High school cross-country: Set for state meets

It's time for Utah's best prep cross country runners to show what they've got.

All five classifications will hold their championship races at Sugarhouse Park on Wednesday, and as is always the case, there's no shortage of interesting storylines heading into that all-important meet.

Here's a quick look at what to expect from each classification on Wednesday:

CLASS 5A: While there are certainly no guarantees about anything, it's hard to see American Fork's nationally-ranked boys team not walking away with the title.

Deep and talented, the Cavemen have been solid all season, and they'll look to put it all together and show just how dominant they can be this week. Junior Austin West leads the way for American Fork, and he's got a bunch of solid guys underneath him.

Individually, West will likely battle sophomore Steven Morrin of Lone Peak for the championship. Morrin established himself as the front-runner earlier in the season, but West has beaten him twice in a row, setting up what promises to be an entertaining winner-take-all battle between the two Utah County stars.

Meanwhile, Davis' girls team will be a slight underdog in its attempt to hold off American Fork and win its third consecutive 5A title, as Davis star junior Meghan Hedquist and her teammates will trade swords with American Fork's talented stable of runners.

CLASS 4A: Expect a number of intriguing battles to unfold in this classification, starting perhaps with the individual race on the girls side, where a number of runners could all emerge with a win.

Box Elder's Kelsey Braithwaite has been regarded as 4A's favorite throughout the season, but she'll face stiff, stiff competition in her attempt to win a state championship.

Braithwaite was beaten by Avery Calton of Ogden at the Region 5 meet recently, and there are several other girls that will also go into Wednesday's race believing they can beat out the others. Among them will be Summer Harper of Orem, Ashley Robison, Ashleigh Warner and Kelsey Brown of Mountain View and Kate Stringfellow of Highland.

Per the team race, Mountain View's impressive strength is expected to win the day.

On the boys side, Mountain View will enter as a slight favorite ahead of Timpanogos and Pine View. Mountain View edged Timpanogos at region, but if the Bruins run to their potential — as many expect them to — it's hard to see them being beaten at state. Pine View, if it puts everything together, could be dangerous.