Running with heart: Orem’s Peter Mecham takes home the 4A state cross country championship
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- Orem’s Peter Mecham celebrates his 4A state championship run as he crosses the finish line during Tuesday’s competition. Oct. 28, 2025
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- Orem’s Kate Adams was the top finisher from Utah Valley on Tuesday, winning the bronze medal for the Tigers. Oct. 28, 2025
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- Orem’s Peter Mecham, who won the 4A state championship, poses with Kyle Chipman and Maverik Dutson, who won the silver and bronze metals, respectively, for Mountain View. Oct. 28, 2025
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- The Mountain View Boys Cross Country team notched its fifth-straight state championship on Tuesday at Sugarhouse Park Oct. 28, 2025
After running the race of his life, Orem senior Peter Mecham’s focus wasn’t on what he just accomplished, but on his teammates, along with all the people that helped him reach his goals, and certainly on his late high school coach, Andrew Jacobs.
Mecham won the 4A state cross country championship on Tuesday, running a stellar time of 15:20.78 at the Sugarhouse Park course in Salt Lake City. The former sprinter came in just ahead of Mountain View’s Kyle Chipman and Maverik Dutson, who finished with times of 15:23.56 and 15:29.67, respectively.
Both physically and emotionally exhausted, the first words out of Mecham’s mouth was regarding his teammates, who combined to give Orem a third-place finish in the team event.
“I just wanted to do it for my team out there today,” Mecham said in between gasps for air. “I’m sad we didn’t win it, and we took second place (last year), so I really wanted it for my senior year, but I’m proud of my effort. I don’t think I could have run much better, so I’m very happy about that.”
Around Mecham’s wrist was a band decorated with hearts in memory of the late Andrew Jacobs, who passed away unexpectedly this past August due to a heart attack.
“Our head coach passed away after the first race of this season, so this has been a special season to honor him,” Mecham related. “He was a big part of my finish because I could not let Coach down. I was thinking about him the entire time and all (of my teammates) were wearing bracelets with hearts because that’s what he always told us, was, ‘to do it with heart,’ and I definitely did that out there today. We all did.”
Much like he has all season, Mecham got off to a fast start in Tuesday’s race before slowing down a bit too much, at least in his mind, during the second mile. But with Coach Jacobs well in mind, Mecham kicked as hard as he could to finish just short of a full three seconds ahead of the next runner.
“I thought at two miles that I was for sure going to get passed, but I had some really great teammates cheering for me, giving me words that helped a lot,” Mecham, who finished third in the individual event last year, said. “It was quite the challenge, but everyone did their part in helping me.”
Accompanying Mecham at the end of his race was his mother, Maren, and his father, Quinn, both of whom he readily credited for all aspects of his progress, from his nutrition and his training.
“It was a lot of work. A lot of work went into this,” Peter Mecham said. “But more than the work, it’s been the stress. It’s all I think about, so it’s a great feeling to reach the goal that I had before the season.”
As mentioned, Mountain View pulled down the 4A team competition, winning its fifth-straight championship in the process. The Bruins placed three runners within the top six, with Wyatt Jeppson finishing with a time of 15:44.0, right behind the aforementioned Chipman and Dutson for a sixth place finish.
“It feels like every year the target on our back gets bigger and bigger, so all the credit goes to the boys for meeting the challenge out there today,” said Bruin Coach Mike Strauss. “We had four new boys on the varsity team this year, so it was interesting in that way in building them up and giving them confidence to race out there like they did today. I was very impressed with all of them.”
Strauss has built quite the tradition at Mountain View, and was quick to deflect any of the credit his way.
“We just have great kids here at Mountain View who create a great culture,” Strauss said. “They buy into the Mountain View spirit and they just work, work and work. Everyone works, sure, but they work as hard as anyone and really do a great job buying into the culture we’ve tried to establish here.”
Strauss was quick to credit his senior leaders with establishing that culture, specifically Jeppson, along with Travis Steadman and Henry Bush.
“We had those three as our captains this year, and it was great,” Strauss said. “They work together well and did a great job keeping the boys motivated. All credit goes to them for the example they set all year for our younger guys.”
Overall Orem finished third in the team event with Timpanogos placing fourth.
In the girls competition Timpanogos was the top team finisher from Utah county with its fourth-place finish, with Mountain View placing fifth and Orem seventh.
The top individual finishers from Utah County were Orem’s Kate Adams, who finished third with a time of 18:15.42 and Timpanogos’s Anna Bliss, who finished fourth with a time of 18:29.68.
