High school cross country: Historic run from Jackson Spencer leads Herriman boys to 6A title, Lone Peak girls win 4th straight

Herriman’s Jackson Spencer entered Wednesday’s 6A state cross country meet as the top-ranked runner in the country — and the senior didn’t disappoint.

Spencer broke from the field early and was never challenged as he ran the fastest time ever recorded at the Utah state championships. Spencer covered the 5,000-meter course in 14:29.78.

“It was great and the goal was to get Casey Clinger’s record, so I went out fast and tried my best to hold it,” Spencer said. “It’s kinda crazy but this is the goal I had all season and I’m surprising myself every race.”

Lehi’s Miles Braithwaite placed second (15:17.45), Herriman’s Eli Jarvis was third (15:18.27) and American Fork runners Grant Hejny (15:18.39) and Chase Hejny (15:19.18) were fourth and fifth respectively.

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While Spencer’s individual title was never in doubt, the team race came down to just two points, with Herriman (60) edging American Fork (62).

“It’s so hard in a race like this where you have a team like American Fork putting that much pressure on you,” said Herriman coach Doug Soles. “They were leading for a while, so to see our guys come back in that final 400 meters was special. These guys do a lot of tough stuff to make sure they are ready for the big races.”

Wednesday’s team championship makes it back-to-back 6A titles for the Mustangs.

In the girls 6A race, American Fork junior Skye Jensen won a second consecutive state title, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17:38.92.

“I know I’m really good at descending the hills, so I used that to my advantage,” she said.

Jensen entered the big hill of the first mile of Wednesday’s race among the leaders. Moments later she came cruising down the descending portion of that same hill and never looked back, eventually breaking away from Lone Peak’s Maya Bybee (17:52.71) over the final mile of the race.

“It is so fun to be part of the American Fork running community with both the girls and the boys,” she said.

Lone Peak’s Brielle Nilsson finished third (18:04.31), American Fork’s Mae Glassford was fourth (18:06) with Lone Peak’s Paityn Rohatinsky (18:12.65) rounding out the top-five.

The Lone Peak girls rolled to their fourth consecutive 6A title, scoring 31 points to outpace Riverton, who finished with 52.

Lone Peak coach Courtney Meldrum reflected on her senior group of athletes.

“I almost quit when these freshmen came in four years ago,” she said. “I stayed the course and I’m so glad I did. No matter what, they stayed the course and have been dynamic as people both on and off the course.”

Class 6A Girls State Championship

Team scores

1. Lone Peak, 31
2. American Fork, 52
3. Riverton, 127
4. Westlake, 160
5. Weber, 188
6. Davis, 189
7. Skyridge, 191
8. Layton, 192
9. Lehi, 209
10. Herriman, 248

Girls individual results

1. Skye Jensen, American Fork, Jr., 17:38.92
2. Maya Bybee, Lone Peak, Jr., 17:52.71
3. Brielle Nilsson, Lone Peak, Sr., 18:04.31
4. Mae Glassford, American Fork, Fr., 18:06.94
5. Paityn Rohatinsky, Lone Peak, Jr., 18:12.65
6. Eliza Thornley, Layton, So., 18:14.90
7. Catherine Wald, Weber, Sr., 18:18.31
8. Cali Dooley, American Fork, Fr., 18:19.98
9. Hailey Atwater, Lone Peak, Jr., 18:24.19
10. Isabella Cram, Davis, Jr., 18:24.21
11. Sarah Watson, American Fork, So., 18:29.08
12. Tatum Brewer, Lone Peak, So., 18:29.95
13. Grace Swanson, Riverton, Sr., 18:44.07
14. Leah Larson, Riverton, Sr., 18:44.98
15. Talia Anderson, Westlake, Sr., 18:45.45
16. Laney Martin, Lehi, So., 18:47.23
17. Aubrey Meyers, Westlake, Jr., 18:47.31
18. Lily Clawson, Herriman, Jr., 18:50.52
19. Zoey Nilsson, Lone Peak, Sr., 18:53.39
20. Erin Christensen, Davis, So., 18:53.91
21. Maya Parker, Westlake, Sr., 18:57.34
22. Anna Bybee, Lone Peak, Sr., 18:58.51
23. Lucy Hawkins, Skyridge, Sr., 19:01.56
24. Brooklyn Tarr, Mountain Ridge, Sr., 19:07.48
25. Kennedy Hadley, Syracuse, Sr., 19:08.72
26. Ava Clawson, Herriman, So., 19:09.32
27. Lyla Swain, Riverton, So., 19:11.86
28. Shay Smith, American Fork, Jr., 19:12.05
29. Elizabeth Tolman, Layton, Sr., 19:15.77
30. Sophie Bahr, American Fork, Jr., 19:19.66
31. Ella Hodges, Riverton, Jr., 19:28.17
32. Adelaide Hale, Weber, Fr., 19:28.59
33. Rebekah Jacob, American Fork, So., 19:31.51
34. Ellie Chambers, Syracuse, So., 19:35.57
35. Clara Madsen, Skyridge, Sr., 19:35.66
36. Savanah Haynie, Mountain Ridge, So., 19:38.96
37. Heidi Mills, Corner Canyon, Jr., 19:41.01
38. Addison Loveland, Davis, So., 19:42.90
39. Alice Wilhelm, Layton, So., 19:46.25
40. Maggie Peterson, Lehi, So., 19:46.96
41. Jane Hawkins, Skyridge, So., 19:47.73
42. Amelia Poulson, Riverton, Fr., 19:48.60
43. Kate Lang, Weber, Sr., 19:49.60
44. Abigail Finley, Skyridge, Fr., 19:54.59
45. Eilley Baker, Lehi, Fr., 19:56.51
46. Marci Havens, Westlake, Sr., 19:59.94
47. Isabel Preston, Riverton, Jr., 20:00.18
48. Claire Wallgren, Skyridge, Sr., 20:00.40
49. Elsie Thacker, Layton, Fr., 20:01.95
50. Sophie Bush, Cedar Valley, Jr., 20:02.12

