The Class 6A ranks feature some stacked and talented track and field teams, making the competition difficult for any contender. At Riverton, first-year head coach Marcus Dickson couldn’t be more pleased with how his pupils performed this season. 

Dickson said team members had positive attitudes, put forth the necessary effort and showed resiliency. Anytime a coach steps into a new situation by taking over a team, there are bound to be challenges. But Dickson praised the athletes for making the transition a smooth one. 

“My first year as the head coach at Riveron has went by insanely fast, and I am so proud of our athletes,” he said. “They have created an environment where they are willing to work hard, learn to fail, bounce back from failure and do some amazing things.”

Dickson watched this year as athletes set records, qualified for state and improved significantly. The Silverwolves took part in the state meet, held May 15–17 at Brigham Young University. 

Beyond scores and times, Dickson was happy to see good camaraderie on the team. He said the athletes supported one another and created an atmosphere where everyone felt valued. 

“The biggest accomplishment our team has done is by far coming together as a team,” Dickson said. “I have seen sprinters cheer for throwers, jumpers cheer for distance, distance cheer for vaulters, vaulters cheer for hurdlers and so on. It sounds like small things, but these little things are what make the great teams.”

One of the most notable athletes on the team this past season was Ty Warnick. He set two Class 6A records—one in the 400-meter race and the other in the long jump. 

“It was absolutely incredible to watch Ty do anything that we ask him to do,” Dickson said. “I think Ty could compete to win state in any event. He even ran the 800 on our relay team at region and ran one of the fastest times in school history.”

Distance runner Chloe Swain became the first ever Riverton High School track and field athlete to run a sub-five-minute 1,600 race on Utah soil. In the 300 hurdles, Dejan Richards set the school record with a time of 38.22 seconds. In the 100 and 200 sprint events, Reese Lewis qualified for state to represent the Silverwolves. 

In addition, Riverton athlete Brooke Tacke added to her impressive resume. Already a star on Riverton’s top-ranked 6A softball team, Tacke contributed to the Riverton track and field team by displaying her throwing talents. Despite only having limited practice time with the javelin, Tacke managed to finish first in Region 2 in the event at the region championships. 

Dickson said there were also some team members who stood out by exceeding expectations. One of these athletes was Luke Palmer, a junior, who had a javelin throw of 161 feet this season. 

“Luke Palmer has been an awesome surprise,” Dickson said. “He was good as a sophomore, but he has taken a huge jump his junior year.”

A couple of groups that Dickson loved watching this season were the boys and girls 4x400 and 4x800 teams. He believes those runners could stack up against anyone in the state. 

“Our boys and girls 4x400 and 4x800 teams are looking strong,” he said. “I think any of the teams (boys or girls) could win or place really high in those relays on the right day.”

Though Riverton went into the state tournament with formidable competition, Dickson was most interested to see how hard his athletes would work. He was optimistic about the team’s chances of scoring some points and adding to what had already been a strong, memorable season. In fact, the new coach thought this might be the best Riverton track and field team in the past 10 years. 

“I am excited for the state track meet,” he said. “Our biggest goal is to show up and give our best effort. If we can finish our events and say ‘I did my best,’ then we checked off all our boxes. I know we have some individual athletes that have some really big goals. As a team, our goal is to score the most points (as boys and girls combined) than we have in the last decade. Riverton has some really rich track and field history, but we believe we can be the best team of the decade.”

The Silverwolves will lose some top-notch athletes to graduation, but there are also some pieces in place for next season with some experienced team members coming back. 

And it’s not just in the track and field environment where the Riverton athletes show their commitment. Dickson appreciates that the Silverwolves give it their all in other aspects of their lives, too. 

“The best part of coaching this group is the everyday reminder of how resilient these student athletes are in their everyday life,” he said. “These kids will wake up and have an activity before school, go to school all day, practice at a high level, do homework and other activities and still have a positive attitude. I am in awe by their work ethic.” λ