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Springville cross country runners pose for photos with the title trophy after the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Timpanogos junior Raygan Peterson wins the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Runners compete in the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Springville cross country runners celebrate after winning the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Runners compete in the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Runners compete in the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Springville runners head to the finish line during the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Runners compete in the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Timpanogos junior Raygan Peterson (left) chases after Mountain View junior Mari Konold during the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Timpanogos junior Raygan Peterson (left) talks with Mountain View junior Mari Konold after Peterson won the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Springville cross country runners pose for photos after winning the 2021 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Given the countless hours of hard work put in by cross country teams, it’s not surprising that the athlete come to view each other as a family.

For both the Springville cross country team and Timpanogos junior Raygan Peterson, that family concept goes deeper — and played a big role in their success in Wednesday’s 5A state girls cross country race at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park.

Peterson didn’t come into the event as the favorite but said she got some special encouragement during the race.

“My first mile hurt a lot more than I thought it would,” Peterson said. “I think the biggest thing was when I was coming around on that second mile and my brother held up a picture of my brother Connor who passed away. He was like, ‘just run for your brother’ and that kind of got me going. Luckily I ended up having enough strength to make it to the end.”

She explained that she was five-years-old and her brother was four when he died, so they were very close.

“He was like my best friend,” Peterson said. “There was a connection. I have strong beliefs, so I know he’s cheering me on up in heaven and that gives me a lot of strength.”

She said that emotion helped propel her to the front and she was able to hold on to get the win, finishing the course in 18:15. That was a second-and-a-half in front of Timpview freshman Jane Hedengren, who came in second.

Peterson said it was special to be able to be the champ because it has been a rigorous fall.

“I did soccer this season, so I only had a few weeks of hard training (for cross country),” Peterson said. “My parents called it Hell Week because I had to battle down and get going. I had to run a lot by myself. I was like, I better make it out of this season with at least one state championship.”

The Red Devils have established a dynasty and were going for their fourth straight state title, thanks in large part to the family ties.

“It’s great running with my sister Sarah Galbraith (a junior) and then we have a cousin on the team, Lydia Templeman (also a junior),” Springville freshman Savannah Galbraith said. “Last year, we had two more cousins who were on varsity too, so it was a big group and just was fun.”

While not everyone on the Red Devil team is related by blood, they are all really close.

“It means so much to us that we are able to have such a good team,” Savannah Galbraith said. “We are really fast but it’s more than that. We are truly a sisterhood. I’m so close to every one of the girls on the team. We love each other so much and I’m so happy.”

Springville used the pack mentality to again win the team title, as they had runners finish fifth (Savannah Galbraith), seventh (sophomore Emily Sumsion), eighth (Sarah Galbraith), ninth (junior Ari Bird) and 16th (Templeman).

“We want run together,” Savannah Galbraith said. “We pace each other to try to run with each other. We were really happy to have such close gaps and be able to finish like we did.”

Red Devil head coach Samantha Smith said she loved seeing her girls run the way they did.

“It was super-exciting and super-stressful,” Smith said. “This year has been a roller-coaster ride for us with lots of injuries and other setbacks. And the level of competition has increased. That’s a good thing. It was fun to see them come out and want it. It wasn’t going to be easy but they wanted it really bad and they got it.”

She said the messages of sisterhood and heritage played a big part in what Springville was able to accomplish.

“This is four years in a row now,” Smith said. “This is all these girls know. With that comes stress and anxiety but it also brings a lot of strength. Some of these girls had older siblings that were on the team. They draw strength from ones who have graduated and that culture has continued on.”

All of the Top 10 runners were from Utah Valley as, in addition to the Springville athletes and Hedengren, Mountain View freshman Julie Moore and junior Mari Konold came in third and fourth, while Orem senior Ari Trimble was sixth and junior Lydia Beus was 10th.

Trimble and Beus led the way for the Tigers to surge to second place in the team competition. Timpanogos ended up third, while Mountain View was fourth, Timpview finished sixth, Lehi came in seventh and Wasatch was eighth.

For complete results from the state cross country meet, go to UHSAA.org.

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