Wednesday’s state meet featured a showdown between Region 2 boys’ individual champion Jackson Spencer of Herriman, and Region 3 champion Kaden Evans of American Fork.
Evans finished second in last year’s meet, finishing only behind his teammate and Cavemen phenom Daniel Simmons. This year Evans was hungry for the first place finish.
The race stayed close between Evans and Spencer, with both runners finishing under 15 minutes. Evans broke away toward the end, claiming first place with a time of 14:45.51, while Spencer followed in second at 14:51.08.
“It was amazing,” Evans said. “The first mile we went out really conservative, and when we did I thought, ‘We can destroy the back half and really race on it.’”
“I thought the last five steps (Spencer) was gonna pass me the whole time. I was just digging, finding that 10th gear.”
While American Fork didn’t win the team race, it got both top individual performers with Skye Jensen winning the girls state meet with a time of 17:35.60. Jensen sported a similar strategy to Evans. She started out conservative, happy to let someone else take the lead while finding a higher gear later in the race.
“Just trying to pick it up in the last mile,” Jensen said when asked about her strategy. “There was some nerves. It just felt motivating knowing I could do it and catch up with her.”
While American Fork’s Evans won the individual race it was dethroned by Herriman, which won its first boys cross country championship since 2012. It was a quick turnaround for the Mustangs’ program after hiring Doug Soles three years ago. Herriman finished ninth at the state meet in 2021 and Soles has helped turn Herriman into a national threat.
Now that it has the state championship trophy, Herriman is turning its focus to Nike Cross Regionals on Nov. 23 and hopes to win a national title at Nike Cross Nationals in December.
“We knew we had a special team coming in,” Soles said. “We’ve had a few guys that have struggled with some health issues, so we’re just hoping to be 100% when we get to (Nike Cross Nationals) and make sure that we’re ready to compete for the national title. That’s been our goal, and the rest of the meets are prep and making sure we’re ready to do what we need to do when we need to do it.”
While the boys meet welcomed another champion, the girls meet saw another dominant performance from Lone Peak to secure its three-peat state championship. Lone Peak’s Maya Bybee and Zoey Nilsson finished second and third, respectively, with three runners finishing seventh, ninth and 11th. Lone Peak had a team score of 29, the next closest was Riverton with 63.
“Our mantra going in to the state meet was ‘manage the moment’,” said Lone Peak coach Ryan Bybee. “We know on this course you’ve got a lot of hills and it can sometimes be intimidating, and they just had to manage the moment and stay together as a group. We’re super proud of them and we’re glad that it’s like becoming a standard for them.”
Class 6A Girls State Championship
Team scores
- Lone Peak, 29
- Riverton, 63
- American Fork, 117
- Westlake, 133
- Skyridge, 186
- Weber, 194
- Lehi, 209
- Herriman, 211
- Pleasant Grove, 212
- Davis, 212
Girls individual results
- Skye Jensen, American Fork, So., 17:35.60
- Maya Bybee, Lone Peak, So., 17:45.54
- Zoey Nilsson, Lone Peak, Jr., 18:06.93
- Ellie Dorius, Farmington, Fr., 18:07.25
- Chloe Swain, Riverton, Sr., 18:27.29
- Isabella Cram, Davis, So., 18:29.56
- Anna Bybee, Lone Peak, Jr., 18:30.07
- Grace Swanson, Riverton, Jr., 18:30.65
- Paityn Rohatinsky, Lone Peak, So., 18:32.91
- Mya Oyler, Riverton, Sr., 18:34.90
- Brielle Nilsson, Lone Peak, Jr., 18:35.93
- Teagan Harris, Corner Canyon, Fr., 18:36.08
- Maya Parker, Westlake, Jr., 18:38.86
- Millie Robinson, Westlake, Sr., 18:45.47
