CEDAR CITY — In this era of social distancing, Panguitch’s Adelaide Englestead and Milford’s Kinley Spaulding did nothing of the sort at the 1A cross-country state championships in Cedar City on Wednesday.
The two were within a yard or two of each other the entire race on Wednesday, with the sophomore Englestead holding off the senior Spaulding at the finish line by six-tenths of a second to claim the individual state title.
“Hats off to them because they’ve worked hard. They’ll go to baseball practice and then they’ll run afterward. Two sports to be dedicated like that, and to come with two championships is very special.” — Piute coach Steve Hoagland.
“I knew she was with me the whole time and it hurt really bad, but I was like the pain is going to go away and just the fact that the win will stay with me forever,” said Englestead, who finished third at state last year, about 19 seconds behind second-place Spaulding.
On Wednesday, Englestead posted a strong time of 19:29.7, with Spaulding right behind in 19:30.3.
“I made it my goal to beat her because I like to set goals to make myself better, and I’m glad I got to run with her cause she made me better,” said Englestead.
Led by Englestead, Panguitch placed five runners in the top eight to run away with the 1A team title with 16 total points. Bryce Valley finished second with 49 points, with Rich in third with 50.
Panguitch’s other top finishers were Tabetha Henrie in third, Hailie Wilcox in fifth, Lacey Marshall in seventh and Mikayla Reeder in eighth. All five of them are underclassmen, and Panguitch looks poised to start another dynasty.
On the boys side, Porter Schoppe raced with the necessary mindset on Wednesday as Panguitch swept the individual state titles, with Schoppe dominating in a time of 16:46.2.
Bryce Valley’s Brock Syrett was third with a time of 17:24.3, with Piute’s Kade Severe in third in 17:28.5.
“The last few weeks has kind of been hard, been getting beat by a few kids and most of it was my mind. I was physically in shape, but my mindset, when I’d get a side ache or my legs would get a little tired or I’d hit a tough hill my mind would just give up, and the last week I’ve worked on getting in the right mindset,” said Schoppe.
That mindset helped him pull away after the first mile at the state championships, and then push through in the last three-quarters of a mile when he said the pain started to creep in.
While Schoppe was the runaway winner in the individual race, Piute ran away with its first team championship since 2009.
Led by freshman Severe in third, Piute had four other runners place in the top nine as it finished first with 26 team points. Water Canyon was a distant second with 64 points, followed by Panguitch in third with 68.
Piute’s Oakley Sylvester finished sixth, followed by teammates Jaxon Westwood in eighth and Jesse James in ninth. All four are underclassmen as the T-Birds likely set the table for numerous state titles in the coming years.
“The camaraderie that they have amongst themselves, they’re always kidding and joking. They’re just a great bunch of kids,” said Piute coach Steve Hoagland.
Many of his runners were also on Piute’s state championship baseball team from earlier this month, and he said their commitment this fall was truly special.
“Hats off to them because they’ve worked hard. They’ll go to baseball practice and then they’ll run afterward. Two sports to be dedicated like that, and to come with two championships is very special,” said Hoagland.
Class 1A State Championships
At Cedar City High School
Boys team scores
1. Piute, 26
2. Water Canyon, 64
3. Panguitch, 68
4. Bryce Valley, 94
5. Valley, 99
6. Milford, 104
7. ICS, 117
8. Pinnacle, 118
Boys individual results
1. Porter Schoppe, Panguitch, 16:46.2
2. Brock Syrett, Bryce Valley, 17:24.3
3. Kade Severe, Piute, 17:28.5
4. Donald Speas, Telos, 17:58.8
5. Landen Hardy, Pinnacle, 17:59.0
6. Oakley Sylvester, Piute, 18:03.8
7. Trace Bistline, Water Canyon, 18:04.0
8. Jaxon Westwood, Piute, 18:07.8
9. Jesse James, Piute, 18:18.8
10. Tyler Bonham, Valley, 18:26.7
Girls team scores
1. Panguitch, 16
2. Bryce Valley, 49
3. Rich, 50
4. Milford, 76
5. ICS, 114
6. Valley, 114
7. Piute, 137
8. Pinnacle, 151
Girls individual results
1. Adelaide Englestead, Panguitch, 19:29.7
2. Kinley Spaulding, Milford, 19:30.3
3. Tabetha Henrie, Panguitch, 20:32.0
4. Maliah Jolley, Rich, 20:47.9
5. Hailie Wilcox, Panguitch, 21:31.4
6. Whytney Stoddard, Milford, 21:44.0
7. Lacey Marshall, Panguitch, 21:45.9
8. Mikayla Reeder, Panguitch, 22:28.6
9. McKina Stacey, Rich, 22:43.9
10. Shandi Syrett, Bryce Valley, 22:54.5