The Hive Sports

by James Tate

at Layton Commons Park (Layton, Utah)

A midweek region championship cross-country event brought out the best in athletes from northern Utah high schools. A warm day, an excellent course and outstanding school and community support saw athletes display their excellence after months of hard work. Many of the athletes overcame injuries and mental challenges for this moment to display their talents on a big stage.

Region 5 girls

The Box Elder Bees came into the region championship meet as the favorite and held on to win behind top 10 finishes by Maya Lee (6), Elizabeth Rupper (8), and Macie Lee (10). The Bees’ final total of 40 points was nine points ahead of the second-place team, the Viewmont Vikings.

The individual winner was Avery Barton, who ran 18:04.50. Behind Barton in second place was Katie Hansen of Woods Cross, who ran 18:18.99, and Alyssa Clayton of Viewmont finished third in 18:21.49.

In addition to Maya Lee, Macie Lee, and Rupper, the Bees winning team consisted of Kassidie Douglass (11) and Molly Emerson (16). Other individual top finishers were Evelyn Cook (4) of Northridge, Nicole Wayment (5) of Bonneville, Audrey Lemon (7) of Viewmont, and Kiara DeVries (9) of Woods Cross.

Hayden Hooper (l), Peter Gehring (m), Talmage Bruschke (r)

Region 5 boys

The Bountiful Redhawks boys team came into the 2024 Region 5 Championship meet with the region’s top two ranked runners, but it was not enough to carry them to the team title. The Viewmont Vikings took home the boys’ championship behind a great team effort that saw four runners finish in the top ten.

Talmage Bruschke (2), Peter Gehring (3), Bryce Arbuckle (8), and Junah Overson (9) produced a winning team effort for the Vikings boys’ team with an impressive 36-point total. The Northridge Knights were the second-place team with 53 points, and the Bountiful Redhawks and Box Elder Bees tied for third with 76 points.

The boy’s 5A individual winner was Hayden Hooper of the Bountiful in 15:06.51. Other top finishers included Simon Barlow (4) from Bountiful, Aaron Eskelson (5), Jeff Hazard (6) from Northridge, James Larson (7) from Box Elder, and Nate Eskelson (10) from Northridge.

Ellie Dorius (l), Izzy Cram (r)

Region 1 girls

The Weber Warriors entered the girl’s 2024 Region 1 championship cross country as the favorite, but it was the Davis Darts in a surprise victory. The Darts finished with a team total of 38 points, followed by the Warriors with 50 points, and the Layton Lancers finished third with 87 points.

The Darts winning team included Izzy Cram (2) in 18:26.42, Erin Christensen (6), Eliza Swain (8), Helen Glaze (10), and Courtney Burbidge (12).

Farmington freshman Ellie Dorius won the 6A girls’ race in 18:09.94. Other top finishers included Indianna Lundell (3) of Fremont in 18:52.39, Eliza Thornley (4) of Layton, Catherine Wald (5) of Weber, Kate Lang (7) of Weber, Kennedy Hadley (9) of Syracuse, Shelby Joy (11), and Gracie Rodarte (13) of Weber.

Landon Sturgeon

Region 1 boys

The Davis Darts completed the sweep as the boys won the region championship, with three runners finishing in the top ten and scoring 40 points. Jonny Reed (2) in 15:13.36, Carter Rawlings (6), Harrison Skousen (9), Jonas Clay (11), and Cade Rawlings (12) led the way for the Darts. Farmington finished in second place with 56 points, and Layton in third with 71 points.

Farmington senior Landon Sturgeon took home first place in 15:08.36, followed by Reed in second, and Layton’s Jonathan Thornley crossed the line in third place in 15:15.06.

Sturgeon overcame an unfortunate fall during the race but focused on finishing on top.

“At around .7 in, I slipped and fell to the ground at a sharp 180 turn,” Sturgeon said. “I managed to get up fast, but it brought some doubt into me that my race was now ruined. I shrugged off those doubts and believed I could get back up to the front.”

Other top finishers were Joseph Miller (4) of Farmington, Garrison Johnson (5) of Weber, Graham Judkins (7), Zack Steoger (8) of Fremont, and Erik Bryant (10) of Weber.

“Winning the race was an amazing feeling, and I was super happy with how it all went,” Sturgeon said. “As a team, we were disappointed we couldn’t win, but we knew we ran the best we could on the day. Inspiration for this race was my current and past teammates, who came to support me. The biggest inspiration on the day was seeing my beloved teammate Skye Siddoway, who fell from a tree and suffered a head injury at the beginning of September. Seeing her before my race had a big influence on me to run with the strength she has shown during the last month.”

all results and times courtesy of meettrax

photos courtesy of James Tate