Bingham, Copper Hills win cross country meet

Bingham senior Kim Quinn let everyone know she's going to be tough to beat at the state meet next Wednesday.

This past Monday, Quinn dominated and won the individual race at the Region 3 cross country championship. The steady runner was never threatened in the race at the Cottonwood Complex and appears ready to take on the best runners in the state.

"I'm excited," Quinn said. "I always want to push myself."

Coach Jeff Arbogast says her convincing win at the region championship should make her a favorite to win the state title.

"I think she'll win it," Arbogast says. "When you race at the state meet about 50 percent of the time the favorite will win."

Quinn is certainly a favorite as one of the top distance runners in 5A. The rest of Bingham's girls didn't run as stealthy as Quinn, but they managed to take third place at the region championship. As predicted, the Bingham boys were able to win the region championship by defeating Riverton, Kearns and the rest of the region.

The Miners' Ryan Barrus and Nate Jewkes finished first and second. Barrus ran the 5K with the great time of 16:11, beating his surprised teammate in the process.

"That's the first time he's beat me all year," Jewkes said.

Not only did the effort catch Jewkes off guard, it also impressed his coach.

"16:11 — that's just unbelievable," said Arbogast, the long-time Miners coach. "He really ran tough today. That was amazing."

Despite some tension about the outcome of the boys region championship, most coaches believed it was Bingham's race to lose. Riverton pressed the issue early, but after the first leg several of the Silverwolves' runners had fallen back.

Macy Butterfield stayed strong the whole way, finishing third behind the two Bingham runners. Kearns' boys made a strong showing, taking third place, and West Jordan's boys also raised some eyebrows with a fourth-place finish. Bingham, Riverton, Kearns and West Jordan all qualified for the state meet.

The Copper Hills girls cross country team got all it wanted from Riverton at the region championship. When the dust settled, the defending region champion had survived a tough test.

"Riverton gave us one heck of a race," said Copper Hills coach Garth Rushforth.