- Laney Martin, Lehi, Fr., 18:45.54
- Isabel Preston, Riverton, So., 18:46.73
- Remy McAdams, Lehi, So., 18:50.50
- Lucy Hawkins, Skyridge, Jr., 18:52.11
- Ava McMurtrey, Lone Peak, Sr., 18:55.69
- Sophie Steiger, American Fork, Jr., 18:58.94
- Alexa Massey, Pleasant Grove, Jr., 19:01.41
- Indianna Lundell, Fremont, Sr., 19:01.63
- Catherine Wald, Weber, Jr., 19:04.31
- Shay Smith, American Fork, So., 19:05.25
- Talia Anderson, Westlake, Jr., 19:07.11
- Tatum Brewer, Lone Peak, Fr., 19:09.27
- Jane Hawkins, Skyridge, Fr., 19:10.10
- Maci Woolf, Herriman, Sr., 19:10.57
- Isabelle McCullough, Riverton, Sr., 19:12.01
- Eliza Thornley, Layton, Fr., 19:12.83
- Alice Wilhelm, Layton, Fr., 19:14.01
- Kate Lang, Weber, Jr., 19:16.32
- Brooklyn Tarr, Mountain Ridge, Jr., 19:19.72
- Erin Christensen, Davis, Fr., 19:23.02
- Mya Curtis, Westlake, Sr., 19:23.28
- Zanna Bruening, Herriman, Sr., 19:24.38
- Mara Jensen, American Fork, So., 19:27.15
- Breelyssa Leeper, Herriman, Jr., 19:28.43
- Katherine Leach, American Fork, Sr., 19:31.28
- Maggie Peterson, Lehi, Fr., 19:31.39
- Shelby Joy, Weber, Jr., 19:34.21
- Macie Wakley, Skyridge, Sr., 19:36.16
- Sarah Watson, American Fork, Fr., 19:38.41
- Brecklyn Bugnet, Fremont, Sr., 19:40.59
- Kennedy Hadley, Syracuse, Jr., 19:41.48
- Gracie Rodarte, Weber, Jr., 19:41.88
- Hallie Bendoski, Pleasant Grove, Sr., 19:42.75
- Clara Madsen, Skyridge, Jr., 19:43.47
- Sophie Starr, Pleasant Grove, Sr., 19:44.57
- Sadie Henderson, Herriman, Jr., 19:44.66
Class 6A Boys State Championship
Team scores
- Herriman, 44
- American Fork, 50
- Riverton, 83
- Lone Peak, 128
- Davis, 173
- Skyridge, 189
- Lehi, 204
- Layton, 248
- Westlake, 252
- Corner Canyon, 253
Boys individual results
- Kaden Evans, American Fork, Sr., 14:45.51
- Jackson Spencer, Herriman, Jr., 14:51.08
- Landon Nunley, Riverton, Sr., 15:15.09
- Christian Ruf, Riverton, Sr., 15:15.30
- Jonah Tang, Herriman, Sr., 15:16.59
- Carter Moore, American Fork, Sr., 15:17.47
- Tayshaun Ogomo, Herriman, Sr., 15:18.57
- Jonathan Thornley, Layton, Sr., 15:18.78
- Micah Tang, Herriman, Sr., 15:20.78
- Corbin Randall, Riverton, Sr., 15:23.92
- Cooper Bybee, Lone Peak, Sr., 15:30.71
- Ryker Bement, American Fork, Sr., 15:33.89
- Isaiah Gilbert, Bingham, Sr., 15:38.13
- Austin Plewe, American Fork, Jr., 15:43.79
- Ryan Etherington, Corner Canyon, Jr., 15:44.47
- Phin Mayer, Corner Canyon, Sr., 15:44.50
- Alex Williams, American Fork, Sr., 15:47.05
- Matyas Bird, Westlake, Jr., 15:47.33
- Miles Braithwaite, Lehi, Jr., 15:49.78
- Grant Hejny, Lone Peak, Jr., 15:51.06
- Noah Manwaring, Herriman, Sr., 15:51.46
- Ian Greene, Skyridge, Jr., 15:53.65
- Edward Fuller, Skyridge, Sr., 15:54.17
- Harrison Skousen, Davis, So., 15:55.44
- Caleb Brown, Herriman, Jr., 15:55.61
- Garrison Johnson, Weber, Sr., 15:59.17
- Josh Beck, Pleasant Grove, Jr., 16:00.93
- Brady Wilde, Lone Peak, Sr., 16:02.29
- Boston Rindlisbacher, Riverton, So., 16:03.80
- Jameson Lowry, Lehi, Jr., 16:04.59
- Zack Steoger, Fremont, Jr., 16:05.25
- Tyler Palmer, Lone Peak, Jr., 16:05.84
- Taylor Kjar, Skyridge, Sr., 16:07.24
- Carter Rawlings, Davis, Sr., 16:07.40
- Parker Allred, Lehi, Sr., 16:07.50
- Cade Rawlings, Davis, Sr., 16:08.73
- Chase Hejny, American Fork, Fr., 16:10.11
- Tanner Morgan, Westlake, Jr., 16:11.08
- Tyson Gubler, Riverton, Jr., 16:11.88
- Samuel Dempsey-Fehling, Lone Peak, Sr., 16:13.61
- Jonas Clay, Davis, So., 16:14.69
- Jonny Reed, Davis, Sr., 16:14.85
- Dallin Harrington, American Fork, Jr., 16:15.41
- Landon Sturgeon, Farmington, Sr., 16:20.37
- Joseph Miller, Farmington, Sr., 16:20.88
- Eli Jarvis, Herriman, Jr., 16:21.85
- Beau Jenkins, Fremont, So., 16:21.90
- Graham Judkins, Fremont, Jr., 16:21.99
- Koda Hildreth, Farmington, Sr., 16:22.21
- Erik Bryant, Weber, So., 16:22.61