Timpview girls, Maple Mountain boys finally get 5A cross country titles
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- The Maple Mountain boys cross country team receives the 5A title trophy at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Timpview runners celebrate after the 5A girls race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Timpview junior Jane Hedengren crosses the finish line first in the 5A girls race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain runners celebrate after the 5A boys race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain runners compete in the 5A boys race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- The Timpview girls pose for a photo with the 5A state title trophy at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Timpview junior Jane Hedengren (right) and sophomore Lily Alder compete in the 5A girls race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain and Springville runners sprint to the finish in the 5A boys race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Runners compete in the 5A boys race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Runners get ready to start the 5A boys race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- The Maple Mountain boys cross country team poses for a photo at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Timpview junior Jane Hedengren celebrates hearing that the Thunderbirds won the 5A girls team title at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Springville girls run as a group during the 5A girls race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain senior Abram Sumsion crosses the finish line in the 5A boys race at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain boys and girls cross country teams pose for a photo after each won a trophy at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- Maple Mountain girls pose with the 5A runner-up trophy at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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- The Maple Mountain boys cross country team poses for a photo at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
It had been a combined 39 years since the 2023 5A state cross country team champions had been able to hoist the first-place trophy.
It had been since 1996 since the Timpview girls cross country team won, although there have been some second-place finishes in recent years.
The Maple Mountain boys cross country team, on the other hand, had never won a title (the school opened 2009).
But those droughts came to an end at the 2023 state cross country meet at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, thanks to some inspired individual and collective efforts.
It was not surprising the Thunderbird junior Jane Hedengren won the 5A girls race, since she has been one of the top runners in the state for the last few years.
But this year wasn’t a normal year for her.
“I had a stress fracture, so this is actually my first time running in a month,” Hedengren said. “I’ve just been in the pool and on the bike. So I’m happy I was able to keep some fitness.”
She still crossed the line 15 seconds in front of her nearest competitor and that made her happy — but what got a much bigger reaction was when she found out that the Thunderbirds had won the team title.
“I love my team,” Hedengren said. “We’ve been working for this. This is a goal we’ve had since June. We’ve been working like we were state champs, I’m so proud of them and I’m happy with the state championship.”
Timpview head coach Jaimie Ribera said the work her Timpview girls put in is what made the difference.
“We did great,” Ribera said. “We had a lot of people step up in really not ideal circumstances. Everyone executed and did what they needed to. This group of girls, they wanted this and they just have worked hard for it. They were really consistent and really made it happen.”
Ribera said that the main reason Hedengren pushed herself as hard as she did was because she wanted to be there for the rest of the Thunderbird squad.
“Obviously I’m very happy,” Ribera said. “She loves the sport and works hard but I think more than that is just she really did this for the team. She wanted to show up and do it for them today.”
That was what put the huge grin on her face after the conclusion of the competition.
“I was so stoked,” Hedengren said. “We were coming in as a top contender, maybe even as the favorite and so it was definitely in reach for today. But you just never know what will happen or if we’d be able to pull it off on this day. I just feel really stoked that I get to celebrate with these lovely girls right beside me.”
The Maple Mountain boys also knew that it was possible for them to get the title and they had a plan coming in.
As often happens, however, things weren’t going as the Golden Eagles had hoped midway through the competition.
“It was definitely hard,” Maple Mountain senior Abram Sumsion said. “Two of us, Caleb Woolford and I, were running together. He wanted to try to win while I kind of didn’t have a great season in the early part but then like popped off in the last little bit. So we were both like sacrificing something to be able to run out there together, but it didn’t go exactly to plan. I just tried to at that point like race to the best of my ability.”
Sumsion ended up fifth but the big difference for the Golden Eagles was what happened further back in the field.
“One thing we focused a lot on is finding each other and moving together,” Golden Eagle head coach Brett Andrus said. “And that’s what happened. One of our runners was struggling and two others came up to help him. they grabbed him and helped him through. When you have somebody like that, that you can move with, then it makes it possible.”
That ended up making the difference as Maple Mountain was able to surge past second-place Viewmont down the stretch.
“That’s a big moment for our school today,” Andrus said. “We haven’t ever won a cross country title. For the boys to come have a shot, we were excited about it. We knew that we were gonna have to put forth a great effort. They closed out things well.”
For complete results from the 2023 5A cross country championships, go to RunnerCard.com.
5A girls results
Team
1. Timpview, 62
2. Maple Mountain, 103
3. Springville, 118
4. Box Elder, 162
5. Viewmont, 185
Individual
1. Jane Hedengren, Timpview, 17:14.7
2. Adria Favero, Olympus, 17:29.8
3. Lily Alder, Timpview, 17:34.6
4. Aslynn Lainhard, MM, 18:28.8
5. Kate Giles, Wasatch, 18:30.4
6. Jasmine Pacheco, Cyprus, 18:31.1
7. Nicole Wayment, Bonneville, 18:33.7
8. Sienna Barton, Bonneville, 18:34.4
9. Helena Gutierrez, West, 18:49.1
10. Maya Boyer, Springville, 18:58.9
5A boys results
Team
1. Maple Mountain, 82
2. Viewmont, 92
3. Alta, 119
4. Taylorsville, 179
5. Olympus, 184
Individual
1. JoJo Jourdon, Oly, 14:58.3
2. Gape Hooper, Viewmont, 15:15.2
3. Vance Langston, Brighton, 15:22.2
4. Cole Jameson, Taylorsville, 15:29.3
5. Abram Sumsion, MM, 15:38.8
6. Aidan Neal, Alta, 15:42.0
7. Brady Christensen, Woods Cross, 15:47.6
8. Cooper Walbeck, Alta, 15:51.2
9. Aiden Cope, MM, 15:52.7
10. Joey Rees, Springville, 15:53.0
