The inaugural Region Championship system implemented by the NTN Committee in 2007 forever changed the face of the sport of high school cross country. In 2007, the Davis UT girls were the first Utah team to qualify using the region championship format. Placing 2nd at the 2007 NXN Southwest Championships Davis earned an automatic berth to Nike Team Nationals in Portland, OR. On that day, Davis XC seized their moment, finishing 9th in the Nation.
The 2008 season has come and gone with a few surprises. For one, Davis is even better this year than last, led by senior Candace Eddy the Davis girls are coming off an unprecedented repeat 5A State Championship win. Completing the state course a full minute faster than the previous 2007 Nat#9 Davisteam, this year Davis set the third fastest team time in state course history. They were not alone!
The second surprise, not only is Davis performing better than the phenominal 2007 Nationally ranked Davis team, but the Utah State Championships produced four teams superior to the Davis 2007 State mark. The 2008 season opened with Mountain Crest upending Davis by less that 10 points at the BYU Invitational. Less than a week later, Mountain Crest handily defeated Davis, running without Candace Eddy, at the Murray Invitational. Had Eddy been in that race the score would likely have been a single digit difference. Davis would go on to win the Bob Firman Invitational in an early season time, which would have competed with top teams at the NXN Northwest Championships held months later. At that Bob Firman race Mountain View UT finished a close second to Davis, likewise at the 4A State Championships Mountain View placed a close second to Mountain Crest.
Mountain Crest competed the following week at the Wasatch Rendevouz, a Sunfair like event, in which runners compete in flights combining finishes and times to produce a team champion. Things got interesting when 3A powerhouse Park City defeated Mountain Crest by over 4 minutes in combined team time. What a situation for Utah to have four dominant teams.
At the Orem Invitational, Davis handily won the 5A division in a total team time of 1:38.55. In the 3A division Park City was less than 10 seconds slower. What is clear is that Davis, Mountain Crest, and Park City are very close, very competitive, and very good! From these 2008 performances it becomes difficult to distinguish one from the other, each competing so closely. On to the State Championships!
At the Utah State Championships the drama for the NXN Southwest Region Championships erupted. The Utah State Championship course record book was rewritten. Mountain Crest won the 4A race in the 2nd fastest total team time in history 95:00. The 5A winner Davis won in 95:12, with Park City running away with the 3A title in 95:35. Coming within a minute in total team time of the 1999 Bingham girls squad is epic considering that team is considered by many as the greatest girls cross country team in U.S. history. Not to forget Mountain View UT, posting a quite impressive 95:57 finishing 2nd to Mountain Crest in the 4A division. To put the dominance of Utah's girls programs into perspective the 2008 Mountain View girls team was a full 30 seconds faster on the state course than the 2007 Nat#9 Davis team. Conclusion: Davis, Mountain Crest, Park City, and Mountain View are as good as we think. Mountain Crest may have set an amazing total team time, however in combined results Davis came out on top, causing a perplexing scenario, who truly is better
Utah State Championships Combined Team Results
| 1. | Davis HS | (5A) | 121 | ||
| 2. | Mountain Crest HS | (4A) | 132.5 | ||
| 3. | Park City HS | (3A) | 140 | ||
| 4. | Mountain View HS | (4A) | 158 |
The 2008 NXN Southwest Championships will offer a unique showdown with top teams registered including Nat#13 Fort Collins CO and Nat#7 Classical Academy CO. Of these teams Davis has the best spread from 1-5 followed closely by Mountain Crest.
Girls New State Course (1998- )Top Team Times (5 runner cumulative)
Time School Class-Place Year
93:49 Bingham 5A-1 1999 *National Champions
95:00 Mountain Crest 4A-1 2008 *4A Champion
95:12 Davis 5A-1 2008 *5A Champion
95:31 Mountain View 5A-2 1998
95:35 Park City 3A-1 2008 *3A Champion
95:42 Bingham 5A-1 1998
95:57 Mountain View 4A-2 2008 *4A Runner-up
Top Utah Girls Teams to NXN Southwest Region Championships
Mountain Crest XC
NXN Southwest Region #4: Wins State 4A title and close 2nd to Davis in merged scoring. Interestingly Mountain Crest posted faster team time than Davis, #2 all-time at state meet. Winner of BYU Invitational led by individual standout and 4A State Champion Macinze O'Very.
Davis RC
NXN Southwest Region #3: The class of Utah, wins State 5A title by 42 points taking 3 of top 5. Seasoned team who is familiar to the big dance in the Southwest placing 2nd in the 2007. A rematch with Fort Collins is expected but the region as a whole is much improved.
Park City XC
NXN Southwest Region #5: Wins State 3A title and 3rd in merged scoring. Posted the 5th fastest team time in state championship history. Top fove are underclassman, young team with a bright future.