Double up: Mountain View claims 4A boys, girls cross country titles
-
- The Mountain View boys and girls cross country teams celebrate winning state 4A titles at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Mountain View’s Kyle Steadman, left, leads the 4A boys cross country race at the state meet, held at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Mountain View’s Kyle Steadman crosses the finish line, winning the 4A boys cross country title at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Mountain View’s Sophie Waite lunges across the finish line in the 4A girls cross country final at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Orem’s Madelyn Embley (in blue) runs with a pack of 4A girls cross country runners in their race at the state finals at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Two Mountain View runners celebrate after winning the 4A boys state cross country title at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Mountain View Kyle Chipman celebrates crossing the finish line in the 4A boys state cross country final at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Chipman finished in sixth place.
-
- Two Mountain View girls cross country runners hug after winning the 4A girls title at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- The Orem (in blue) and Timpanogos (in white) girls cross country team begin their race at the state cross country final in Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- The Orem boys cross country team (in blue) start of their race at the state meet, held at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Mountain View’s Kyle Steadma accepts the championship medal after winning the 4A boys state cross country title at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Orem’s Madelyn Embley is helped up after crossing the finish line at the 4A girls state cross country finals at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- The Mountain View girls cross country team poses with the championship trophy after winning the 4A title at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- The 4A girls race at the 2024 state cross country meet begins at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- Mountain View’s Kyle Steadman crosses the finish line, winning the 4A boys cross country title at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
-
- The Mountain View boys cross country team (in white) starts off their race at the state meet, held at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.
SALT LAKE CITY — At the conclusion of the awards ceremony for the 4A cross country meet on Tuesday, Mountain View coach Mike Strauss was left holding one state championship trophy under each arm while he did interviews and accepted congratulations.
He’s been there before. Last year, in fact.
The Bruin boys have won state titles the past three years (two 5A, one 4A) and the girls have now won in consecutive seasons. The trophies may look the same, but each championship has been an entirely different journey for Strauss and the program.
“One of the funnest parts about high school is how different the groups are, how transient they are,” Strauss said. “In Alpine School District, we have three years (sophomore to seniors) and if we get lucky we have some freshmen. So to be able to see the kids go through those ebbs and flows in such a short amount of time is fun. It’s not just necessarily a state championship as much as the success they’ve see through the season, the trials and tribulations that they’ve gone through. Every year is a little bit different, every year is a little different conflict.”
The Mountain View boys dominated the 4A race at Sugarhouse Park, senior Kyle Steadman crossing the finish line first in 15:06.73. That time was more than 33 seconds faster than the runner-up, Bridger Jaggi of Pine View (15:39.34).
“This course is a hard course, and so I like it to be hard when it comes to hills and turns,” said Steadman, who finished as the runner-up in last year’s race. “The spots where people want to try and zone out and want to take it easy for a sec, that’s where I push it to get away from them. You have to be in it every step of the way, otherwise, I’m gonna drop you.”
Temperatures for the race were in the low 40’s with swirling winds and steady rain. None of it seemed to phase Steadman.
“Running in the cold, it’s just the same, unless you’re scared of it, and I’m not scared of it,” he said.
The Bruins placed four runners in the top 10 (Steadman, junior Wyatt Jeppson in fifth, sophomore Kyle Chipman in sixth and sophomore Maverik Dutson in eighth) with their No. 5 runner, senior Ammon Larsen, in 12th for a total of 32 points. That score easily outdistanced second-place Orem (88 points) and third-place Timpanogos (99 points).
“It turned out a little better than I planned,” Strauss said. “You have the baggage, so to speak, of the last couple years of having state championships. You don’t want to be that next group that to say, ‘What happens if we don’t win a state championship?’ We try to prepare them for whatever happens, to focus on their own race, to focus on their own team. I was really impressed how those young kids really took their team seriously, and took their position seriously, rather than being intimidated.”
Orem placed two in the top five (juniors Peter Mecham and Takashi Shipp in third and fourth, respectively). Timpanogos’ top finishers were senior Deiderik Whitt in 13th and junior Bridger Phillips in 17th.
The Mountain View girls team had to overcome some adversity to win their gold trophy. Senior Julie Moore, a senior who won the 2023 state title and was second in this year’s divisional meet, had a tough day and ended up 11th. Her teammates picked her up, with junior Sophie Waite (sixth) and senior June Zimmerman (seventh) grabbing top 10 finishes. Junior Lily Waite (12th) and senior Ashlyn May (26th) completed the Bruins’ top five to score 62 points. Green Canyon was second with 85 points and Orem third with 88. Hailey Atwater of West Field, a school in its first year, was the individual medalist in a time of 18:07.81.
“These girls, they’ve kind of swapped around positions,” Strauss said. “They’ve been courageous enough and brave enough to, rather than just be in that position and stay in that position, to encourage each other other to push each other through. It was tough seeing Julie having a hard time the next four girls were just dialed in and focused on what needed to happen.”
The state title for the Mountain girls was No. 21 (the first coming in 1984) and kept them one championship ahead of the boys, who won No. 20.
“I would say they are more competitive than connected,” Strauss said. “The girls have come away with a little more hardware this season than the boys. I think the boys expected it be a little bit different with as many kids as we had back from last season. The girls kind of came in as the quiet underdog, so to speak. So it got pretty competitive about who was coming home with the hardware.
“I wish the process was linear, but it’s not in high school. Puberty is an ugly thing. A 14 year old turns 16 or a 16 year old turns 14. It really does challenge you as a coach, as a culture, with those kids. But it’s fun.”
For complete results, go to uhsaa.org.
2024 State Cross Country Meet
Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City
Boys 4A
Team Scores
1. Mountain View 32, 2. Orem 88, 3. Timpanogos 99, 4. Pine View 100, 5. Desert Hills 137.
Individual Results
1 Kyle Steadman, Mountain View 15:06.73
2 Bridger Jaggi, Pine View 15:39.34
3 Peter Mecham, Orem 15:44.42
4 Takashi Shipp, Orem 15:48.90
5 Wyatt Jeppson, Mountain View 15:54.08
6 Kyle Chipman, Mountain View 15:59.39
7 Trevor Prior, Pine View 16:02.34
8 Maverik Dutson, Mountain View 16:07.32
9 Josh Marin, Hillcrest 16:13.25
10 Mason Gertsch, Crimson Cliffs 16:16.68
Girls 4A
Team Scores
1. Mountain View 62, 2. Green Canyon 85, 3. Orem 88, 4. Cedar 134, 5. Pine View 173.
Individual Results
1. Hadley Atwater, West Field 18:07.81
2. Charlotte Felt, Green Canyon 18:10.04
3. Tatum Flach, Park City 18:14.20
4. Madelyn Embley, Orem 18:22.34
5. Hailey Shakespear, Green Canyon 18:29.52
6. Sophie Waite, Mountain View 18:34.54
7. Julie Zimmerman, Mountain View 18:41.16
8. Chelsea Shakespear, Green Canyon 18:41.72
9. Leah Larsen, Stansbury 18:44.35
10. Kate Adams, Orem 18:45.69
