High school cross-country: Jane Hedengren’s historic race, and a state title for Taylorsville highlight 5A state meet

Taylorsville’s four-year plan came to fruition in one of the best high school sports stories of the entire fall season.

In the 5A state meet at Sugar House Park on Wednesday, Taylorsville’s boys cross-country team edged Viewmont to claim not only its first cross-country title in school history, but also the school’s first title in any sport in the past 22 years.

Warriors coach Guy Mackay said it wasn’t just a title for his school, but something all the schools on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley can be proud as most are also mired in multi-decade title droughts.

Taylorsville had a great regular season and was one of the favorites going in, and Mackay said his athletes ran calmly all race in tallying 66 points, with Viewmont in second place with 80 points.

“We’ve been building for four years with this group. They’ve bought into everything we’ve been trying to get across to them. They run for each other, that’s what they do. None of them want to let each other down. That’s kind of been the key all year long,” said Mackay, who received what seemed like endless coaching congratulations from his peers.

Ironically enough, Mackay said he was on Taylorsville’s baseball coaching staff in 2002 when the school won its last state championship.

In the three years prior to Wednesday’s triumph, Taylorsville finished 17th in 2021, 10th in 2022 and fourth in 2023.

“It’s been a goal obviously, but not having ever done that before it’s a lofty goal and no one expects it from Taylorsville,” said Mackay.

While the 5A boys race was tight, Timpview’s girls ran away with the state title led by a 1-2 finish from Jane Hedengren and Lily Alder. The T-Birds finished with 72 points, with Box Elder in second with 132 points.

“We knew that if we worked hard we were going to get it,” said Alder, who ran the second-fastest time out of the 791 girls athletes across all classifications who compete at the state meet at Sugar House Park this week.

That would’ve been good enough for an individual title in other classification, but not in 5A, and it wasn’t really even close.

Hedengren flew through the course, winning with a time of 16:21.48. Alder was a full minute behind in 17:21.86. Olympus’ Adria Favero, Brighton’s Bridget Smit and Bonneville’s Avery Barton rounded out the top five girls.

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Hedengren’s time of 16:21.48 was faster than 773 of the 878 boys participants across all classifications at state this week.

“I was feeling pretty strong,” said Hedengren, who will next race in the NXR Southwest Regional in Arizona on Nov. 23 as she tries to inch toward claiming a national cross-country title her senior year.

“I’m happy to be back feeling like myself and looking forward to what this year going to bring for the future,” added Hedengren.

The year didn’t exactly start out great for Hedengren, who said she suffered a concussion getting hit with a softball while she stretched for the first race of the season.

That combined with some other variables led to a bit of a slow start, but the BYU commit clearly peaked at the right time.

Even though Hedengren ran way in front of Alder the entire race, their yearslong camaraderie helped make it possible.

“We’re running workouts, recovery days, swimming together, she’s my best friend. Just a huge blessing for this team and a huge blessing in my life,” she said.

While Hedengren was busy wrapping up her cross-country career with a third-straight state title, Bountiful junior Hayden Hooper made a massive jump from last season to claim his first state title.

A 12th-place finish a year ago, Hooper dominated Wednesday’s race to win the 5A individual title, finishing with a time of 15:07.26. Taylorsville’s Edward Stout was second with a time of 15:34.71.

“I felt so comfortable. The hills were a little bit uncomfortable at the beginning, and I was a little bit worried when I went up that first hill and then we got around to the second hill and my legs fell into rhythm,” said Hooper.

Stout was right with Hooper after two miles, but Hooper dominated the final mile.

Alta’s Aidan Neal, Viewmont’s Talmage Bruschke and Wasatch’s Alexander Spencer rounded out the top five boys.

While Stout faded a bit in his quest for the individual title, he still set a great pace that his teammates could follow to lead Taylorsville to the elusive state title.

Cole Jameson finished sixth for Taylorsville, with Kai Makowski in 14th, Jonah Andrews in 17th and Elliot Stout in 27th.

Class 5A Girls State Championship

Team scores

1. Timpview, 72
2. Box Elder, 132
3. Springville, 139
4. Viewmont, 181
5. Salem Hills, 222
6. Maple Mountain, 224
7. Northridge, 230
8. Woods Cross, 246
9. Highland, 257
10. Olympus, 270

