Taylor Meeks
Sports Writer
Several fellow track and field athletes positioned themselves along the orange and black, curved, wooden surface as the young, blonde runner made her second-to-last lap. Their hands pounded against the track, and their voices chanted her name in unison as she ran the preliminary race alone late Friday night.
The small crowd that stayed behind to support the runner erupted in cheers as she increased her speed on the last stretch of her 16th lap. Sydney Thorvaldson, a sophomore from Laramie, Wyoming, smashed the qualifying mark with a time of 10:37.90 in the girls’ 3200-meter run to advance to the finals of Simplot Games.
Due to blizzarding weather and terrible road conditions in Wyoming, Thorvaldson missed the official preliminary race on Thursday night at 5:40 p.m. However, once the roads reopened, she made the long journey to Pocatello and ran the 3200 meters alone in order to qualify for the finals on Saturday.
“This is what Simplot Games means and what it is all about,” said Lisa Woodland, executive director of Simplot Games. “Athletes supporting other athletes is the spirit of the Games.”
More than 2,200 athletes traveled from across the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand to participate in the 41st annual Simplot Games this year. Sponsored by the J.R. Simplot Company since 1979, Simplot Games remains the nation’s premier high school indoor track and field event.
Idaho State University’s Holt Arena was filled with young athletes from Thursday afternoon until Saturday evening for the indoor track and field event. Preliminary events started Thursday and lasted all day Friday. Finals were held on Saturday, with the exception of the girls’ and boys’ weight throws, which were Thursday evening.
Multiple meet records were set by athletes from various parts of the country at the 2019 Simplot Games.
Trey Knight, a junior from Vancouver, Wash., set a meet record in the boys’ weight throw with a mark of 86’7.5”. He crushed the previous 15-year-old record mark of 82’7.25” that was set by Leif Arrhenius in 2004.
“It feels pretty good to finally be here,” Knight said. “I’ve wanted to break the record for a while, and to break it at Simplot Games and PR at the same time is awesome.”
The distance not only marks a personal record for the Washington native, but it makes him the #2 all-time high school performer. Knight also placed first in the boys’ shot put with a distance of 60’6.25”.
Micah Williams, a junior from Portland, Oregon, broke the boys’ 60-meter dash record with a time of 6.64 seconds, a record set back in 2004. The time ties the junior class national record, is the ninth fastest time ever by a high school performer and is the second fastest time in the U.S. this year.
“I have been struggling with a chest cold and I didn’t expect to do that good,” Williams said. “Once I’m on the blocks, I don’t think of anything, I just run.”
Another meet record was set in the girls’ 800 meters. Marlena Preigh, a senior from Bloomfield, Colorado, ran a time of 2:06.80 on Saturday to become the new meet record holder. The previous record of 2:07.00 stood since 2005.
One of the last and most exciting events of Saturday’s finals was the girls’ 3200-meter run, as Thorvaldson returned to the wooden track to race, this time alongside 14 others. The athletes shook out their limbs and jitters as they got into their ready positions and waited for the starting pistol.
The blank shot was fired, and the runners took off along the first curve. As the bodies became more spaced out, the girls merged into the first lane to complete the remaining 15 laps.
“After hearing about what Sydney went through to get to Simplot Games and watching her qualify by herself, it was moving to see her perform in the finals,” said Melissa Lee, a Simplot Games media team volunteer. “She embodies what Simplot Games is about.”
The laps began to wind down, and Thorvaldson became an obvious standout. Passing nearly every other girl on the track, she was an entire lap ahead of her competitors. The officials moved onto the track with the Simplot Games finish line, and Thorvaldson threw both arms in the air, her chest breaking the banner, as she finished the race.
Not only did she beat her competitors by over 40 seconds, but she crushed the 3200-meter meet record by 13.36 seconds. Thorvaldson also diminished her preliminary time by 18.4 seconds.
“This is so unreal,” Thorvaldson said. “I was shootin
g for the meet record, but when I came around the last corner and saw my time, I was so excited.”
The previous record stood at Simplot Games for 19 years, set back in 2000. She claimed the #1 high school time this year.
Though she accomplished an incredible feat, Thorvaldson is not alone in her outstanding performance. Multiple athletes broke personal records, meet records, placed first and overall achieved greatness at the 2019 Simplot Games.
“Each year is special in its own way,” Woodland said. “I love watching these young athletes compete, break records and reach their goals. Simplot Games gives them that opportunity.”
