High school cross country: Emery girls win first-ever 3A title, Richfield boys end 12-year title drought

Heading into Wednesday’s cross country state meet, Emery girls coach Kristy Guymon anticipated a tight battle among 3A’s top teams, but she truly believed her team could win its first-ever state title.

So when two key runners briefly passed out on the Sugar House Park course before getting up and resuming running, Guymon figured a championship would remain elusive.

“I was like, ‘well, we did our best, at least we finished.’ So I was just walking around kind of sad,” said Guymon, whose daughter was one of the runners who passed out.

That sadness quickly turned to hope when an Emery dad did some quick team score calculations near the finish line while waiting for official scoring to post and determined that the Spartans were still in the lead despite all the mishap.

“I was like, ‘no way. Don’t tell me that, I’m gonna bawl,’” said Guymon.

Once those team scores became official, Emery indeed won the 3A state championship with a two point win over Carbon — 71 to 73. The teams finished 1-2 last season, but in reverse order.

“With all the craziness we had happening out there, they pulled it through. They obviously gave their all, people were passing out,” Guymon said.

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Emery’s top finishers were Gentry Christiansen in third, followed by Addyson Guymon in fourth, Addie Hurst in ninth and Skylee Guymon in 15th. Both Addyson Guymon and Hurst passed out on the course, and Hurst passed out again after crossing the finishing line as paramedics stretchered her out of the finish line area.

Addyson Guymon doesn’t specifically remember passing out around the second mile marker, but it had happened once earlier in the season and is something she’s prone to with her vocal cord dysfunction. Guymon was only on the ground for about five seconds before her nearby aunt was about to wake her up.

“I’ve got to get up and do it for my team,” she recalls about her initial thoughts after coming to.

When she got up, Guymon recalls seeing teammate Christiansen in front of her and knew she still had everything to run for.

One of the unsung heroes for Emery’s title was junior Skylee Guymon, a sprinter who only joined the team when her mom begged her to, knowing a team title was in the realm of possibility.

“I told her, ‘we will not win without you this year,’” coach Guymon said.

Skylee Guymon agreed, but she said she’d only run in three races, as basketball and sprinting were her priorities. Wednesday was the third of those three races, and her 15th-place finish was massive.

As Emery was celebrating its first-ever title, Carbon senior Rozlyn Stowe was celebrating a third individual championship.

Stowe ran away from the 3A field with a time of 17:12.67 — 45 seconds faster than Ogden’s Avery Barton, the runner-up with 17:57.31. Stowe’s time was the fastest of all six classifications at this year’s state meet.

“Felt amazing. I gave it my all,” said Stowe, a UVU commit. “Anything can happen at the state, but I definitely felt like no matter what happens, I can adapt. So I felt great overall.”

Stowe previously won 3A titles her freshman and sophomore years at the Regional Athletic Complex, but last year she finished third as she was still trying to build her fitness up from a June metatarsal fracture in her foot. Plus, the two runners she finished behind were elite, as evidenced by the fact that they are both currently running for BYU.

While Emery’s girls won their first title ever, Richfield’s boys cross country team celebrated its first title since 2012.

The Wildcats placed five runners in the top 21, including a fourth-place finish from Elijah Thalman and a sixth-place finish from Hank Barnett to win comfortably with 59 team points.

Carbon tallied 103 points to finish in second place.

A year ago, Richfield finished in eighth place, but its runners committed to a much bigger goal this time.

“They decided that they wanted to go after it this year. Thought that it was a realistic goal, and we decided that we were gonna shoot for October and keep pushing and get everybody better. So it was really fun to watch them just make that progress,” said Richfield coach Jim Monsen, who said the camaraderie within the team helped them achieve that goal.

“Every step along the way, they were pulling each other along, making each other better. It’s been awesome to see them. When somebody falls off, they grab them, pull them along, say, ‘Hey, you’re still good. You can go with us,’” Monsen said.

