By Brian Shaw | [email protected]

For the Bingham Miners track team, everything is coming up exactly the way many around the program anticipated. A young team at one time, they are no longer that young.

How young were they? The boys track team didn’t finish in the top 10 at last year’s 6A state championships. And the girls were seventh, even lower than Region 3 rival Herriman.

Things have changed quickly, though. The Miners won Region 3 team titles on both the boys and girls sides, reclaiming past glories. Senior Cody Hone is on pace to easily eclipse his eighth place finish at state in the 100 meters last year.

Hone had the fourth fastest time in class 6A in the 100 meters this year with a blistering 10.71, surpassed only by Parker Kingston of Roy, Cody Hagen of rival Corner Canyon and Smith Snowden of Skyridge, all of whom will be playing Division I college football.

In the 200 meters, the Bingham senior had an even faster time than Snowden going into this year’s 6A state championships, quite a turnaround from not even qualifying for the event finals at state last year. Hone set a personal record, 21.67, at this year’s Region 3 Championships, a time that was just a tad slower than BYU commit Kingston’s and Weber State commit Hagen’s were.

But it’s clear that this year Hone, who also ran the 400 meters with the third-best time in 6A [another personal record 49.04], has the secret sauce that will make him a force to be reckoned with come state.

The Miners boys are also no slouch in the relay events, having had the fifth fastest time in 6A in the 4x100, and the fastest time in the state in the 4x200.

Junior Brayden Whitehead won a region title in the high jump, leaping 6’04". With the second-highest jump in 6A he should be considered a serious threat to capture a state title, too. In the long jump, senior Brandon Hall is another one to watch, having leapt the second-furthest distance for Bingham at 21’ 7.5".

But perhaps the Miners have saved their most talked-about athlete for last, because not only is senior Dallin Thornton some kind of special athlete, he may well be seen on TV someday soon.

Thornton made national headlines for a 16’9" jump in the pole vault at the Region 3 Championships, a whopping 9 inches better than any other competitor and by far a state record. All eyes are on Thornton to not only repeat as state champion, but threatening that 16’9" jump the senior made a few weeks ago.

Girls Track

Like the boys, the Bingham girls are taking all of the setbacks that they had as a team at last year’s 6A state championships and using those as fuel.

To wit: Senior Shelbie Workman was eighth last year at state in the 100 meters, but blazed her way to a 12.48 finish and a Region 3 individual championship.

Sophomore Andrea Amoah scorched a talented field in the 200 meters — including Workman and two stars from Corner Canyon — and won herself a Region 3 title in that event.

But junior Natalie Swain is also one to watch at this year’s state championships. She not only won the region title in the 800 meters, the versatile Swain turned around and captured the 3,200 meter crown as well.

Swain may only have the eighth fastest time in the state this year in the 800 meters, and fifth best in the 3,200 — and arguably runs her best in the 1,600 meters if her time there is any indication — but you’d be a fool to count her out of the medals at BYU.

In the 100 meter hurdles, senior Eliza Smith is ready to defend her state title and avenge her second place finish in the 300 meter hurdles. Smith captured Region 3 titles in May in both events.

The 4x100 relay team is also ready to defend their state title after running a blazing 49.28 at the Region 3 Championships. Like Smith, the 4x200 team will be gunning for revenge on a second-place finish at BYU last year, and with a region crown they’re aiming for more.