(Pictured: Marsh Valley senior, and BYU commit, Lydia Townsend.  Photo Courtesy of Lydia Townsend)

To say Idaho had a remarkable, memorable weekend in high school track and field would be an understatement.

To quote my former Post Register colleague, current Idaho Statesman sports reporter Michael Lycklama, from the 2012 girls basketball state tournament, even understatement is an understatement.

Three Idaho athletes attained personal bests at the 58th annual Arcadia Invitational in Arcadia, Calif., which put them at No. 1 all-time on record in Idaho for their respective event and another moved to No. 1 in the U.S. with an individual win and a personal best.

Highland senior and Texas Tech commit Spencer Van Orden ran a personal best 13.44 to place third in the boys invitational 110-meter hurdles final and improve on his own previous No. 1 all-time Idaho best of 13.45 from last June’s Brooks PR Invitational, Rocky Mountain senior and BYU commit Hallie Heemeyer ran a personal best 10:13.81 to place 16th in the girls invitational 3,200 final and break 2024 Skyline graduate Nelah Roberts’ all-time Idaho best 10:14.68, Coeur d’Alene Charter senior and Oregon signee Annabelle Carr ran a personal best 2:08.67 to win the girls seeded 800 final and beat 2022 Boise graduate Logan Smith’s all-time Idaho best 2:09.07 and Marsh Valley senior and BYU commit Lydia Townsend cleared a personal best 13-8 to win the girls invitational pole vault final, move to No. 2 all-time on record in Idaho behind 2023 Centennial graduate Eva Lowder’s 13-9 and move to No. 1 in the U.S. thus far this outdoor season per athletic.net.

Heemeyer and Roberts are the lone Idaho girls on record to ever break 10:20 for the 3,200, Carr and Smith are the lone Idaho girls on record to break 2:10 for the 800 and Van Orden remains the lone Idaho boy on record to break 13.50 for the 110 hurdles.

Townsend moves into a tie for No. 8 all-time in Arcadia’s meet records for girls pole vault, joining Santa Margarita (Calif.)’s Kaitlyn Merritt who cleared 13-8 in 2013. She has now won pole vault at four consecutive meets this outdoor season.

This is the first time an Idaho girl has been ranked No. 1 in the U.S. on athletic.net in an event since 2020 Mountain View graduate Lexy Halladay ran 4:41.80 to win the adidas Boost Boston Games girls Dream Mile in June 2017. Furthermore, Townsend joins Van Orden (2025 boys invitational 110 hurdles champion) and 2016 Rocky Mountain graduate Michael Slagowski (2015 boys invitational 800 champion) as recent Arcadia invitational finals champions from Idaho.

“It definitely feels surreal,” she said Tuesday morning by phone. “It’s kinda just crazy like right now that no girl has jumped higher in the outdoor season. I’m just grateful to still be healthy, still be able to compete and still be able to PR.”

Arcadia, the meet known as the “Home of National Records,” is also known for its crowds and enthusiastic atmosphere. This was the first time Lydia Townsend and her dad and coach, Eli, had ever been to Arcadia and both said it was unlike any other meet they had been to before, including Nike Outdoor Nationals at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

“Honestly, personally this the most hyped meet I’ve been to,” Lydia Townsend said. “There’s smaller stands. Everybody’s kinda crammed in with a lot of energy and excitement.”

“I would describe as electric,” Eli Townsend said. “It was the most unique track meet I’ve ever been to. I think the coolest atmosphere I’ve been in, for sure. One of the neatest aspects of it, every time the gun would raise, the crowd would become silent. A hush settled over everything. As soon as the gun fired, it was nonstop cheering, screaming, clapping until the last person crossed the line. It was like that for every race including the 3,200. I’ve never experienced that before.”

Eli said the atmosphere worked in Lydia’s favor. Even before her track and field career began, she loved a crowd.