The front of the pack was led by a pair of Manti runners, junior Paul Gardner and senior Benson May.

Gardner won with a time of 15:45.07, followed by May in 15:55.09.

Gardner finished in sixth place a year ago, but made a 33-second improvement on that time on Wednesday to finish as the state champ. His focus was entirely on the team during the race.

“Going for the team, trying to get as little points possible so we can place higher and be better because without a team we’re nothing,” said Gardner.

Gardner is already excited about the challenges ahead, and he’s optimistic that as a senior next year, he can run closer to 15 flat.

Class 3A Girls State Championship

Team scores

1. Emery, 71
2. Carbon, 73
3. Canyon View, 83
4. Ogden, 110
5. Richfield, 114
6. Union, 132
7. Grantsville, 186
8. Manti, 192
9. North Sanpete, 250
10. Morgan, 255

Girls individual results

1. Rozlyn Stowe, Carbon, Sr., 17:12.67
2. Avery Barton, Ogden, Jr., 17:57.31
3. Gentry Christiansen, Emery, Jr., 18:02.02
4. Addyson Guymon, Emery, Sr., 18:23.72
5. Josie Yates, Carbon, So., 19:13.25
6. Kaylee Nielsen, Union, So., 19:24.59
7. Ember Sorenson, Canyon View, Jr., 19:28.25
8. Emeline Fife, Canyon View, So., 19:30.06
9. Addie Hurst, Emery, Sr., 19:30.75
10. Jane Whittle, Grantsville, Jr., 19:32.25
11. Georgia Goold, Richfield, Jr., 19:37.30
12. Taylee Hall, Canyon View, So., 19:56.33
13. Melody Steadmen, Union, Jr., 19:59.13
14. Alexis Cox, Morgan, Jr., 20:04.53
15. Skylee Guymon, Emery, Jr., 20:13.35
16. Clara Geddes, Ogden, Jr., 20:13.42
17. KinLee Barney, Richfield, Jr., 20:22.84
18. Evelyn Goold, Richfield, Fr., 20:59.10
19. Sariah Peterson, Manti, Jr., 21:05.47
20. Brettlee Kennedy, Carbon, So., 21:08.20
21. Christi Christensen, Delta, Fr., 21:13.47
22. Georgia Smith, Ogden, Jr., 21:14.22
23. Allie Bryner, Carbon, Sr., 21:18.08
24. Kiley Bishoff, Carbon, So., 21:23.04
25. Laynie Jolley, Richfield, Jr., 21:26.64
26. Sophia Camargo, Grantsville, Sr., 21:27.64
27. Nancy Fife, Canyon View, Jr., 21:37.35
28. Kylie Hart, Manti, Jr., 21:48.13
29. Eliza Rice, Canyon View, Jr., 21:52.70
30. McKinley Bagley, Canyon View, Jr., 21:59.02
31. Ally Stark, Ogden, So., 22:08.20
32. Savannah Christensen, North Sanpete, Jr., 22:10.59
33. Jiorji Jensen, Canyon View, So., 22:15.44
34. Olivia Winterton, Union, Fr., 22:15.78
35. Khyia Charles, Union, Fr., 22:18.93
36. Kaylee Pitcher, Carbon, Sr., 22:19.14
37. Brielle Sorensen, North Sanpete, Jr., 22:28.72
38. Ada Shultz, Logan, Jr., 22:34.00
39. Olivia Geddes, Ogden, So., 22:35.04
40. Alivia Daley, Emery, So., 22:37.96
41. Madison Purvis, Grantsville, So., 22:47.53
42. Caitlyn Merrill, Manti, Jr., 22:49.26
43. Madelaine Harrison, Richfield, Jr., 22:54.61
44. Kathryn Butcher, Union, Sr., 22:54.64
45. Eliza Bohne, Ogden, Sr., 22:56.84
46. Kaylee Stewart, Delta, Sr., 22:58.61
47. Brynlee Merrill, Manti, Fr., 23:01.87
48. Charlotte Miller, Union, Fr., 23:03.85
49. Abigail Hales, Grantsville, Jr., 23:07.46
50. Ada Heywood, North Sanpete, So., 23:08.60

