BYU Football Signees Showcase Speed At Track & Field Event
May 9, 2022, 3:06 PM
BYU football signees Roy's Parker Kingston and Corner Canyon’s Cody Hagen battle to the end with Hagen taking the tape in the 200 meters as high school athletes compete in a BYU Track Invitational in Provo on Saturday, May 7, 2022. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – The narrative of BYU football being a team filled with slow athletes is changing. There was some strong evidence of that during the 112th BYU Invitational. A track & field event for high school athletes in Utah.
During the event, some future BYU football players showcased the top-end speed that helped them become coveted recruits for BYU.
Cody Hagen & Parker Kingston put up impressive times at BYU Invitational
Wide receiver prospects Cody Hagen (Corner Canyon) and Parker Kingston (Roy) participated in the 100 and 200-meter races for 4A-6A.
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A four-star prospect in the 2022 class, Hagen turned down offers from Utah, Stanford, Michigan, USC, and others to sign with BYU last December. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Gatorade Player of the Year posted the best time in the 200-meters.
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Hagen finished in first place with a time of 21.72 in the 200-meters. Kingston, a former quarterback at Roy High, ran the second-best time at 21.77.
The two also participated in the 100-meter final for 4A-6A.
BYU football target runs the fastest 100-meter
Kingston edged out Hagen in the final for the 100-meters posting a time of 10.66 to Hagen’s 10.67. The Roy standout, who projects to be a receiver and return specialist at BYU, finished second overall in the race behind only Skyridge High star Smith Snowden.
Great day competing at the byu invitationals, excited to take first against an explosive heat! 10.57 @AlphaRecruits15 @bangulo @BrandonHuffman @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/RA8ONwfgBe
— Smith Snowden (@SnowdenSmith) May 8, 2022
Snowden is a 2023 cornerback recruit that BYU is pursuing. The son of former BYU running back Will Snowden ran a time of 10.57.
Anything under 11 seconds is considered fast in the world of 100-meter times. So naturally, those types of times always catch the attention of college recruiters.
Last year, at the same event, Hagen posted a personal best time in the 100-meters of 10.52 seconds.
Another athlete in BYU’s 2022 recruiting class, Marcus McKenzie from Pine View High in St. George, posted a time of 10.79 in the 100-meter heat at the BYU Invitational. He qualified for the finals but did not start in the race.
McKenzie set a 4A 100-meter record on March 26 at the Pine View Invitational with a 10.54-second run.
In February, McKenzie and Kingston ran sub-7-second 60-meter on an indoor track and field surface.
Marcus’ twin brother, Dominique, who is serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Little Rock, Arkansas, ran a 10.6 100-meter at the UHSAA Track & Field Championships for 1A-4A.
BYU football recruits turning heads in Track & Field events
In California, BYU defensive back signee Evan Johnson recorded an eye-popping time of 10.41 seconds at the PCAL Mission Division Finals. That was a personal best for the 6-foot-1, 175-pound prospect who looks to be a key piece in the secondary in the Big 12 era.
10.41 😯 @__Evxn Al Bundy wont have anything on your stories! Living legend pic.twitter.com/VTGiqEaVBx
— Ralph (@rawdoggg25) April 30, 2022
Future BYU safety Cannon DeVries posted a personal best of 10.98 100-meter on April 27 at Clearfield High School.
Blessed to have won Male Athlete Of The Year🖤 pic.twitter.com/L9fEM3SK0o
— Zion Allen (@1Zion_Allen) May 7, 2022
Manteca, California native and future BYU cornerback Zion Allen won Male Athlete of the Year at Manteca High School. Along with playing football, Allen ran track, where he posted a 10.74 time in the 100 on April 14.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
