Daniel Simmons Leads 1-2-3 Finish For American Fork As Cavemen Win 11th State Title; Lone Peak Girls Go Low With 19 Points; Jane Hedengren Wins Second Straight 5A Crown

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Donal Pearce

Second-ranked American Fork put together its finest performance of the season Tuesday and defeated top-ranked Herriman, 33-39, in a Utah High School Activities Association Class 6A boys state championship meet for the ages at Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City. 

Daniel Simmons, the top male high school runner in the country, won his second straight Class 6A title in 14:44. It was nearly six seconds faster than his winning time last year (14:49.8). 

Simmons led a triumphant 1-2-3 finish as Kaden Evans took second in 15:10.3 and Chase Pack was third in 15:11.4. 

That was too much even for the deep Herriman team that put six runners across the line in the top 17 and all seven in the top 24. 

It was American Fork's 11th boys championship in cross country, including its second in a row. 

The top two teams in the country will meet again Nov. 18 at NXR Southwest and possibly Dec. 2 at Nike Cross Nationals on Dec. 2. 

Meanwhile, the No. 4 Lone Peak girls took five of the top six places and scored 19 points to crush the competition in the 6A girls final for its fourth title in the past five seasons.

Andie Aagard of Lone Peak ran 17:25.9 to win her second straight title and finished 13 seconds ahead of American Fork's Avalon Mecham. 

The next four spots belonged to Aagard's teammates: Addie Meldrum, Maya Bybee, Boston Bybee and Anna Bybee. 

The fastest female of the day, no surprise, was US#2 Jane Hedengren of Timpview who ran 17:14.7 to win her second consecutive Class 5A title. 

Timpview also won the team championship with 62 points, capturing its first girls state title since 1996. 

Maple Mountain's boys slipped past Viewmont, 82-92, to win the 5A boys team championship, the first in school history.

Olympus standout JoJo Jourdon ran 14:58.3 for the second-fastest time of the day to win the 5A final by 17 seconds over Viewmont's Gabe Hooper. 

In Class 4A, Mountain View won a tiebreaker over Orem after both teams scored 56 points. Mountain View not only retained the title but upped its state record boys championship count to 18. 

Austin Westfall of Orem ran 15:00.1 to win the 4A final. 

Julie Moore ran 18:01.6 to win as Mountain View made it a program sweep of the Class 4A titles. Her winning margin was 33 seconds.

Mountain View also added to its girls state record with a 20th team title, including the first for the Bruins since 2011. 

Camdon Larsen of Emery won the boys 3A final in 15:55.4. Canyon View ran to the team victory with 63 points, securing the first state team title in program history. 

Ogden won the 3A girls team title with 69 points. Rozlyn Stowe of Carbon, a sophomore, ran an impressive time of 17:45.4 and won the race by 33 seconds to secure back-to-back individual titles. 

Millard edged Water Canyon, 74-83, to win the boys Class 2A championship. Up front, Ben Ralphs of Millard ran 16:10.3 to help his team win for the fourth year in a row. 

Grand County's Cadence Kasprick won the 2A girls final in 17:49.7. North Summit won a very tight team competition, 40-41, over Grand County, earning its third consecutive championship. 

Ashton Arnold of Altamont ran 17:14.1 to win the 1A boys race for the second year in a row. Monticello won its 11th state title, including the first for the program since 2017.

Panguitch's Tabi Henrie won the 1A girls final in 19:03.6. Her team won its fourth straight team crown.

Team Champions - 

Class 6A - American Fork boys 33 points, Lone Peak girls 19 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - Maple Mountain boys 82 points, Timpview girls 62 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Mountain View boys 56 points (tiebreaker), Mountain View girls 54 points - RESULTS

Class 3A - Canyon View boys 63 points, Ogden girls 69 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - Millard boys 74 points, North Summit girls 40 points - RESULTS

Class 1A - Monticello boys 42 points, Panguitch girls 26 points (scoring 4) - RESULTS