State cross country: Aagard, Lone Peak girls repeat in dominant 6A title win

SALT LAKE CITY — Andie Aagard made the most of her final season of high school cross country, and so did her Lone Peak team.

Aagard blitzed to a winning time of 17 minutes, 25.9 seconds, and the Knights came as close to perfection as possible with five of the top-six finishers en route to their third 6A cross country title in four years Tuesday in Rose Park.

Aagard posted a time that would've ranked among the best in 6A state history on the previous course at Sugarhouse Park and Highland High School, before the state meet's move to the Salt Lake Regional Complex, according to the Utah High School Activities Association record book.

"I'm not planning on running in college, and I just wanted to put it out there," said Aagard, a nationally ranked mountain biker. "I've been injured lately, and it's been kind of frustrating. I wasn't sure about this race, but once we hit the 800, I felt like we could do this."

The Knights nearly swept the race, but for American Fork's Avalon Mecham, who finished second in 17:38.4.

But behind her came Lone Peak's Addie Meldrum (17:45.4), Maya Bybee (17:48.3), Boston Bybee (17:53.1) and Anna Bybee (18:11.17) to round out Lone Peak's scoring with a team score of 19.

The Cavemen finished second with three top-10 finishers with 48 points, followed by Westlake, Riverton and Herriman.

"We all work together, and it's so fun," said Maya Bybee, the first of the Bybee cousins to cross the finish line. "It was really fun. We just wanted to run and do our best, try to stick together. I'm so grateful to be on this team, and they're such good examples for me."

The deep finish is what excited Aagard the most, too, as the two-time reigning 6A champion now turns her attention toward the NXR Southwest girls championship and Nike Cross Nationals.

"It really made me smile, because I'm really excited to see how we can do this year at NXN and NXR, at the national level," Aagard said. "If I had gotten first or second, I don't know if it would've made a huge difference to me; that's not my main focus. It was more of what my team can do and how far we can go this year."

See the final results from each classification below.

6A girls

Top 5 teams (points)

1. Lone Peak (19)
2. American Fork (48)
3. Westlake (111)
4. Riverton (145)
5. Herriman (159)

Top 10 individuals

1. Andie Aagard, Sr., Lone Peak — 17:25.9
2. Avalon Mecham, Sr., American Fork — 17:38.4
3. Addie Meldrum, Sr., Lone Peak — 17:45.4
4. Maya Bybee, Fr., Lone Peak — 17:48.3
5. Boston Bybee, Jr., Lone Peak — 17:53.1
6. Anna Bybee, So., Lone Peak — 18:11.7
7. Cailey Bracken, Sr., Mountain Ridge — 18:17.6
8. Skye Jensen, Fr., American Fork — 18:20.0
9. Millie Robinson, Jr., Westlake — 18:20.9
10. Sophie Steiger, So., American Fork — 18:22.7

5A girls

Timpview underclassmen Jane Hedengren and Lily Alder topped the podium in first and third, respectively, to help the Thunderbirds roll to their first team title since 1996.

Hedengren, a junior who won three state titles last year in track and was the Gatorade Utah track athlete of the year, won her second-straight individual championship in 17:14.7, beating her title-winning time as a sophomore by nearly 11 seconds.

Alder, a sophomore, finished third in 17:34.6, and all four of Timpview's scoring runners finished in the top 25 in Ellie Esplin, Kaylee Cheney and Gwen Boulton.

Top 5 teams (points)

1. Timpview (62)
2. Maple Mountain (103)
3. Springville (118)
4. Box Elder (162)
5. Viewmont (185)

Top 10 individuals

1. Jane Hedengren, Jr., Timpview — 17:14.7
2. Adria Favero, Fr., Olympus — 17:29.8
3. Lily Alder, So. Timpview — 17:34.6
4. Ashlynn Lainhart, So., Maple Mountain — 18:28.0
5. Kate Giles, Sr., Wasatch — 18:30.4
6. Jasmine Pacheco, Jr., Cyprus — 18:31.1
7. Nicole Wayment, Jr., Bonneville — 18:33.7
8. Sienna Barton, Sr., Bonneville — 18:34.4
9. Helena Gutierrez, Sr., West — 18:489.1
10. Maya Boyer, So., Springville — 19:58.9

4A girls

Julie Moore's individual title in 18:01.6 paced Mountain View to its state-record 20th team title and first since 2011.

Abby Stone added a top-five finish for the Bruins in 18:52.2, and Lily Waite finished 10th in 19:11.0.

