By Josh Ornelas - Utah MileSplit
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American Fork has gone up against some fierce competition for the past several years, but this year, they finally took back the crown after finishing as a runner-up for the past two years. This wasn't going to be an easy win, and the Cavemen knew it going into this race as they were facing some great talent from across the state.
Leading the Cavemen to their first state championship since 2018 was junior Daniel Simmons, who was the favorite to win the race. Simmons managed to dip under 15 minutes again on the 5k course and created some nice separation between himself and the rest of the field to give him his first individual career state title.
Following behind the transfer from Idaho was Noah Jenkins of Herriman. Jenkins ran a new PR of 15:08 for 5000m and was the leading scorer for his team. Herriman, who was the favorite to win the team title in this race, fell to fourth place overall behind Riverton and the runner-up Lone Peak.
Lone Peak may have surprised everyone but themselves by making the podium, but they ran a great race and wanted to follow the example their girl's team set earlier in the day. Jaron Hartshorn was the third-place finisher overall and led his team to the final podium spot, finishing just two points ahead of Riverton.
Other top finishers for the race were Farmington's Spencer Bradshaw, who finished fourth in 15:20, and Herriman's William Horne, who finished fifth in 15:28.
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