ST. GEORGE — Dixie High sprinter Caidan Cooper is headed south to run for Arizona State University’s track team.
Cooper, who had received multiple scholarship offers from colleges in and out of state, officially announced his choice on Tuesday during a short signing ceremony after school.
On Saturday in Provo, Cooper capped off a stellar high school career by bringing home a gold medal in the 4A boys 100-meter dash at the state meet, winning the race in a time of 10.75 seconds. He also placed second in the 200-meter dash and ran in both the 4×200 and 4×100 relays, in which the Flyers placed third and second, respectively.
At the Region 10 championships staged at Dixie High the week before state, Cooper had achieved a personal-best time in his signature event, the 100-meter dash.
“I had a really good region meet and that led me to running my PR in the 100 at 10.65, which helped me get where I am right now,” Cooper said. “I think that was really huge.”
Cooper said he’d also overcome the challenges of sustaining a pulled hamstring and a broken foot earlier this year.
“To be able to put it all together at the end, God’s blessing,” he added.
Cooper said he’s looking forward to competing for ASU in the Pac-12 Conference.
“This has been a dream for a while, for the past four years, so it feels good to finally accomplish it,” he said. “Definitely being in the Pac-12 was a huge part of it. Going into a new environment, I think it will be a great new change for me.”
Cooper added that he hopes to bring even more speed to the Sun Devils.
“Being on a team that’s already real fast, I hope we can make an improvement and get a lot faster,” he said.
Asked if he had any words of advice for his younger teammates, Cooper replied:
Just treat every year like it’s your last, and just work as hard as you can. Don’t take any days off and just trust in God. Everything will work out.
St. George News reporter E. George Goold contributed to this report.
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