POCATELLO, Idaho -- The roar of the crowd was the only thing louder than the sound of feet pounding the banked wooden track late Saturday afternoon at the 44th Simplot Games.

 

In some of the last finals of the day at ICCU Dome (formerly known as Holt Arena), the Utah distance trio of JoJo Jourdon, Daniel Simmons and Jane Hedengren raced to meet records and Bryce Barkdull of Kansas got the spectators slow-clapping as he soared to the boys pole vault title.

 

 

Jourdon won the boys 1,600 meters in 4:07.73, Simmons claimed the boys 3,200 in 8:48.08, Hedengren was victorious in the girls 3,200 in 10:02.42 and Barkdull cleared 17-5 to win the pole vault.

 

An American Fork senior, Simmons took five seconds off his own meet record set a year ago. He entered the bell lap on meet record pace and closed out strong to break 8:50, raising his right hand in the air as he crossed the finish line.

 

He may not have run as fast as Drew Griffith did on Saturday at Notre Dame, but the altitude conversion for Pocatello's 4,500 feet would lower Simmons' time to about 8:33.

 

"I really enjoyed how hard I had to push," Simmons said. "I felt like I was pushing into a new gear every lap even though I was running like a pretty consistent split. It was super fun seeing, like, this is harder, this is harder, this harder, but it's just getting better and I know it's gonna be worth it at the end. The energy of the Dome is insane for a high school race."

 

He added that he was more focused on his race plan rather than improving on his meet record. He said he  battled illness twice recently, including being 'super sick' and unable to run a week ago.

 

"I was just focusing on a race plan where I wanted to run close to 4:24 for the first 1,600 and then just run as fast I could the last mile. Make it hurt, make it worth it," Simmons said. "I guess I executed it the way exactly I wanted to. I knew if I did that, I would most likely get the record."

 

Simmons surged onto the national scene since moving from Idaho to American Fork in 2022 and still has a strong following in the Gem State. Before becoming a back-to-back Gatorade National Player of the Year award winner for boys cross country, he ran two years for Salmon High, a 2A school near the Idaho-Montana border. While there, he obliterated Idaho's 2A boys 3,200 state record upon winning the 2022 title in 9:05.04 and got to run one year as a teammate of older brother Johnathon, a 2021 Salmon graduate and two-time Idaho 2A individual cross country state champion now competing at Utah State. The youngest in his family, Simmons and five of his nine older siblings have run in high school.

 

In all, he and his family spent almost seven years in Idaho before returning to their home state of Utah, and the strong following he has in both states converge at meets like the Simplot Games.

 

"It's super cool because I love it when people say hi to me when I'm walking by," Simmons said. "I don't know them but i know that they're good people and I love every runner here. It's pretty special to have like such a large running family I'd call it, I guess. You should experience joy, just saying hi, just to smile, just to make everything better every day. It's super unique and I love it."

 

Jourdon lifted his arms to work the crowd as he headed down the home stretch en route to his meet record 1,600 victory. The win for the Olympus senior came one year after placing fifth in the Simplot boys 3,200 final. Jourdon already owns the top indoor 1,600 time in the U.S. 3:58.50 from the New Balance Grand Prix sub-four mile (3:59.87) on Feb. 4.

 

Hedengren, a junior at Timpview, controlled the girls 3,200 from start to finish and took down Sydney Thorvaldson's meet record in the process.

 

Injury abbreviated Hedengren's cross country season in the fall, and Saturday was her second competition back.

 

"Coming into today, I just really wanted to show off like how hard I've been working and that I can run well and hit my splits," Hedengren said. "The PA was so helpful. I was just waiting for those every lap."

 

She hardly had time to soak up the victory as she joined her T-Birds 4x400 relay teammates shortly after the 3,200. The T-Birds placed fourth in 4:05.71.

 

"I wanted to be there," Hedengren said of the 4x400. 

 

Next on the horizon for Hedengren is the 2-mile at Nike Indoor Nationals. 

 

Hedengren's teammate Lily Alder, who will join her at Nike Indoor Nationals, had a dominant win of her own Saturday, winning the girls 800 in 2:11.35.

 

Alder, a sophomore who moved to Utah from Australia last year, won by nearly two seconds.

 

"I just had to go a fast pace and stick it," Alder said. "I knew it would be a little hard running by myself, but it worked out in the end."

 

Barkdull attempted 17-9 on Saturday with the event title already in hand and the crowd slow clapping, coming close to clearing it on his final attempt. He said he has attempted 17-8 and 17-10 previously, but never 17-9 until Saturday when he was attempting to beat the meet record.

 

The current U.S. No. 1 in boys pole vault at 17-6.75, the Andover Central KS senior said everything he had heard about Simplot Games made him want to compete at the meet, and he opted to make the trip.

