Previewing the Field: 5A Boys Cross Country

Clayton Young has graduated, and so the mantle of leadership at American Fork passes to Brayden McLelland. Photo by Alan Versaw.

 

Ever since Alta had their amazing year in 2008, it's been American Fork and Davis, in that order, at the top of Utah 5A boys cross country. Maybe something changes this year. But maybe not very much.

Realistically, as you look at track results from this spring, you would have to conclude that Davis goes into the fall cross country season as the favorite over the defending state champions from American Fork.  Davis also holds the motivating factor of being perhaps a little chafed over the string of state meet losses to American Fork. But, both teams still figure to be head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field.

That's not to say, however, that the rest of the field hasn't gotten better. They have. It's just an enormous gap to close, even when both American Fork and Davis lose several top runners to graduation.

As is our custom, we'll look first at the returners from the top 50 of last fall's state meet:

 

  4 Brayden McClelland           American Fork HS           15:33.40     4
  5 Brayden Cromar               Davis HS                   15:46.70     5
  7 Connor McMillan              American Fork HS           15:47.60     6
  8 Preston Johnson              Davis HS                   15:53.20     7
  9 Kramer Morton                Alta HS                    15:56.40     8
 11 Skylar Williams              Davis HS                   16:01.40    10
 12 Tyson Green                  American Fork HS           16:03.20    11
 13 Brandon Clark                Bingham HS                 16:06.40    12
 14 Andrew Brewer                Bingham HS                 16:08.60    13
 15 Zac Jacklin                  American Fork HS           16:09.90    14
 17 Hunter Weintz                Copper Hills HS            16:14.50    16
 19 Joey Mathisen                Hunter HS                  16:21.90    --
 22 Erich Olschewski             Bingham HS                 16:31.80    20
 23 Drew Linton                  Viewmont HS                16:32.80    21
 24 Alex Hedquist                Davis HS                   16:33.20    22
 25 Jackson Sagers               Davis HS                   16:33.40    23
 28 Adam Goff                    Lone Peak HS               16:35.50    26
 30 Cole Walton                  Lone Peak HS               16:41.30    28
 35 Dallas Griswold              American Fork HS           16:50.70    32
 36 Tanner Egbert                Riverton HS                16:54.10    33
 38 Clay Lambourne               Riverton HS                16:56.60    35
 39 Marc Peterson                Lone Peak HS               16:57.00    36
 41 Parker Greenhalgh            Syracuse HS                16:59.60    38
 42 Landon Greenhalgh            Syracuse HS                17:00.00    39
 43 Brad Biggs                   Alta HS                    17:01.20    40
 44 Parker Howell                Riverton HS                17:03.30    41
 45 David Bass                   Kearns HS                  17:04.80    42
 46 Conner Anderson              Alta HS                    17:05.70    43
 47 Matt Daines                  Weber HS                   17:06.90    44
 50 Will Barlow                  Weber HS                   17:09.00    46
 
 
A substantial chunk of that top 50 is now graduated, including key performers from every team in the field. What stands out, however, is the fact that five each of the top 19 returners come from Davis and American Fork. Making matters worse, six of the top seven returners are from Davis or American Fork (three each). From this standpoint, it looks like a dead heat between the two 5A superpowers.
 
So, we turn our attention to this spring's track and field results to see what additional new information they will yield. The top 50 5A boys returners from the 3200 this spring line up as follows:
 
