Highland High Preview

<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>Peeking ahead to see what this spring holds....</strong></span></p>

Adam Patterson seeks to improve his 7th place finish from state this season.

“Lauren's done." Those words might harrowing to most track and field programs, but not to Coach Monty and Highland High School. BYU bound Lauren Ellsworth has been a tremendous force in track and field over the past few years. She own the state record in the 800m and has been a consistent contender in all the distance events. So why does this not spell doom for Hawks? They have rallied together, and will do so again. Coach Monty recalls when Lauren went down in cross country with her knee injury Addi Montgomery and Allyson Girard came up to him and said, “Coach, we got this." They definitely did, earning a 3rd place finish as a team last fall. Coach Monty expects that they will take care of business again this spring.

In addition to Addi and Allyson stepping up in a big way, Marisa Kennedy and Mallory Mendon look to up their contributions this spring. The four of them might team up for a 4x800m at some point this spring. On the guy side, Highland will also be down there top 800m runner from last year. Brody Hagan graduated last spring. This will leave Logan Jones and Weston Page at the top of the returning distance runners.

The harriers from Highland High School have more than distance to their name. Adam Patterson was one of the state's fastest sprinters last year, placing 7th in the 200m. Look for him to seek to improve on that mark and qualify in the 100m this season. Another solid sprinter for Highland is Joshua O'callahan. Joshua just missed making the 400m finals last year at state. He will be motivated to make the podium this year. Speaking of motivated, Alena Ellsworth is out to prove she is not just Lauren's little sister. Rumor has it she split a 57 in practice on Monday. If she is that fit already she will be a contender not just within Arizona, but throughout the entire Southwest region.

In the field events the Hawks are led by Naaman Trotter in the high jump and Josh Chadwick in the shot put. On the girl's side Meg Olsen is the best high jumper having placed 11th at state last spring, though Kendra Benson is not far behind. Coach Monty is optimistic younger athletes will step up and contribute to the Hawks score this spring.

A discussion about Highland High School would surely be incomplete without mentioned Nicki Baker. She returns as state record holder in the pole vault and looks to put her record out of reach this season. Well, at least for a few years. Records are meant to be broken. Halen Heussner leads the vaulters on the boy's side.

Despite losing some key players due to graduation on the guy's side and Lauren to injury on the girls side, the Highland Hawks look poised for a strong season. Coach Monty reminds them to make every decision for the good of the team, set realistic goals and come to practice. This recipe has yielded a pair of sitting state record holders from last year, it will be fun to see what it brings this year!