AMERICAN FORK — It's true that it's only the first meet of the season. So it may be assumed that not a lot can be taken from the results. But it's also true that coaches pay attention closely to how their athletes perform at the American Fork Grass Relays, which took place Saturday at American Fork High School.
On the girls' side, Davis, American Fork and Timpanogos all finished in the top four, which is exactly what happened in last year's 5A Cross Country State Championship. At Saturday's event — which features five runners from each school racing two miles each on a course that includes bales of hay in strategic areas — the Darts came out on top. American Fork (third) and Timpanogos (fourth) both finished strong behind an impressive 3A Park City squad.
"Our main goal is to see how well we matched up with Davis," American Fork girls coach Bruno Hunziker said. "We're happy with how we did, and we're excited about some good returning runners and some young ones, too."
The individual time battle came down to Davis and American Fork, with the Darts' Meghan Hedquist finishing quickest in a time of 12:06. Jamie Lee of American Fork was second at 12:31, with Orem's Summer Harper third (12:34) and Hannah Williams of Syracuse fourth (12:38).
Park City's strong performance was punctuated with three runners finishing in the top 15. Gillian Gorilik was fifth (12:41), Rebecca Cunningham ninth (12:47) and Ali Williams 11th (12:50).
The American Fork boys led their race virtually the entire way, finishing almost a full minute ahead of second-place Timpanogos. Davis was third, and Pleasant Grove and Hillcrest tied for fourth place.
Individually, Lone Peak's Steve Morrin turned in the fastest time at 10:17. American Fork's Robby Lee led his team — which placed four runners in the top 15 — as he finished in second place with a 10:31. Other Cavemen in the top 15 included Austin West — who tied for third place — at 10:32, Clayton Young (tied for 8th) at 10:41 and Corey Jackson (14th) at 10:52.
In addition to the relays being a good indication of how the runners stack up, Hunziker said the event is an unusual opportunity for the athletes.
"It lets them see how the European format of cross country running is," he said. "It's a very unique, very rare format here in the United States. Some courses have trails and creeks, but this (hay) is very rare."