Previewing the Field: 4A Girls Cross Country

Skyline was very strong last fall until an untimely injury struck. This year, the Eagles figure to be very good once again with Caroline Weiler figuring as one of the key pieces to the puzzle. Photo by Alan Versaw.

 

Advance Disclaimer: Due to some irregularities in collection of race data from the fall of 2011, I'm not entirely sure I have a very good handle on years of graduation for a handful of the athletes in this classification. Please feel welcome to let me know if I've included any athletes in this analysis who have already graduated.

 

Last year, Skyline got a great start on their season but had a wheel or two come off the bus following the Bob Firman meet. That created opportunity for some other schools that might not otherwise have been there. Mountain View was the most opportunistic team in the field and converted that opportunity into a state championship last fall.

But, this fall is a new season. While Mountain View can more or less always be counted on to be a contender at the end of the season, their position entering this season has been weakened somewhat by graduation. They will have something to prove, and Amanda Turnbull's track season says she's the one to lead the way in that mission.

A quick look at returning runners from the top 50 of last year's state meet (a question mark means I know no year of graduation whatsoever on record for the athlete in question) shows the following athletes coming back:

 

 

  3 Summer Harper                Orem HS                    18:13.20     3
  4 Miranda O'Very               Mountain Crest HS          18:20.20     4
  8 Jeni Townsend                Skyline HS                 18:38.50     8
  9 Caroline Weiler              Skyline HS                 18:40.80     9
 10 Tori Parkinson               Mountain Crest HS          18:41.60    10
 11 Candace Greenwood            Orem HS                    19:22.20    11
 12 Sierra Malm                  Salem Hills HS             19:26.90    --
 13 Megan Sidwell                Sky View HS                19:31.20    12
 15 Megan Ryan                   Mountain View HS           19:32.20    14
?17 Tenill Sutton                Mountain View HS           19:33.00    16
 18 Kami Hartley                 Herriman HS                19:40.90    17
 22 Ashley Anderson              Timpanogos HS              19:52.50    21
 23 Lauren Monson                Skyline HS                 19:56.00    22
 26 Millika Holbrook             Woods Cross HS             19:59.80    25
 28 Sarah Hash                   Maple Mountain HS          20:01.30    27
 29 Waverli Lindmeir             Bountiful HS               20:03.20    28
 30 Kiana Moon                   Mountain Crest HS          20:04.50    29
 31 Rebekah Killpack             Mountain Crest HS          20:04.70    30
 34 Mallory Jones                Timpview HS                20:06.10    33
 35 Abigail Hurst                East HS                    20:10.40    34
 37 Kacie Anderson               Woods Cross HS             20:13.40    36
 38 Taylor Jolley                Mountain View HS           20:14.40    37
 39 Jordan Kennedy               Hillcrest HS               20:16.80    38
 40 Jenna Crowther               Timpview HS                20:17.70    39
 41 Lucy Biles                   Herriman HS                20:19.20    40
 42 Jessica Robertson            Herriman HS                20:20.60    41
 43 Regan Pond                   Maple Mountain HS          20:24.70    42
 44 Taylor Cox                   Woods Cross HS             20:29.00    43
 45 Makenzie Clark               Woods Cross HS             20:30.50    44
?46 Abby Lee                     Orem HS                    20:33.80    45
 47 Brigette Harris              Maple Mountain HS          20:34.00    46
 48 Anne Glenn                   Skyline HS                 20:35.40    47
 49 Mia Anderson                 Skyline HS                 20:35.70    48
 50 Elizabeth Cook               Mountain Crest HS          20:36.20    49
 
 
Clearly, Skyline has the roster to make another run at it this fall. But, Jeni Townsend, Caroline Weiler, and company are far from alone.
 
In fact, pretty much everyone from last year's top nine has at least two coming back from the top 50 finishers of last year. Many of these schools have three or four. That fact makes it difficult to discount anyone's chances. So, we turn our attention to the rankings of returning 3200 runners from this spring.
 
