Firth’s Kynzie Nielson caps her storied career with individual and team state titles

FIRTH – Firth coach Bob Lambert calls Kynzie Nielson the best athlete he’s ever coached.

The accolades are numerous for the Weber State-bound senior, who has become a foundation for the school’s track and cross country program during her four seasons.

“I have some big goals,” Nielson said earlier this year as she eyed the upcoming state meet.

First individual state title?

Check.

3A 1,600 state champion in a personal-best of 5:15.86.

Personal-best marks in the 3,200 and 800?

3A runner-up in the 800 with a personal-best time of 2:15.99. 3A runner-up in the 3,200 in 11:31.61, just missing a PR set earlier in the month by two seconds.

But Nielson wasn’t done in her final state meet.

She also ran on Firth’s 4×400 relay team that captured the state title.

A quick math check and that comes to 36 points for a Firth team that dominated the team standings with 134 points to win the program’s first state title since 2004.

“She’s confident but simultaneously humble and coachable,” Lambert said. “She’s extremely hard working and also has the talent … One of my favorite things about her is she competes without contempt. A lot of kids they hate their competition and they’ll talk them down. She’s not that way at all … She gets along with everybody and that’s the way you want a kid to be, a good sportsman, hard-working in school. To say we’re going to miss her is a huge understatement.”