“She’s always been that way from when she was in gymnastics,” he said. “We were counting on having a little bit of extra energy, extra pep in her step just from that aspect of putting on a good show. Once we got there, it was so over the top. It just kinda lined up with how she prefers to compete anyway.”

Townsend, who cleared 13-0 or better four times during indoor track this past winter, was the only athlete left at 13-0 in Saturday’s final. She cleared 13-5 on the first attempt for a new personal best, then followed that up by clearing 13-8 on the first attempt. She is one of five girls in the U.S. thus far this season to clear 13-1 or better in pole vault as of Sunday.

“Before I cleared it, you get this feeling where you know you’re gonna get that pop off, you know you’re gonna get the hip height,” she said. “After I cleared it, it was just overwhelming excitement.”

Her dad also had a similar ‘she’s got it’ realization as he watched her vault.

“There’s a lot that you can tell about a jump immediately from the take off,” Eli said. “Sometimes they’ll surprise you. The majority of the time at takeoff, you can get a really good idea of how the rest of the jump is gonna go.”

With that 13-8, Eli said she qualified for U-20 nationals and secured the maximum amount available for her scholarship from BYU. When she cleared it, Eli said he teared up.

“It was relief and excitement, kinda competing emotion there,” he said. “My eyes were definitely sweating a little bit. It’s been a goal that she’s had since November, and obviously 14 but that 13-8 meant so much.”

She also attempted 14 feet on Saturday and is already turning her attention to what tweaks to make with Eli to attain that height.

“Those were my looks at a 14 feet bar, not just a bungee in practice,” Lydia said. "We definitely have a little bit of stuff to clean up. My plant wasn’t the best on Saturday. Were gonna go back to my plant and my swing, A little bit of a stronger swing.”

Eli’s high school personal best was 14-0, and he went on to compete for Idaho State. He acknowledged the accomplishment of being No. 1 in the U.S. currently, but added that 13-8 will likely not be No. 1 for long considering the girls vaulters who cleared 14-0 during indoor season.

“I definitely don’t think she’s gonna be satisfied with 13-8,” he said. “I’ve meant it since her freshman year, I can’t wait till she beats my record. It will be the best moment.”

Becoming an Arcadia champion with a U.S. No. 1 height also meant a great deal to the Townsends from a big picture perspective. A year ago, Lydia was dealing with the first of multiple injuries that resulted from colliding with a hurdle. What began as a bulged disc snowballed into a pinched nerve and later a bruised navicular bone in her foot, restricting her to competing in just pole vault rather than four events at state. At the end of last summer, she reached a low point where she wanted to quit track. Eli advised her to take a month off, and she sought treatment for her injuries with physical therapy and chiropractor appointments. Upon returning to the track, she and Eli rebuilt her pole vault technique from square one and Lydia also gained renewed perspective with ‘more consistent self worth.’ In other words, she is an athlete, but it is not her complete identity and her results on the track do not define her worth.

“It’s honestly so crazy to think about how at this time last year, I was on a downward spiral at this point,” she said. “I had just fell down in hurdles. I’m so grateful to be healthy. To kinda have a season of peace so far has been amazing not just for me, but for my family.”

“It means a great deal just knowing because of the mindset we were all in last year, going through the experiences she had to go through, seeing how they shaped her, it means a lot more knowing that the patience and the persistence has paid off,” Eli said. “Realizing the setbacks aren’t always setbacks. Sometimes they’re a catapult.”

And Lydia has found a place for her newly acquired medal, which she said is the biggest medal she owns aside from a giant one from wrestling that she described as big as her stomach.

“Right below my USATF national ones is probably where it’s gonna go,” she said.

Van Orden is now No. 8 in the U.S. in boys 110 hurdles, Heemeyer is No. 20 in the U.S. in the girls 3,200 and Carr is No. 12 in the U.S. in the girls 800 as of Sunday, per athletic.net. Van Orden also placed fourth in Saturday’s boys invitational 300 hurdles final in 37.79.

