Before a single runner stepped on the course inside Sugarhouse Park for the state cross country meet, a lot of people expected American Fork to sweep the 5A team trophies.

After all, the Cavemen were a big favorite on the boys side, and many expected them to find a way to win on the girls side, too.

But they still had to go out there and race, and in cross country, you never know when that happens.

Ever.

Across the board, however, American Fork's runners not only met the challenges they faced at the state meet, they rose above them.

Producing what proved to be a banner day in the history of its school's athletic department, American Fork claimed the 5A boys and girls state championships in dominating fashion.

American Fork's girls team ran extremely well as a pack and finished 2-3-4 to post a convincing 32 places to 81 win over two-time defending champ Davis, while American Fork's boys team ran a very smart race and got a first-place finish by junior Austin West to post a commanding 36 places to 86 win over neighbor Pleasant Grove.

Those two state titles are the first in the history of American Fork's cross country program, and it's also the first time in 25 years that an American Fork boys team has won a state championship.

"This," said American Fork girls coach Bruno Hunziker, "is just a great day for American Fork High School. And it should make Utah County very proud, bringing home both of these trophies to one school and to a great principal (Carolyn Merrill) that supports every sport no matter what place they're in."

Davis junior Meghan Hedquist won individually on the girls side with a time of 18:50.8. She made her move during the second mile and survived a grueling finish to beat out what proved to be a surprising trio of American Fork runners.

That American Fork stars Alexis Laws and Morgan Warner finished second and third behind Hedquist wasn't surprising at all.

But that sophomore teammate Kaijsa Angerhofer finished fourth behind them?

Yeah, little different story.

"She's been my fifth runner usually," Hunziker said of Angerhofer, a sprinter who participated in cross country for the first time this fall. "It was a total surprise."

On the boys side, there weren't really any surprises about what American Fork did. The Cavemen simply raced intelligently from start to finish and methodically took down the rest of the field.

Behind West's individual victory, Clayton Young and Robby Lee finished 4-5, and MacKenzie Morrison (13th place) and Ashenafe Richardson (21st place) rounded out the Cavemen's scorers.