Girls individual results

1. Jane Hedengren, Timpview, Sr., 16:21.48
2. Lily Alder, Timpview, Jr., 17:21.86
3. Adria Favero, Olympus, So., 17:43.96
4. Bridget Smit, Brighton, Fr., 17:54.17
5. Avery Barton, Bonneville, So., 17:56.79
6. Madelyn Reeder, Highland, So., 17:58.05
7. Alyssa Clayton, Viewmont, So., 18:21.76
8. Evelyn Cook, Northridge, Fr., 18:22.57
9. Katie Hansen, Woods Cross, Sr., 18:34.29
10. Maya Boyer, Springville, Jr., 18:40.76
11. Nicole Wayment, Bonneville, Sr., 18:45.65
12. Ashlynn Lainhart, Maple Mountain, Jr., 18:45.93
13. Anna Kent, Springville, Jr., 18:47.31
14. Ellie Esplin, Timpview, Sr., 18:49.47
15. Lily Jameson, Taylorsville, Fr., 18:49.65
16. Hallee Sullivan, Skyline, So., 18:58.35
17. Daphne Batmale, Timpview, Sr., 19:00.11
18. Layla Aguero, Maple Mountain, Sr., 19:02.83
19. Sofia Jourdon, Olympus, Sr., 19:07.47
20. Maya Lee, Box Elder, Jr., 19:10.73
21. Lily Shawcroft, Cyprus, Sr., 19:13.33
22. Kassidie Douglass, Box Elder, Sr., 19:17.27
23. Brynn Poulson, Cyprus, Sr., 19:18.98
24. Haley Livingston, Salem Hills, So., 19:20.49
25. Brie Nydegger, Woods Cross, Jr., 19:22.61
26. Kiara DeVries, Woods Cross, Sr., 19:26.55
27. Macie Lee, Box Elder, Jr., 19:27.93
28. Savannah Galbraith, Springville, Sr., 19:30.96
29. Piper McDaniel, Salem Hills, Fr., 19:39.63
30. Elizabeth Rupper, Box Elder, Jr., 19:39.76
31. Audrey Lemon, Viewmont, Sr., 19:42.26
32. Sophie Sullivan, Skyline, Sr., 19:50.72
33. Brynlee Cragun, Box Elder, Fr., 19:51.90
34. Jasmine Pacheco, Cyprus, Sr., 20:02.62
35. Lexy Cluff-Baylon, Northridge, Sr., 20:03.29
36. Eira Rose Groberg, Salem Hills, Jr., 20:03.60
37. Lily O’Neal, Cedar Valley, Sr., 20:06.14
38. Mary Marvell, Timpview, Jr., 20:08.89
39. Tempe Anderson, Viewmont, Sr., 20:08.95
40. Kestle Eames, Bonneville, Jr., 20:09.54
41. Ella Young, Springville, Fr., 20:13.83
42. Paula Briceno, Taylorsville, Jr., 20:15.76
43. Gwen Boulton, Timpview, Jr., 20:18.26
44. Kadence Gholson, Highland, Jr., 20:19.65
45. Amy Rowley, Brighton, Fr., 20:23.16
46. Lilly Griffith, Northridge, Sr., 20:23.37
47. Brianna Young, Springville, Sr., 20:24.03
48. Lexi Toronto, Viewmont, Sr., 20:25.25
49. Anya Salmon, Timpview, Sr., 20:26.49
50. Ali Ackerson, Wasatch, Sr., 20:29.31

Class 5A Boys State Championship

Team scores

1. Taylorsville, 66
2. Viewmont, 80
3. Alta, 118
4. Northridge, 150
5. Maple Mountain, 152
6. Skyline, 166
7. Timpview, 200
8. Springville, 221
9. Bountiful, 275
10. Box Elder, 300

Boys individual results

1. Hayden Hooper, Bountiful, Sr., 15:07.26
2. Edward Stout, Taylorsville, Jr., 15:34.71
3. Aidan Neal, Alta, Jr., 15:35.84
4. Talmage Bruschke, Viewmont, Sr., 15:36.77
5. Alexander Spencer, Wasatch, Sr., 15:39.67
6. Cole Jameson, Taylorsville, Sr., 15:40.57
7. Hayden Arbuckle, Viewmont, Sr., 15:43.21
8. Jack Jensen, Alta, Sr., 15:45.80
9. Aiden Cope, Maple Mountain, Sr., 15:47.86
10. David Boyce, Timpview, Sr., 15:48.00
11. Simon Barlow, Bountiful, Sr., 15:48.05
12. Logan Rohatinsky, Maple Mountain, So., 15:49.29
13. Nate Eskelson, Northridge, Sr., 15:49.67
14. Kai Makowski, Taylorsville, Sr., 15:50.62
15. Jonah Fearnley, Skyline, Sr., 15:54.59
16. Jeff Hazard, Northridge, So., 15:54.90
17. Jonah Andrews, Taylorsville, Sr., 15:54.93
18. Joey Rees, Springville, Sr., 15:55.10
19. Will Towers, Olympus, So., 16:01.07
20. Teo Oscarson, Timpview, So., 16:01.08
21. Finn Rutledge, Olympus, Sr., 16:01.17
22. Peter Gehring, Viewmont, Sr., 16:02.82
23. David Tervort, Viewmont, Sr., 16:03.55
24. Clement Burton, Viewmont, Jr., 16:08.40
25. Ethan Mendes, Alta, Sr., 16:09.46
26. Ben Hyde, Viewmont, Sr., 16:10.38
27. Elliot Stout, Taylorsville, Jr., 16:12.17
28. Lorenzo Brandt, Skyline, Sr., 16:14.56
29. Myles Jessen, Alta, So., 16:17.41
30. Zac Ingles, Brighton, Jr., 16:17.87
31. Bryce Arbuckle, Viewmont, Sr., 16:19.20
32. James Larson, Box Elder, Sr., 16:20.54
33. Eric Greding, Northridge, Sr., 16:20.58
34. Aaron Eskelson, Northridge, Sr., 16:21.69
35. Andrew Poulson, Cyprus, Sr., 16:23.54
36. Talin Gosman, Springville, Sr., 16:24.16
37. Kaden Smith, Timpview, Jr., 16:27.28
38. Riley Thorpe, Maple Mountain, Jr., 16:29.07
39. Brock Donahue, Springville, So., 16:31.83
40. Ezra Heckmann, Skyline, Jr., 16:31.86
41. Shepherd Foy, Skyline, Sr., 16:32.51
42. Davis Howe, Skyline, Sr., 16:32.70
43. Traeke Seitzinger, Spanish Fork, So., 16:33.44
44. Parker Lattin, Box Elder, Jr., 16:33.68
45. Spencer Dastrup, Maple Mountain, Sr., 16:35.89
46. Jacob Ward, Highland, Sr., 16:39.33
47. Bryce Mecham, Box Elder, Jr., 16:40.70
48. Russell Fawcett, Maple Mountain, Sr., 16:42.65
49. Grant Luke, Wasatch, So., 16:43.01
50. Cardston Davis, Maple Mountain, Jr., 16:43.33