplot Games records stands at 22.97.
Grace Ping, an 8th grader from Park City, Utah, qualified first on Thursday in the girls 3200 with a time of 10:51.04. On Saturday, at 3:25 p.m., she will face off Annie Hill, a junior from Kalispell, Montana, who qualified with a time of 11:00.82.
Hunter Woodhall, a senior, from West Point, Utah, will compete on Saturday in the boys 400 meters at 2:21 p.m. and in the 4×400 meter relay at 4:10 p.m. He qualified first in the 400 meters with a time of 50.49. He is also the anchor on the Syracuse Track Team’s 4×400 meter relay team that qualified 5th with a time of 3:31.80. Woodhall took silver in the 200 and bronze in the 400 in the T43 classification at the Paralympics Games in Rio this summer. This is his first time at Simplot Games.
On Saturday, Britt Ipsen, a senior from Boise, Idaho, looks to sweep the boys long jump at 8:30 a.m., and triple jump and high jump at 12:30 p.m. He also qualified with a time of 8.65 and will compete in the first heat of the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday at 1:23 p.m.
More than 2,200 athletes came from across the U.S., Canada, and Australia to participate in the 39th annual Simplot Games. Simplot Games remains the nation’s premier high school indoor track and field event. Sponsored by the J.R. Simplot Company since 1979, the Simplot Games are held at Idaho State University’s Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho.
For more information on Simplot Games, please visit our website at www.simplotgames.com. You may also contact Lisa Woodland at (208) 235-5604 or Simplot Games Media Team at media@simplotgames.com.
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Simplot Games
The Nation’s Premiere High School Track & Field Event
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