High school cross country: Panguitch girls, Monticello boys claim 1A titles

SALT LAKE CITY — Panguitch freshman Whittni Orton crossed the finish line nearly a minute ahead of the rest of the competition, and led the Bobcats to a second consecutive girls cross country title Wednesday afternoon with a time of 19:18.9.

Lyna Garcia finished in second for St. Joseph with a time of 20:02.3, while fellow Jayhawk Kaite Weil crossed the line in fifth place to help St. Joseph to a third-place team finish.

"Last year we we're kind of an unknown, and this year we had a little more pressure on us, but the girls sure came through and ran well today," said Panguitch head coach Danny Yardley.

Panguitch's Catania Holman crossed the finish line in third place, and McKayla Heaton sealed the Bobcats' team title with her sixth-place finish. With the lot of underclassmen set to compete for years to come at Panguitch, it was a welcome sight for coach Yardley to see his squad claim the title.

"It's a lot of pressure on them for the rest of your careers, but it also says a lot about the rest of this team. You can't win with two fast girls, and our other five really came to compete today and had a fantastic meet," said Yardley.

Wayne ran away with the second place team title, when the freshman trio of Lauren Jackson, Brooke Barney and Hannah Ellett all finished in the top 12 of Wednesday's 3-mile run.

On the boys' side of 1A, Monticello stormed to a second consecutive team title. Collin Hatch was the first Buckaroo to cross the finish line in eighth place, followed by a slew of teammates finishing in the 10-15 spots.

"The thing is we don't have a top-notch runner. They all just get together and push each other every single day," said Monticello head coach Jeff Hunt. "They are just brothers."

Panguitch nearly had its hands on a sweep in 1A, when Kyler Norris and Keldon Norris finished in the top six on Wednesday.

For Monticello, a second consecutive team title was much sweeter this time around.

"This one is better. Last year we thought we could do it, and went from eighth to first place, but this year to see the boys band together like this is great," said coach Hunt. "The guys lined up, believing that in every race we could do it, and that's what we saw this morning."

Valley's Colby Spencer dominated the 1A field to take home the individual state title for the second consecutive year. He was just the third runner in 1A history to repeat as state champion and the first in over a decade.

Class 1A State Cross Country Meet

At Sugarhouse Park

Boys team scores

1. Monticello, 45; 2. Panguitch, 87; 3. Bryce Valley, 88; 4. St. Joseph, 120; 5. Piute, 133; 6. Valley, 146; 7. Duchesne, 165; 8. West Ridge, 253.

Boys individual results

1. Colby Spencer, Valley, 16:34.2; 2. Ethan Young, Milford, 17:05.6; 3. Kyler Norris, Panguitch, 17:09.9; 4. Zach Johnstun, St. Joseph, 17:14.9; 5. Dylan Lindsay, Altamont, 17:20.7; 6. Keldon Norris, Panguitch, 17:270; 7. Adam Platt, Bryce Valley, 17:34.8; 8. Collin Hatch, Monticello, 17:39.5; 9. Vance Weston, Rich, 17:39.7; 10. Justin Wright, Monticello, 17:41.7; 11. Easton Nielson, Monticello, 17:42.8; 12. Jens Brewer, Monticello, 17:55.8; 13. Sheldon Black, Monticello, 18:00.2; 14. Tyler Bird, Monticello, 18:01.5; 15. Kyler LaRose, Monticello, 18:01.8; 16. Taryn Syrett, Bryce Valley, 18:09.5; 17. Andrwe Ord, Piute, 18:17.6; 18. Tommy Rowley, Duchesne, 18:20.6; 19. Charles Joseph, St. Joseph, 18:21.7; 20. Connor Letendre, St. Joseph, 18:21.9.

Girls team scores