 
Rank Time Athlete Name Team C/O Date Meet
1. 10:42.81 Summer Harper UT Orem 2013 04/06/2012 Arcadia Invitational
2. 10:56.20 Miranda O'very UT Mountain Crest 2015 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
3. 11:06.26 Amanda Turnbull UT Mountain View 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
4. 11:10.80 Candace Greenwood UT Orem 2014 05/02/2012 BYU High School Invitational
5. 11:21.92 Jessica Robertson UT Herriman High 2015 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
6. 11:22.49 Kami Hartley UT Herriman High 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
7. 11:28.03 Hannah Malone UT Box Elder 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
8. 11:40.27 Lucy Biles UT Herriman High 2015 05/02/2012 BYU High School Invitational
9. 11:40.66 Abigail Hurst UT East HS 2013 03/23/2012 Pine View Invitational
10. 11:41.45 Caroline Weiler UT Skyline High School 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
11. 11:42.48 Megan Sidwell UT Sky View 2015 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
12. 11:42.48 Millika Holbrook UT Woods Cross 2015 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
13. 11:45.72 Mariah Miller UT Bountiful 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
14. 11:51.34 Elizabeth Cook UT Mountain Crest 2013 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
15. 11:51.48 Allie Randall UT Timpview 2015 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
16. 11:52.85 Regan Pond UT Maple Mountain High School 2014 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
17. 11:56.49 Tori Parkinson UT Mountain Crest 2013 03/28/2012 Cache/Box Elder Invitational
18. 12:00.85 Alyssa Moyer UT Salem Hills 2014 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
19. 12:03.09 Ashley Runyon UT Orem 2014 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
20. 12:06.71 Taylor Jolley UT Mountain View 2013 05/09/2012 Utah Region VIII Championships
21. 12:11.95 Sierra Malm UT Salem Hills 2013 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
22. 12:15.44 Kacie Anderson UT Woods Cross 2013 05/09/2012 Utah Region VI Championship
23. 12:16.60 Rachel Warnick UT Maple Mountain High School 2013 03/29/2012 Herriman Invitational
24. 12:17.46 Lauren Monson UT Skyline High School 2014 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
25. 12:18.85 Amanda Evans UT Woods Cross 2013 03/23/2012 Pine View Invitational
26. 12:21.69 Kate Mitchel UT Orem 2014 04/28/2012 Orem Tiger Trial Invitational
27. 12:24.76 Annalee Hendrickson UT Box Elder 2015 04/27/2012 Southern Utah University Invitational
28. 12:35.06 Shannon Heil UT Provo 2014 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
29. 12:35.64 Jessica Bennett UT Westlake 2014 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
30. 12:38.23 Jordan Kennedy UT Hillcrest 2013 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
31. 12:39.00 Jenna Crowlher UT Timpview 2014 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
32. 12:40.25 Bronte Reay UT Timpview 2015 04/28/2012 Orem Tiger Trial Invitational
33. 12:40.44 Heather Lockyer UT Clearfield 2014 04/14/2012 Logan Grizzly Invitational
34. 12:41.36 Kelly Crowther UT Timpview 2015 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
35. 12:42.31 Kiana Moon UT Mountain Crest 2015 05/09/2012 Utah Region V Championships
36. 12:42.59 Sarah Sargent UT East HS 2015 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
37. 12:43.18 Frida Moses UT Skyline High School 2014 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
38. 12:43.21 Jessica Anstee UT Skyline High School 2014 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
39. 12:44.58 Stephanie Toomer UT Bonneville 2014 03/27/2012 Harry Burchell Memorial
40. 12:46.23 Amy Mattson UT Roy 2013 05/09/2012 Utah Region V Championships
41. 12:48.34 Brigette Harris UT Maple Mountain High School 2014 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
42. 12:50.75 Nicole Bogue UT Clearfield 2013 04/21/2012 Sky View Invitational
43. 12:52.58 Abigail Nielson UT Timpview 2015 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
44. 12:54.13 Lauren Blair UT Timpview 2013 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
45. 12:57.18 Sarah Layton UT Bonneville 2014 03/27/2012 Harry Burchell Memorial
46. 12:58.12 Gabi Smith UT Herriman High 2014 05/09/2012 Utah Region VII Championships
47. 13:00.73 Elese Ashworth UT Westlake 2015 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
48. 13:03.42 Maddie Ball UT Maple Mountain High School 2015 05/09/2012 Utah Region VIII Championships
49. 13:04.10 Shelby Gregg UT Skyline High School 2013 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
50. 13:08.12 Makaela Smith UT Westlake 2015 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational

 

With Summer Harper and Candace Greenwood in the fold, Orem looks like a strong entry. It doesn't hurt at all that they were able to bring a couple of sophomores to a competitive level this spring as well. Count Orem in.

You can scarcely help but notice Herriman's success in the 3200 this spring, with Jessica Robertson, Kami Hartley, and Lucy Biles each ending the season at 11:40 or better.

Woods Cross should also be fielding a nice cross country team this fall, based on the track seasons turned in by Millika Holbrook, Kacie Anderson, and Amanda Evans.

Skyline's track season didn't match the success of their cross country season, but they were out there, depositing miles into the cross country bank.

Mountain Crest, following the lead of Miranda O'Very, gets three sub-12s back, and another at 12:42. That is the start of a very competitive cross country team there.

In short, there should be no shortage of contenders for the 4A girls title in just under four months. Several teams are well positioned to make a serious bid for top honors and no one team holds a clear advantage over the others.

For those looking for further clues, this spring's rankings of returning 1600 runners yields a few more pieces toward answering the question of who made the most progress during track season:

4A Girls 1600 Meter Rankings (returners only)

We see a few names popping up there that didn't show under the 3200 rankings and missing those names could lead to some faulty assessments of the relative strengths of the top teams heading into the fall. I suspect, however, the net result is to further muddle the picture of who is the top team heading into the season. Take your pick, hang around four months, and see what happens!