Class 3A Boys State Championship

Team scores

1. Richfield, 59
2. Carbon, 103
3. Grantsville, 109
4. Logan, 116
5. Manti, 125
6. Canyon View, 171
7. Morgan, 174
8. Union, 175
9. Ben Lomond, 195
10. North Sanpete, 215

Boys individual results

1. Paul Gardner, Manti, Jr., 15:45.07
2. Benson May, Manti, Sr., 15:55.09
3. Daniel Budge, Ben Lomond, Sr., 16:11.31
4. Elijah Thalman, Richfield, Sr., 16:11.93
5. Jarom Findlay, Canyon View, So., 16:13.76
6. Hank Barnett, Richfield, Jr., 16:19.93
7. Hunter Horrocks, Union, Sr., 16:26.83
8. Ben Hathaway, North Sanpete, Sr., 16:34.22
9. Jacob Lorimer, Logan, Jr., 16:37.03
10. Zachary Nordgren, Grantsville, Jr., 16:37.06
11. Rylan Egbert, Grantsville, Fr., 16:42.33
12. Mason Carlile, Manti, Jr., 16:43.85
13. Dean Barnett, Richfield, Fr., 16:47.54
14. Cooper Clark, Grantsville, Jr., 16:49.19
15. Brennan Barney, Richfield, Fr., 16:49.67
16. Mathew Stromness, Carbon, Jr., 16:50.38
17. Dallin Humes, Carbon, Sr., 16:50.66
18. Jonas Archibald, Morgan, Sr., 16:51.14
19. Evan Criddle, Carbon, Sr., 16:52.85
20. Samuel Wilson, Carbon, Sr., 16:57.09
21. Daxton Decker, Richfield, Sr., 17:01.85
22. Daniel Ekstrom, Ogden, Jr., 17:06.43
23. David Fisher, Logan, Jr., 17:06.99
24. Nicholas Randall, Canyon View, Jr., 17:07.80
25. Trace Needham, Logan, So., 17:11.81
26. Court Needham, Logan, So., 17:11.83
27. Ty Johnson, Grantsville, Sr., 17:13.86
28. Brayden Thomas, Richfield, Sr., 17:14.03
29. Cooper Duncan, Union, Jr., 17:15.77
30. Henry Rose, Morgan, Sr., 17:17.83
31. Bracken Hanson, Carbon, Jr., 17:18.60
32. William Heaton, Canyon View, Sr., 17:20.63
33. Benjamin Blanchard, Logan, So., 17:23.09
34. Andrew Francis, Ogden, Jr., 17:23.14
35. Caleb Lewis, Morgan, Jr., 17:23.31
36. Tyrik Cook, North Sanpete, So., 17:24.52
37. Seth Jenson, Carbon, Sr., 17:27.23
38. Josh Nielson, Ogden, Jr., 17:29.55
39. Henry Shahan, Logan, Sr., 17:29.79
40. Daniel Hodges, Ben Lomond, Jr., 17:31.33
41. Jaxson Bastian, Union, Jr., 17:33.28
42. Max Holtry, Morgan, Sr., 17:33.47
43. Roland Benroth, Ben Lomond, Jr., 17:33.90
44. Camden Davenport, Union, Jr., 17:34.81
45. Noah Ward, Logan, Sr., 17:34.95
46. Killian Olsen, North Sanpete, Sr., 17:35.87
47. Nicholas Dutson, Grantsville, Jr., 17:37.95
48. Asher Henry, Manti, So., 17:42.99
49. Seth Hopkin, Morgan, Jr., 17:43.25
50. Zander Robinson, Emery, Sr., 17:54.70