Mtn. View captures both titles at Y. meet

OREM — Mountain View won team titles at the BYU Autumn Classic cross country meet at Cascade Golf Course on Saturday, perhaps making a statement that the Bruins will, once again, be a team to contend with for state championships.

The Bruins, who moved up to class 5A this year, were led by senior transfer Adam McDonald in the boys' race. He finished the 5K course in a time of 16:06.7 to easily hold off a trio of runners 35 seconds behind him. In the girls' race, it was Judge Memorial's Samantha Gaffney winning the individual title in 19:28.4, establishing herself as one of the top female harriers in Utah this season.

McDonald moved to Orem with his mother from Los Angeles this summer, enrolling for his senior year at Mountain View. Though he's still getting adjusted to the altitude, it showed little effect on him Saturday. He took the lead from the beginning and finished ahead of Springville's Rex Shields, Skyline's Stephen Clark and Nick Gaitan of Judge Memorial, all of whom were in a tight pack behind McDonald. Kyle McKenna of Viewmont placed fifth.

"My mother was raised in Orem, so she wanted to come back home near family," McDonald said. "I didn't run well last week because I've been fighting the flu, so I wanted to prove to myself today that I could overcome that and be competitive." He was that and more at Cascade.

"Adam landed on our doorstep, and he's really fitting in well," stated Bruins coach Dave Houle, who has a strong program once again this season. "He's made a lot of friends since he's been here, and today I think he showed what he's capable of doing."

Gaffney also showcased her immense talent, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Orem's Krystal Harper in the girls' race. The Judge Memorial senior, who is being heavily recruited collegiately and has narrowed her choices to Washington, Notre Dame and Boston College, was pleased with her time.

"I've been working on the mental mile, trying to just get a little stronger each week," she said. Gaffney joined her peers in praising the Cascade layout with some hills and dales but, most importantly, running completely on grass, similar to all college meets. Harper was followed by two Davis High underclassmen, freshman Candace Eddy in third and sophomore Natalie Haws in fourth. Bingham's Kim Quinn rounded out the top five.

Mountain View's Sarah Yingling, a sophomore, led the Bruins to victory, along with the performances of two other sophs, Alexis Harrison and Katie Harris.

The Bruins were followed in the boys' team standings by Judge Memorial, Bingham, Davis and Cedar. The top five girls' teams were Mountain View, Judge Memorial, Mountain Crest, Orem and American Fork.

Most of the major contenders in the 3A-5A divisions were present for the classic, the exception being the nationally ranked Fremont girls team, and Park City star Elli Reed, who was on a college recruit visit.

This week's schedule includes the Mt. Pleasant Invite on Wednesday for 1A and 2A schools, the annual Murray Invitational on Friday, and two Saturday invites in Pleasant Grove and at Bear River High. The next large invitational is the Wahsatch Rendezvous at the Cottonwood Complex on Sept. 24.