Two of the state's longest-running prep championship winning streaks will be put on the line at the UHSAA-First Security Bank state prep cross country meet Wednesday afternoon.
The Mountain View girls team has amassed a string of six counsecutive cross country crowns, while the Timpview boys have won four straight. The state's longest current winning streak of state titles is the nine championships claimed by Brighton in girls swimming, with Delta having taken six straight wrestling crowns.Wednesday's meet returns to its annual course, starting at noon at Sugarhouse Park and winding its way around the park before finishing on the Highland High track. All four classifications will run separate boys and girls races, approximately a half-hour apart.
After winning the 1984 3A state title and five straight 4A crowns since then, the MV girls team is expected to dominate as usual. In fact, the Bruins have gained top billing in some national prep rankings and will be featured on ESPN 7:30 a.m. Thursday and again at 4 p.m. Friday.
Last year, Mountain View placed its five top runners in the top 10 finishers for a team point total of 30 points. Timpview was a long-distant 115 points for second-place honors.
Individually, the 4A girls race will be another battleground for Bingham's Lynette Petersen and Mountain View's Amy Allen, who finished 1-2 last year and are annual distance-event contenders in the prep track spring seasons.
Timpview won three straight 3A boys titles from 1986 to 1988 inclusive, ending Murray's streak of six consecutive championships. The T-birds stepped up to the 4A ranks in style last year, finishing with 31 team points and four runners in the top seven places.
However, Timpview may be hard-pressed to repeat this year, thanks to injury and eligibity woes. Defending individual champion Dan Alder is back, but he was beaten by teammate Sam St. Clair in the Region 4 meet. As a team, Timpview just managed to qualify for the state meet by finishing third in the region.
Viewmont, Mountain View and Bingham are considered to be the strongest challengers this year. One of the Vikings' top runners, Scott Keate, is considered questionable with health, which would put Viewmont at a disadvantage.
With Timpview gone, Ben Lomond won the 3A boys championship last year, thanks to a 1-2 finish by twins Warren and Chris Jones. Ogden finished second with four runners finishing fifth, sixth, eight and ninth. Included among this year's favorites is a strong Judge Memorial boys squad.
The 3A girls features the top three individual finishers from last year's meet - in order, Springville's Heather Witney, Judge's Chelsea Deakins and Mountain Crest's Naomi Nilsen.
Wednesday's race schedule is as follows: 1A girls, 1A boys, 2A girls, 2A boys, 3A girls, 3A boys, 4A girls, 4A boys.
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(Additional information)
Boys and girls prep cross country titles
Teams having won the most prep cross country state championships, with no distinction made between the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A classifications.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
1st Most
School Tot. title recent
Intermountain 8 1971 1983
Murray 6 1980 1985
Timpview 5 1979 1989
Bonneville 4 1978 1985
San Juan 4 1972 1982
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
1st Most
School Tot. title recent
Mountain View 6 1984 1989
Monticello 6 1982 1987
Alta 4 1979 1984
Provo 3 1979 1985
Timpview 3 1980 1988
Note: Intermountain Indian School has since closed.
Source: UHSAA Handbook