Fremont captures sixth straight 5A team title

One medalist at this year's state high school girls cross country championships expected to be on top, while another had no idea she'd be there. And a third top runner finished her race only to find herself disqualified. So went things at Sugar House Park on Wednesday afternoon.

When the dust settled, nationally ranked Fremont won its sixth straight state title and fifth straight in 5A, while Mountain Crest, Park City, North Sevier and Wayne also took home team gold.

Fremont's Cassie Ricks defended her 5A title, this year finishing at 18:33.9. Davis freshman Candace Eddy was second at 18:55.1, and Mountain View's Sarah Yingling, a sophomore, came in third at 18:59. Though Ricks wasn't pushed much in the race, or all season long for that matter, her time was still 13 seconds faster than a year ago.

"I'm a cold-weather runner, and we didn't have that today, but we ran well enough to win," she said, adding that despite having never failed in her four years to be on a state championship team, "it's just as thrilling every year."

Silver Wolves coach Amber Tingey acknowledged that her troops "definitely didn't have our best race of the year, but these girls do whatever it takes to succeed. They motivate themselves to try to get better and better each week, and they're a very close-knit group." In fact, Tingey says this year's senior-laden team is the best she's ever coached. Five of the top seven runners for Fremont graduate this year.

Jordan edged Weber by three points for the silver trophy. Freshman Stephanie Burt and senior Erin Fuller had top 20 finishes for the Beetdiggers, while Weber's Haley Reeves finished fifth overall to lead the Warriors.

Everyone expected Ricks to win her race, but few realized that Mountain Crest freshman Macinze O'very would best all her competitors to take the 4A medalist honors, least of all her.

"I had no idea I would do this well," she said after holding off Payson's Melissa Baird and Orem's Kendy Christensen for the title. O'very's winning time was 19:01.0, but more importantly, she led the Mustangs to an 11-point victory over Orem for the team title. Sophomore Kimber Labrum was fourth, and Mountain Crest had only one senior among its top five finishers, meaning the Mustangs are secrets no more. Orem had two other top ten finishers in Krystal Harper (fifth) and Kate Harline (sixth), while Woods Cross' Trisha Wright was seventh.