Additionally, a couple of North Idaho athletes also attained big personal bests and moved up the Idaho all-time record list at Arcadia. Coeur d’Alene junior Wyatt Carr ran a personal best 8:57.51 to place 13th in the boys seeded 3,200 final on Saturday, moving him to No. 5 all-time on record in Idaho and making him one of nine Idaho boys ever to break nine minutes for the event. Coeur d’Alene Charter senior Reagan Meine ran a personal best 43.65 to place sixth in the girls open 300 hurdles final, moving her to No. 5 all-time on record in Idaho in the event.

An Impressive Weekend In The Gem State

Athletes achieved plenty of personal bests closer to home at the annual Boise Relays on Saturday at Dona Larsen Park. The final team scores also provided a glimpse into perhaps what will be a competitive 6A state meet in May with so many returning point scorers from last season. Defending 6A boys state champion Mountain View edged out Eagle by one point to win Saturday while the Capital girls won the team title by seven points over defending 6A state champion Mountain View.

Eagle senior Ambrose Brainard cleared 7-0 to win the Boise Relays boys high jump title and become the third Idaho boy on record to clear 7-0 in outdoor track. He is currently one of 10 boys in the U.S. to have cleared 7-0 in high jump this spring.

Meridian senior River Spaulding cleared a personal best 15-6 to win boys pole vault, the top height thus far this season in Idaho for boys pole vault.

Canyon Ridge senior Daxin Holtzen won boys 2k steeplechase in 6:27.80, which puts him at No. 19 in the U.S per athletic.net as of Sunday.

Capital senior Nick Loufoua won triple jump with a personal best 48-2—his first time surpassing 48 feet—to move to No. 5 all-time on record in Idaho in the event.

Thunder Ridge junior Klarisa Earl won the girls 2k steeplechase final in 7:28.63, which puts her at No. 19 in the U.S. in the event per athletic.net as of Sunday.

The girls 100 and 200 finals were especially fast for April. Kimberly junior Karlie Bair, the defending 4A state champion, won the 100 final in a photo finish over defending 6A girls state champion and Mountain View senior Quincy Keller. Both recorded personal best times of 11.79, with Bair taking the win at the line. Bair’s and Keller’s times currently lead Idaho thus far this season. Borah junior Myyah Rigbee was third in a personal best 11.92. In the 200 final, Keller won in 24.69 while Rigsbee was second in 24.80 and Bair was third in 24.94.

In addition to the newest results from Arcadia and Boise Relays that put Idahoans in the top 25 nationally, Boise’s Lucy Spiess, Olivia McNeley, Reese Kindig and Audrey Orme are No. 18 in the U.S. for their 12:04.75 in the 4,000 meter distance medley relay from Oregon Relays earlier this month. Their teammate Luke Bruce, a junior, is No. 6 in the U.S. with his 2k steeplechase time of 6:13.59 from Oregon Relays. Coeur d’Alene sophomore Rowan Henry (9:04.37) and Boise sophomore Austin Johnston (9:11.99) are No. 6 and No. 14, respectively, in the U.S. in the boys 2-mile with their times from Oregon Relays.

At the Leah Swanson Memorial Deary Invite on Saturday at Lapwai, defending 2A girls javelin state champion and Deary senior Kaylee Wood won javelin for the 12th time in 13 meets going back to the start of last season. Her personal best 125-2 is currently No. 2 in Idaho for any classification thus far this season. At the same meet, Prairie senior and three-time defending 2A state champion Sage Elven won discus with a season best 143-4, putting her at No. 1 in Idaho for any classification thus far this season. She has won discus 17 consecutive times going back to district championships her sophomore season.

On The Horizon

The annual DirectCom Invitational takes place Friday and Saturday at Idaho State University’s Davis Field in Pocatello. As of Sunday, 37 teams are registered.

The Middleton Invite takes place Friday in Middleton. As of Sunday, 19 teams are registered.