Top 5 teams (points)

• Mountain View (54)
• Timpanogos (92)
• Orem (101)
• Green Canyon (128)
• Pine View (147)

Top 10 individuals

1. Julie Moore, Jr., Mountain View — 18:01.6
2. Ava Trimble, Sr., Orem — 18:34.5
3. Hailey Shakespear, Jr., Green Canyon — 18:36.2
4. Abby Stone, Sr., Mountain View — 18:52.2
5. Hadlie Ballard, Jr., Green Canyon — 18:59.1
6. Sonja Preston, So., Park City — 18:59.2
7. Molly Walton, Sr., Timpanogos — 19:03.1
8. Madelyn Embley, Jr., Orem — 19:08.5
9. Lucy Eckley, Jr., Cedar — 19:08.6
10. Lily Waite, So., Mountain View — 19:11.0

3A girls

Ogden freshman Clara Geddes placed sixth with a time of 19:24.1 to lead the Tigers to their second state title in three years.

Kaitlyn Blackham added a 10th-place finish for Ogden, which did all its scoring in the top-25.

Carbon's Rozlyn Stowe won the individual championship in 17:45.4.

Top 5 teams (points)

1. Ogden (69)
2. Canyon View (94)
3. Carbon (108)
4. Emery (117)
5. Judge Memorial (124)

Top 10 individuals

1. Rozlyn Stowe, So., Carbon — 17:45.4
2. Jaylie Jenkins, Jr., Union — 18:18.5
3. Gentry Christiansen, Fr., Emery — 18:28.9
4. River White, Jr., Union — 19:04.7
5. Isabelle McCullough, So., Summit Academy — 19:11.1
6. Clara Geddes, Fr., Ogden — 19:24.1
7. Addyson Guymon, So., Emery — 19:27.7
8. Sophia Taylor, Sr., Carbon — 19:29.4
9. Corrine Higgins, Jr., Judge Memorial — 19:30.2
10. Kaitlyn Blackham, Sr., Ogden — 19:32.2

2A girls

Julia Rust's top-five finish in 19:58.4 helped North Summit hold off Grand County by a single point for the Braves' third-straight state title.

Chayden Sargent (20:50.9), Ava Sargent (20:55.5) and Charly Sargent (21:05.8) each added a top-10 finish for North Summit, which placed four scoring runners in the top 10 and five in the top-12.

Grand's Cadence Kasprick won the individual title in 17:49.7, with teammate Ainsleigh Kasprick close behind in 19:08.4.

Top 5 teams (points)

1. North Summit (40)
2. Grand County (41)
3. San Juan (124)
4. Beaver (146)
5. Millard (155)

Top 10 individuals

1. Cadence Kasprick, Sr., Grand — 17:49.7
2. Kennidee Glazier, So., Kanab — 18:15.5
3. Ainsleigh Kasprick, Jr., Grand — 19:08.5
4. Julia Rust, Sr., North Summit — 19:58.4
5. Gemma Phillips, Fr., Grand — 20:22.8
6. Kyra Moat, Jr., Millard — 20:28.0
7. Elaine Lunsford, Jr., Intermountain Christian — 20:40.1
8. Chayden Sargent, So., North Summit — 20:50.9
9. Esther Nielsen, So., Water Canyon — 20:51.8
10. Ava Sargent, So., North Summit — 20:55.5

1A girls

Panguitch's Tabie Henrie won top honors with a time of 19:03.6 to help the Wildcats cruise to their fourth-straight 1A state title Tuesday at the Regional Athletic Complex.

Panguitch sophomore Brooke Albrecht and freshman Annie Yardley each added a top-10 finish in 19:47.0 and 209:21.3, respectively, to help the Wildcats to their ninth team title — tied for the fifth-most in UHSAA state history.

Top 5 teams (points)

1. Panguitch (26)
2. Rich (50)
3. Whitehorse (54)
4. Monticello (58)
5. Altamont (81)

Top 10 individuals

1. Tabie Henrie, Sr., Panguitch — 19:03.6
2. Keiarra Martin, Fr, Whitehorse — 19:30.3
3. Marah Long, Jr., Monticello — 19:38.5
4. Brooke Albrecht, So., Panguitch — 19:47.0
5. Paige Smith, Fr., Rich — 20:13.5
6. Annie Yardley, Fr., Panguitch — 20:21.3
7. Maddie Osterhout, Sr., Valley — 21:11.6
8. Lyda Taylor, Fr., Rich — 21:38.1
9. Ayla Carling, Jr., Monticello — 21:41.8
10. Kennedy Carter, Jr., Altamont — 21:51.7

Related topics