A year and a half ago, Salt Lake Community College decided to start a cross-country program and handed the coaching position to Isaac Wood, a former BYU assistant.
On Saturday, just 18 months after Wood started the program “from scratch,” the SLCC women’s program won the national junior college championship in Huntsville, Alabama, and the men’s team fell just eight points short of doing the same thing.
SLCC’s Emerald Kehr, a freshman from West High, led the way for the Bruins by finishing second in the women’s 5,000-meter race, with teammates Grace Tipton and Molly Jensen finishing ninth and 11th, respectively.
SLCC’s JaQuavious Harris won the men’s 8,000-meter race as the Bruins finished second, just seven points behind Trinidad State.
“Being only eight points away from sweeping both titles is hard to stomach, but oh well,” said Wood, who officially started SLCC’s program on May 16, 2022.
“I don’t know how many times we need to start something from scratch to prove that Utah has the best distance running in the nation,” Wood said.
BYU’s men’s and women’s teams are ranked No. 3 in the nation heading into next week’s NCAA cross-country championships. Both teams have won national championships in the last four years and produced three individual collegiate championships and one individual U.S. championship.
The two fastest marathoners in the country this year are former BYU athletes and Utah high school products. Additionally, Danny Simmons of American Fork High is considered the top distance runner in the nation, and Herriman High has been ranked No. 1 in the national cross country polls.
The women’s teams at Utah and Utah Valley are nationally ranked, and Utah State, Weber State and Southern Utah have made regular appearances in the national polls in recent years.
“It all goes back to Utah producing some of the best distance runners in the country,” Wood said.
The women’s victory on Saturday gives SLCC its fourth national championship, joining two basketball titles and one men’s soccer title.