High school cross country: Canyon View girls claim first title, Ogden boys back on the podium in 3A

Ogden’s Avery Barton and Manti’s Paul Gardner captured individual stats titles

Published: Oct 27, 2026, 7:11 p.m. MDT

3A Cross-Country Championships at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Melissa covers University of Utah gymnastics and high school sports, and has been a Deseret News contributor since 2004.

The girls 3A cross country championship included first time winners on both the team and individual side.

On the team side, all three classifications’ region champions finished in the top three, with Canyon View hoisting its first girls’ trophy with a 55. The Falcons were followed by Ogden (61) and Union (93).

“We’ve always been dabbling in the top five,” explained Canyon View coach Mariam Steffensen, “but today was the day for the win.”

As Steffensen noted, Canyon View has always been in the mix, finishing third a season ago and recording a runner-up finish in the past few years. Steffensen admitted the team came in overconfident last year in what they could, so this year they worked on being ready to battle every meet with an “in it to win it” mentality.

That turned into a season where Canyon View became the favorite and made good on that Tuesday by going out and winning the championship.

“This is the most cohesive group of girls that I have ever coached, and they know their strengths and weaknesses, and have completely accepted everybody on the team for what they can do.

“They’re happy for each other when each other passes them. They know Ember (Sorenson) is the front runner and then they kind of pace a little bit off her, but they know full well that they are able to move ahead when they’re feeling it.”

Sorenson ran a strong race, finishing third overall and keeping pace early on with the other two leaders. Rounding out the top finishers for the Falcons was Taylee Hall in eighth, Emeline Fife in 11th, Briley Orton in 15thand Eliza Rice in 18th.

Individually, Ogden’s Avery Barton (17:49.88) was simply outstanding and too fast for anyone to catch. Emery’s Gentry Christiansen (18:43.61) and Sorenson (19.05.54), who each posted great races, rounded out the top three.

Barton, considered one of the state’s best runners, committed to the University of Utah on Monday and then won the 3A state championship Tuesday. Talk about a great week.

She, Christiansen and Sorenson pushed each other early, and eventually Barton and Christiansen had a fun battle ensuing between the two of them just like they have often across the years.

“I know Gentry super well and we’ve raced head-to-head many times, so I felt more confident with her next to me because I know she was feeling good, and if she’s feeling good, she’s pushing me as fast and as hard as she can,” explained Barton.

“I really like this race and I was feeling good, and as I was coming up on the backside, I knew that hill was going to start to destroy me after I went up it. So, I decided to try my hardest to get up that hill and get a little bit of a lead on her and I think that was the right decision.”

After Barton made the move, she admitted she had some extra confidence in the other rolling hills and roared ahead of the field to the impressive finish.

It was a bit of redemption for the runner who finished second in the race a season ago.

“I have always wanted to win state, and taking second last year was really frustrating,” admitted Barton. “It’s a really hard race and what I’ve been training for — you always dream of crossing the finish line in first so this is a fun one for sure.”

Barton’s time was the fastest of the day on the girl’s side that included the 6A and 5A classifications.

On the boys side, Ogden raced its way back to the podium after winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. It was a nice boost from a season ago when things were not in a typical place for the Tigers.

Ogden topped Carbon (71) and Grantsville (96) for the title.

“My boys were last in region last year, and they have dug in, bought in and done all the little things that have brought them to this point,” said Ogden coach Missy Allred. “We’ve got 12 boys that could run varsity this year, and they’ve pushed each other, held each other accountable and just kept working together.”

Allred admitted before the season began, she wasn’t sure what was in store for the boys’ team considering the prior year.

“They just kept getting faster and faster, and by the end of the season, they are state champions,” noted Allred. “It has been an amazing journey.”

For Ogden, it was definitely a team effort from both the coaches and the athletes to accomplish what they did. That and some strategy.

“We are at the one mile, and we were not winning this race, and we were at the two mile, and were not winning this race,” said Allred. “We were four points away at the two mile and so, I’ve got this number cruncher coach who did all that scoring and so we knew where we were and could tell them we need four more points.

“They went for it, and I think they started off right there, and you know that kick at the end — they passed who they needed to pass.”

It was a great day for the Tigers who netted first place on the boys side, a runner-up on the girls side and the individual trophy by Barton.

“We’re so proud of our athletes,” Allred added. “We’ve had these championships before, and this championship and runner up trophy mean the world to us today, and Avery’s win — it was pronounced.”

Ogden’s top finishers on the boys side were Daniel Ekstrom in third, Josh Nielson in 10th, Boone Burton in 12th,Andrew Francis in 15th and Tate Browning in 18th.

Manti’s Paul Gardner recorded a second-straight individual championship with a 15:45.21 finish. Jarom Findlay of Canyon View (16:03.18) was second while Ekstrom was third (16:23.76).

“I think I chilled a little bit more on the first mile than I did last year and then pushed it in the second and third mile,” said Gardner. “It was probably around the second gradual uphill, I started to separate.”

Gardner has been a dominant runner the past two seasons, he’s also a quiet and humble winner, admitting he ran in the same pair of shoes he won the title in last year even though they have small hole in the outer layer.

“They got spiked the first time I wore them, but they work great, so I wasn’t going to change them.”

As for adding a second title, he doesn’t seem to favor one over the other but recognizes they are different.

“Last year it was fun to run with the seniors, this year I’m a senior,” said Gardner. “The weather was definitely better this year, but really, I just enjoy coming out here and helping my team.”