Lucy Biles of Herriman pulled away early and ran a season best 16:53 for 3 miles at the Region 4 Championships- Photo Courtesy of Diana Biles
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Saratoga Springs, Utah- The Region 4 Championships had to be the most stacked region in the state. with Nationally ranked teams and individuals, There are some favorites for both team and Individual State Champions to come from this region. Both the girls and boys races were thrillers, and some very impressive times were run on the fast flat Westlake course.
Boys- Everyone expected American Fork to win this region, and they did win, in impressive fashion. They scored just 30 points as well as taking home the individual 1-2 finishes. What everyone might not have seen was Westlake putting together a 35 second 1-5 spread and nabbing 2nd in an awesome performance. This was a break out performance for the Thunder, and although they might not be able to knock off the Cavemen at state next week, if they run like they did Wednesday, they will end up on the podium at state. They beat out nationally ranked Lone Peak in the process in a very tight team race. Westlake scored 73, with Lone peak at 79, Riverton grabbing 4th with 83, and Herriman falling just short of a State Championship appearance with 94 points.
Individually Connor McMillan showed that he is still improving with every race, and will be a force to be reckoned with at state. On a course that has produced fast times in the past, McMillan flew to the victory in a state leading 14:32 for the 3 mile course. He gapped his teammate Zac Jacklin by 10 seconds. Jacklin’s time of 14:42 is also one of the best in the state this year and these two could be seeking a 1-2 finish at state. Brady Early of Riverton held on very strong for a 3rd overall finish at 14:46, beating out one of the states best in Clayson Shumway, who finished in 14:49.
Team Results
1- American Fork 30, 2- Westlake 73, 3- Lone Peak 79, 4- Riverton 83, 5- Herriman 94, 6- Pleasant Grove 176, 7-Lehi 184.
Individual Results
1- Connor McMillan AF 14:32, 2- Zac Jacklin AF 14:42, 3- Brady Early Riv 14:46, 4- Clayson Shumway LP 14:49, 5- Clay Lambourne Riv 15:03.1 , 6- Casey Clinger AF 15:03.5, 7-Rory Linkletter Herr 15:07, 8-Trevor Gibby WL 15:08, 9- Tyler Bell AF 15:11.1, 10- Austin Brower WL 15:11.7
Girls- The Girls race was a little closer team race than the boys for the win, but it was still American Fork by a comfortable 18 points. American Fork girls only allowed 35 seconds between their team leader Maddie Bench and their 5th finisher Sammy Hollingsworth. They didn’t have a top 5 finisher in the individual race so that small team spread makes a lot bigger difference. American Fork, having won both the boys and girls team titles, makes it a very interesting conversation of which is a better combined boys/girls team. The Cavemen of American Fork or the Darts of Davis? Well we can have that conversation as we approach state next week but that’s just something to think about. Lone Peak stepped up very nicely to grab 2nd in the region with 61 points. They are led by Jessica Smith who finished 3rd overall, which helped the Knights secure the second of 4 qualifying spots. Lehi and Herriman Battled it out for 3rd and 4th. Herriman had a 1st and 5th overall, as well as putting 5 in before Lehi, but every point mattered for every girls and this time Lehi got the edge by a mere 3 points. Both will meet again next week at the State Championships.
Individually, Lucy Biles showed us again that she is an overwhelming favorite to win her second consecutive state title. She ran very strong and pulled away by 40 seconds for the individual victory, with a smoking fast time of 16:53. She is still only a Junior as well so we get to watch her dominate the state this next week, as well as for next season. McKayla Morgan of Riverton was 2nd and had a fairly sizeable gap herself between the rest of the pack. Her time of 17:34 is also very strong and she will be hoping for a podium position at state. She was followed by Jessica Smith of Lone Peak, Maddy Kauffman of Lehi, and Kami Hartley of Herriman.
Team Results
1- American Fork 43, 2- Lone Peak 61, 3- Lehi 80, 4- Herriman 83, 5- Riverton 122, 6- Westlake 126, 7- Pleasant Grove 203.
Individual Resutls
1- Lucy Biles Herr 16:53, 2- McKayla Morgan Riv 17:34, 3- Jessica Smith LP 17:52, 4- Maddy Kauffman Lehi 17:53, 5- Kami Hartley Herr 18:00, 6- Maddi Bench AF 18:01, 7- Lexie Green AF 18:06, 8- Amanda Erickson LP 18:20, 9- Diane Leach AF 18:24, 10-Nikki Smith AF 18:28.