Candace Greenwood of Orem is a favorite for the Region 7 Title- Photo by Kyle Perry
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The final spots at the 2013 State Cross Country Championships will be earned on Wednesday at the remaining Regional Meets around the state. Going off what I've seen, the average times of each team, and a little help from a few coaches, I have compiled a little preview of what can be expected from Region 5, 7, 8, 11, and 19.
Region 5- The Region 5 Championships will be hosted by newcomer Ogden High School. On the Girls side of things, the favorites have to be Ogden and Mountain Crest. Mountain Crest entered the season ranked #1 in the SW Region but haven’t quite raced to that level. Ogden beat them at the Highland Invite, but when you take out all the other teams scorers it could swing either way. It definitely looks to be a very tight battle on paper. Sky View looks like they are a pretty solid 3rd with Box Elder looking to hold off Logan for the final qualifying spot. Both Box Elder and Logan have a great #1 runner, and each have a pretty similar spread, but both have a pretty big gap between 1-5 so it will go to whichever team can reduce that 1-5 spread.
Individually the overwhelming favorite is Sarah Feeny. Feeny is one of the best runners in the country this year, and the only person in the region very close to her is Hannah Malone of Box Elder. It’s not an impossible feat for Malone, but it will be difficult. Miranda O’very is Mountain Crest’s number one runner, and she has had days that she can run with anyone, but Feeny is just too consistent that it is hard to vote against her. Vickie Krull is the top from Logan and Cate Carabine of Ogden is another name to watch for.
In the boys race it looks like Ogden is a strong favorite. They are ranked #9 in the SW region and are improving right now. They should win the region and are looking to do big things at the state meet as well. Logan is our Pick for second with Sky View picked Third. There is a tight race in store for the last spot that is within reach for Mountain Crest, Box Elder and Bonneville. It really is too close to call between those three and what could really help Mountain Crest pull it off would be their 5th man. He is the best 5th man of the bunch and that could make all the difference.
Individually Connor Mantz of Skyview is one of the top in the country. He was a Footlocker Finalist last season and will be looking to add a state title to his resume. Mike Buckley of Ogden is a strong runner and would love to knock off Mantz. Andy Penman of Bonneville, Justin Sheets of Ogden, Tanner Blaylock of Box Elder, and Thomas Johnson of Logan are the top individuals in the battle for third.
Region 7- Orem High will host the Region 7 meet at Scera Park. The top 4 teams all seem to have separated themselves from the rest of the region and shouldn’t have trouble making state, the question is who will win the region? Orem, Timpanogos, Mountain View, and Skyline all have the ability to win the meet. Orem and Skyline have the smallest spread on average, while Timpanogos has been very strong, and competes at its best in the bigger meets, but in a smaller meet it is easier for teams like Orem to make up the difference. Skyline girls posted a good win early in the season and could beat out both teams. Mountain View is ranked a little behind based on season best times, but they are not a team to overlook. Especially if their 4th and 5th girls have a good day, they could to take the Region title as well. It really is up in the air.
Candace Greenwood of Orem is in her best form right now, and that could give her the edge over Mary Christiensen of Timpanogos, Kami Codner of Mountain View, Caroline Weiler of Skyline, and Rachel Bocanegra of Timpanogos. Every one of these girls has faced each other and knows they can win it. Right now I have to give the nod to Greenwood.
The Orem boys were underrated entering the season, but after their performance at the Murray Invite they showed they are the real deal. at the most recent meet, the Westlake Classic, they were 6th just ahead of Region rival Mountain View. At different races throughout the season both Mountain View and Timpanogos have shown that they are also capable of beating anyone. Apart from Ogden’s state title chances, the 4A podium at the state meet could come entirely from this region. The battle for 4th and 5th will likely be Olympus and Skyline.
Region 8- The Region 8 Championship will be hosted by Salem Hills HS. The boys team race should be very exciting. Led by Joshua Collins, the Wasatch Wasps average just over one minute for their 1-5 runners, and that is their strong point. Springville has a great team leader of their own in Owen Gardner. Gardner led Springville at the Westlake Invite where they beat Wasatch by only 8 points. In a smaller meet Springville will have an edge because they have a better 1-4 and a 90 second spread isn’t as big a deal if there aren’t as many people displacing scorers. Salem Hills won the Utah State invitational earlier in the season and if they can perform like that they can also mix it up for the win. Cameron Robinson will look to guide Provo to the state championship as well, as they are picked 4th in the region to grab the last qualifying spot.
Collins of Wasatch is a frontrunner, He usually gets out early and push the pace. Expect him to do the same this week, and see if he can shake the pack. Owen Gardner of Springville and Gavin Hasty of Salem Hills will keep him as close as they can and see if they can pick him off in the second half of the race. Gardner has the fastest 3 mile time in the region so far this year. His time of 15:07 put him 10 seconds ahead of Collins at the end of the day. Hasty has a season best of 15:21 for 3 Miles and he will look to challenge the leaders. Issac Faux of Maple Mountain is also a name to keep an eye on. Not sure if his team can get that 4th spot at state but he will expect to be advancing past this meet.
On the girls side of things Maple Mountain seems to be a safe bet for advancing beyond regionals. Behind them, Provo, Springville, Salem Hills, and Timpview all have shown they can grab a top 4 spot at the region meet. Maple Mountain was 4th at the BYU Autumn Classic, with an average time of 19:12, Timpview and Provo’s average times were nearly 90 seconds slower. If they finish the same way they did at BYU it will be Maple Mountain, Provo, Timpview, and then Springville. Timpview ran well at the Cedar Invitational on the 4th and that’s what makes me think they might be better than the team we saw at the BYU invite. At the Nebo invite all 5 teams met, and the order there was Maple Mountain, Provo, Salem Hills, Timpview, and then Springville. That is how I see things shaking out again this Wednesday.
Individually, no one should be able to keep pace with Britney Lund. She is a huge favorite and will be happy to competing on a course closer to home. Megan Robinson of Springville is the only other girl in the region who has run sub 18 this season, so she will be eyeing Lund. If Springville doesn’t make it as a team, Robinson and Julie Sumsion should be able to go to state still, as they are ranked 2-3 in the region. Also watch for Provo Duo of Kate Hunter and Clarissa Chipman as they are picks for top 5 finishes.
Region 11- Region 11 will be hosted at Cottonwood Complex, and will feature teams from Tooele, Stansbury, Granstville, Bear River, and Ben Lomond. These teams haven’t raced head to head much this season, so it is hard to say exactly who will beat who. What we do know is Stansbury has run well against other top teams in the state, so unless there are some sleepers in the Region, Stansbury should win both Boys and Girls title.
On the Girls side of things Stansbury looks pretty good. They are led by Maggie Beazer and Sidney Warrick who have the fastest 3 mile times in the region this season. They won the Premier Invite at the beginning of the season in convincing fashion, beating Tooele by a fairly large margin as well as beating Juab, North Summit, and Morgan in the process.
Stansbury boys also ran well at the Premier invite as well as grabbing a 7th place finish at the stacked Highland Invitational. This team hasn’t raced quite as often in the big meets state wide, so it could be hard to tell, but they could be one of Desert Hills biggest contenders for the 3A state title. Grantsville, Bear River, and Tooele should all be able to grab a place at state as well.
Individually Stansbury is led by Jaden Torgerson who has run 15:49 this season, and Piercen Maez, who has run 15:54. Collin Arave of Grantsville is his teams fastest followed by Brandon Passey.
Region 19- Monticello- Preview Pending, check back soon