by James Tate
Girl’s 5A State Championship
The heavy favorite coming into the state championship meet was Timpview High School junior Jane Hedengren, and she did not disappoint. The 5000m event saw Hedengren win the girls’ 5A title in 17:14.7 and become a repeat champion from 2022. Hedengren is also ranked first nationally in the three mile event according to athletic.net with a time of 15:32.5 at the 42nd Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on September 16, 2023.
Following Hedengren was Olympus High School freshman Adria Favero in 17:29.8. Third place went to Hedengren’s teammate, sophomore Lily Alder, in 17:34.6.
The overall team competition title went to Timpview, with 62 points. Second place was Maple Mountain High School with 103 points and finishing third with 118 points was Springville High School.
Top Region 5 girls’ finishers
7 Nicole Wayment- Bonneville – 18:33.7
8 Sienna Barton- Bonneville- 18:34.4
19 Katie Hansen- Woods Cross- 19:16.9
Jo Jo Jourdan of Olympus High School
Boy’s 5A State Championship
The boys’ 5A event saw Olympus senior JoJo Jourdan take home the individual title at 14:58.3. Jourdan finished in fourth place in 2022 and is the number two-ranked runner in the state, according to athletic.net.
Finishing second was Viewmont High School senior Gabe Hooper in 15:15.2. Crossing the line in third place was Brighton High School senior Vance Langston in 15:22.2.
Maple Mountain High School won the team title with 82 points. Second place went to Viewmont with 92 points, and finishing in third place was Alta High School with 119 points.
Other top Region 5 boys’ finishers
7 Brady Christensen- Woods Cross- 15:47.6
12 Hayden Hooper- Bountiful- 15:57.4
13 Simon Barlow- Bountiful- 16:00.4
Davis Darts’ runner shares message of ‘courage
Girl’s 6A Championship
Taking first place in the girls’ 6A race was Lone Peak High School senior Andie Aagard in 17:25.9. Aagard repeats as the 6A girls’ champion after winning the event last season. Repeating as the runner as well was American Fork High School senior Avalon Meacham in 17:38.4. Finishing third was Aagard’s teammate Addie Meldrum in 17:45.4. Meldrum finished fourth in the 2022 state meet.
Lone Peak also captured the 6A state championship for the second year in a row with 19 points. American Fork High School finishes second with 48 points and third place went to Westlake High School with 111 points.
Top girls’ Region 1 finishers
18 Skye Siddoway – Farmington- 19:02.3
19 Hailey Atwater – Fremont- 19:03.9
24 Alexis Bradshaw – Farmington- 19:19.2
Daniel Simmons of American Fork High School
Boy’s 6A Championship
American Fork High School senior Daniel Simmons ran away with his second straight state title in 14:44.0. Simmons’ teammates, junior Kaden Evans and senior Chase Pack completed the 1-2-3 sweep for the Cavemen. Evans finished in 15:10.3 and Pack crossed the finish line in 15:11.4. American Fork won the team title with 33 points, edging out Herriman High School, who finished with 39 points. Third place went to Lone Peak with 95 points.
Top Region 1 boys’ finishers
10 Davis Rydman- Layton- 15:27.8
11 Isaac Lundberg- Davis- 15:27.9
19 Jackson Spencer- Syracuse- 15:40.7
Erik Bryant of Weber High School finished second amongst freshman runners in the 6A division and 47th overall in 16:17.6. Bryant is a rising star and one to watch over the next few years to be a standout runner in cross country.
“It was very fun to go to state for the first time,” Bryant said. “The race was fast and had so many schools and people competing in it. The energy from everyone on the sides keeps you moving and encouraged to do even better than you plan.”
“The boys that were competing in the race did great with Bennett Harkness getting a 50 second personal record and Franklin Monson getting the same time as last year,” said Bryant. “As for me this was my first time running at state and running this course and I beat my last best time of 16:31 at the fairgrounds by 14 seconds getting a new personal record of 16:17. I really enjoyed being able to run at state as an individual with two of my teammates for the first time and I hope that next year I can run with all the varsity team.”
all times and results courtesy of runnercard
photos courtesy James Tate
The Hive Sports 
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