Class 6A Boys State Championship

Team scores

1. Herriman, 60
2. American Fork, 62
3. Riverton, 95
4. Westlake, 105
5. Lehi, 130
6. Davis, 158
7. Skyridge, 174
8. Lone Peak, 204
9. Layton, 210
10. Weber, 307

Boys individual results

1. Jackson Spencer, Herriman, Sr., 14:29.78
2. Miles Braithwaite, Lehi, Sr., 15:17.45
3. Eli Jarvis, Herriman, Sr., 15:18.27
4. Grant Hejny, American Fork, Sr., 15:18.39
5. Chase Hejny, American Fork, So., 15:19.18
6. Falcon Jones, Westlake, So., 15:20.70
7. David Webb, American Fork, So., 15:22.49
8. Caden Bybee, Lone Peak, Jr., 15:24.32
9. Kurt Perry, Riverton, So., 15:26.22
10. David Oman, Riverton, Jr., 15:29.62
11. Tanner Morgan, Westlake, Sr., 15:30.47
12. Jameson Lowry, Lehi, Sr., 15:32.56
13. Harrison Skousen, Davis, Jr., 15:33.29
14. Boston Rindlisbacher, Riverton, Jr., 15:33.72
15. Noah Hauck, Davis, Jr., 15:35.05
16. Trevin Lounsbury, Herriman, Jr., 15:36.49
17. William Van Tress, Herriman, Sr., 15:36.72
18. Ian Greene, Skyridge, Sr., 15:40.52
19. Dallin Harrington, American Fork, Sr., 15:43.27
20. Phoenix Jones, Westlake, So., 15:44.67
21. Zachary Smith, Syracuse, Sr., 15:47.16
22. Matyas Bird, Westlake, Sr., 15:47.35
23. Camron Johnson, Herriman, Jr., 15:48.16
24. Wyatt Rich, Weber, Sr., 15:48.29
25. Jack Grossen, Skyridge, Jr., 15:49.99
26. G Perry, Riverton, Sr., 15:50.03
27. Roy Jones, American Fork, Jr., 15:52.83
28. Jonas Clay, Davis, Jr., 15:53.55
29. Jake Pugmire, Layton, Sr., 15:56.11
30. Parker Harris, Layton, So., 15:56.97
31. Bennett Jensen, American Fork, Fr., 15:58.04
32. Brayden Barlow, Lehi, So., 15:59.82
33. Brock Doman, Corner Canyon, Jr., 16:04.30
34. Eli Wardle, Herriman, Jr., 16:05.67
35. Landon Carter, Skyridge, So., 16:06.57
36. Tyson Gubler, Riverton, Sr., 16:07.61
37. Lincoln Goodwin, Lone Peak, Sr., 16:10.25
38. Zane Taylor, Skyridge, So., 16:10.70
39. Owen McMullin, Lehi, So., 16:10.77
40. Lincoln Swan, Layton, Sr., 16:11.59
41. Austin Plewe, American Fork, Sr., 16:12.34
42. Colin Pugmire, Layton, Sr., 16:14.79
43. Parker Olsen, Davis, Jr., 16:14.90
44. Erik Bryant, Weber, Jr., 16:15.70
45. Milo Amakasu, Lehi, So., 16:16.37
46. Brennan Keogh, Westlake, Jr., 16:18.98
47. Matthew Lord, Copper Hills, Sr., 16:20.02
48. Ryan Etherington, Corner Canyon, Sr., 16:21.54
49. Lincoln Barlow, Farmington, Fr., 16:23.02
50. Teague Johnson, Lone Peak, Jr., 16:23.26