 
Rank Time Athlete Name Team C/O Date Meet
1. 9:08.30 Brayden Cromar UT Davis High School 2013 04/06/2012 Arcadia Invitational
2. 9:23.56 Alex Hedquist UT Davis High School 2013 05/02/2012 BYU High School Invitational
3. 9:23.59 Andrew Brewer UT Bingham 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
4. 9:28.74 Andrew Aposhian UT Davis High School 2013 05/02/2012 BYU High School Invitational
5. 9:29.72 Brayden McLelland UT American Fork 2013 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
6. 9:32.63 Tyson Green UT American Fork 2013 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
7. 9:34.91 Kramer Morton UT Alta 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
8. 9:37.42 Preston Johnson UT Davis High School 2013 04/06/2012 Arcadia Invitational
9. 9:38.49 Connor Mcmillan UT American Fork 2014 05/02/2012 BYU High School Invitational
10. 9:42.13 Hayden Hansen UT Davis High School 2013 04/06/2012 Arcadia Invitational
11. 9:48.56 Brady Earley UT Riverton 2014 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
12. 9:52.70 Erich Olschewski UT Bingham 2013 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
13. 9:55.50 Skylar Williams UT Davis High School 2014 04/20/2012 Woods Cross Wildcat Invitational
14. 9:55.83 Zac Jacklin UT American Fork 2015 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
15. 9:56.34 Hunter Weintz UT Copper Hills 2013 04/14/2012 Logan Grizzly Invitational
16. 9:57.18 Caleb Thompson UT American Fork 2014 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
17. 10:00.23 Cole Walton UT Lone Peak 2014 03/29/2012 Herriman Invitational
18. 10:05.31 Phillip Baker UT Davis High School 2013 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
19. 10:05.40 Joey Mathisen UT Hunter 2013 05/18/2012 Utah State Track and Field Championships
20. 10:10.31 Parker Greenhalgh UT Syracuse 2013 05/09/2012 Utah Region I Championships
21. 10:14.80 Jake Reschke UT Cottonwood 2014 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
22. 10:22.43 Connor Anderson UT Alta 2013 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
23. 10:23.40 Dustin Pagano UT Weber 2013 03/27/2012 Harry Burchell Memorial
24. 10:26.14 Cody Kelley UT Syracuse 2014 04/14/2012 Logan Grizzly Invitational
25. 10:27.79 Isaac Clouse UT Davis High School 2013 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
26. 10:28.32 Evan Church UT Bingham 2013 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
27. 10:28.61 Benson Gunther UT American Fork 2013 04/05/2012 Alpha Invitational
28. 10:29.93 Adam Goff UT Lone Peak 2013 03/24/2012 Mt. Timpanogos Invitational
29. 10:30.03 Derek Wilcox UT Lehi 2013 04/05/2012 Alpha Invitational
30. 10:30.41 Tommy Johnson UT Lone Peak 2013 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
31. 10:31.95 Mitch Wade UT West Jordan 2014 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
32. 10:32.38 Spencer Shuppy UT Northridge 2014 05/09/2012 Utah Region I Championships
33. 10:32.83 Erik Marchant UT Jordan 2013 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
34. 10:34.05 Dallin Griffin UT Lehi 2014 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
35. 10:35.63 Jessie Whetton UT Fremont 2013 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
36. 10:36.09 Ethan Stuart UT Davis High School 2014 03/27/2012 Davis District Championships
37. 10:36.27 Thomas Hill UT Syracuse 2013 05/09/2012 Utah Region I Championships
38. 10:39.82 Ryan Tanner UT Davis High School 2013 04/28/2012 Davis High School Invitational
39. 10:39.93 Caleb Walker UT Bingham 2014 05/08/2012 Utah Region IV Championships
40. 10:44.23 David Bass UT Kearns 2013 05/08/2012 Utah Region II Championships
41. 10:46.20 Ty Poffenberger UT Cottonwood 2014 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
42. 10:46.80 Nathan Merchant UT Jordan 2013 04/07/2012 Utah Valley University Invitational
43. 10:49.31 Isaac Robertson UT Riverton 2013 05/08/2012 Utah Region IV Championships
44. 10:51.38 Brandon Williams UT Fremont 2013 03/27/2012 Harry Burchell Memorial
45. 10:51.83 Zachary Child UT Bingham 2015 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
46. 10:53.88 Bryson Walker UT Bingham 2014 05/08/2012 Utah Region IV Championships
47. 10:54.28 Tyson Raff UT Lehi 2013 04/20/2012 Utah County Invitational
48. 10:55.56 Jason Saunders UT Bingham 2014 04/21/2012 Taylorsville Invitational
49. 10:56.30 Jeremey Porter UT Weber 2013 05/09/2012 Utah Region I Championships
50. 10:58.11 Kjeisten Secretan UT Lehi 2013 04/05/2012 Alpha Invitational

 

And, this does yield a somewhat different picture. While nobody else has climbed to the top rung of the ladder to join Davis and American Fork, this analysis is clearly advantage Davis. Three of the top four, and five of the top 13, belong to Davis. Davis's top three, Brayden Cromar, Alex Hedquist, and Andrew Aposhian, each bring back sub-9:30 credentials. The depth of quality in this program defies comprehension. But, American Fork isn't far back.

Both teams bring back five guys under 10:00. This would be less impressive if the times were run at sea level. It's probably safe to say neither team is printing state championship t-shirts yet. Neither is any team conceding anything to the other.

So, let's discuss the next tier of teams. And, it's a very good tier of teams.

Bingham looks to have the strongest roster, but it would be premature to dismiss any of Lone Peak, Alta, or Riverton. Riverton's credentials, however, look a little better from cross country than from distance performances this spring. 

A quick glance at the rankings of returning 1600 runners from this spring reveals little in the way of additional information except that Davis's advantage over American Fork increases at shorter distances. That may not be especially relevant at cross country distances, however.

If there is a team able to rise to the level of American Fork and Davis, that will be the big news of Utah cross country 2012.