 

"I heard the crowd was very exciting and that the crowd pumps you up a whole lot and it's a fast runway in a big meet," Barkdull said. "I just wanted to go to the best place and jump as high as I possibly could. It's just great being able to come out here to all these big meets and compete and be my best self and show the crowd what I've got and show myself what I've got, too."

 

Barkdull is the latest member of his family to pole vault, as he followed his dad and brother into the event. 

"I love the adrenaline," Barkdull said of pole vault. "My brother's jumped 18 feet, my dad has jumped 18-6 and I've jumped 17-6, so I'm just trying to play a little catch up, you know?" 

 

Barkdull's next focus will be his first appearance at New Balance Nationals Indoor.

 

"I feel like I'm in the best shape I've ever physically been," Barkdull said. "I've got three weeks to train and be in the best condition that I can be in to show up, put some big bars up and hopefully get over that 18-foot bar."

 

Equally as dominant as Utah distance athletes Saturday were the Long Beach Blazin' Bruins in the relays.

 

The Blazin' Bruins continued their storied success at Simplot by claiming boys and girls 1,600 sprint medley relay titles, boys and girls 4x400 titles, the girls 4x800 and girls 4x200, including running a U.S. No. 1 time of 4:07.32 in the girls 1,600 sprint medley and US#3 time of 3:33.15 in the boys 1,600 sprint medley. Kaylin Edwards of the Blazin' Bruins also claimed the girls 60-meter hurdles in 8.72. 

 

"Our program works really hard," Edwards siad. "We put our trust in our coaches and we make sure we execute every time we step on the track. We make sure we do our best and we leave it all on the track."

 

Jordan Coleman, one of the top sprinters in California hailing from Granada Hills, was a two-event winner, taking the 60 meters in 6.82 seconds and the 200 in 21.60. 

 

Idaho athletes shined bright under the lights as well Saturday. Christine Huckins, a sophomore running for Orchard Athletix based in Nampa, collected two medals from tight finishes in the 60 and 200 finals.

 

She won the 200 in 24.3802, while second place Olivia Kirk ran 24.3859, and she took second in the 60 meters with a time of 7.59 compared to winner Mikaela Warr's 7.58. With margins so thin, both finals prompted a wait to officially confirm who won.

 

"It was nervewracking," Huckins said of the 200 finish. "I was gonna be happy either way. I definitely felt I pushed myself to the limit, just having someone there right next to me the whole time." 

 

A sophomore at Skyview High in Nampa who competes in the 100, 200 and two relays during outdoor season, Huckins has participated in track since age seven. This was her final indoor meet of the season and her first Simplot experience, and she said she looks forward to building off this weekend as she turns her focus to outdoor.

 

"Now knowing that I can run that (200) time, I'm just happy to train and build to get stronger and even better because I feel like I just haven't unlocked my full potential," Huckins said. "I'm so excited to see what that is."

 

Victor Byaundaombe of Capital High in Boise, Idaho's defending 5A state triple jump champion who went undefeated last season, won triple jump with 47-8 while David Gummersall of Spike Up Athletics in Nampa won the boys 400 meters in 48.81, a personal best for him in indoor in the event.

 

"I was definitely a bit nervous," Gummersall said. "I got sick earlier this week, so I've been dealing with that throughout the Games. It definitely brought my confidence down a little bit coming into it, but I figured I might as well just go out there and run my own race."

 

A junior who attends Vallivue High, Gummersall is also Idaho's defending 4A boys 400 state champion. Highland senior Tambree Bell also medaled in the girls 400, placing second in 58.84, before completing a quick turnaround to compete with her 4x200 team.

 

"It's defiinitely great to see all these athletes from Idaho coming out here and representing the state," Gummersall said. "I think Idaho's definitely overlooked in terms of athletes and especially track athletes. It's definitely nice to get out there, get some names showing up on the podiums and getting some medals."

 

Skyline senior Nelah Roberts, who made the 50-mile trip from Idaho Falls, moved up from near the back of the pack to fifth to ultimately place second in the girls 1,600 in a personal best 4:53.58.

 

A two-time Gatorade Player of the Year award winner for Idaho girls cross country, Roberts placed third in last year's Simplot 3,200 finals. She said the biggest difference from last year's meet to this year was interval training.

 

"The one thing that me and my coach have been practicing the past couple weeks to prepare for this is 200s and just picking it up pretty much always like the last three 200s ," Roberts said. "As soon as I saw that '3' number lap, i knew i just picked it up each time. I know how to punch it that hard like I've done in practice." 

 

A BYU signee, Roberts became Idaho's only four-time girls individual cross country state champion last November and is a three-time 4A state champion in the 1,600 and 3,200. She said she and her coach have specifically focused on the 1,600 this indoor season.

 

"I definitely do enjoy the mile more," Roberts said. "it just goes quicker and you feel faster as opposed to doing 16 laps on a 200-meter track for the 32."