Viewmont High senior Gabe Hooper finished the 3-mile course at the Spartan Invitational Sept. 8 at Murray Park in 16:24, six seconds ahead of Woods Cross’ Brady Christensen. His finish – along with junior Ben Hyde coming in fifth, senior Weston Egnew sixth, junior Peter Gehring seventh and junior Talmage Bruschke ninth – helped the Vikings also to take first as a team.

“We ran really well with Gabe winning,” said VHS head coach Trent Hooper. “We put five in the top 10 and seven in the top 14 with only a few seconds separating everyone. We were the top team by a ways. Gabe raced to plan where he was conservative with the lead pack and then took the lead and ran to the win in the last mile. “All six in our main pack of guys ran right together near the front of the race until the final half mile. That’s been our goal and it came together. It was a breakout performance for Peter, Bryce and Talmage, all of whom closed the gap to Weston to make for a strong main pack.”

Senior Naomi Egnew’s 14th-place showing led the girls varsity squad to a third-place finish as a team at the Spartan Invite.

“Our ladies ran really strong as well,” coach Hooper said. “They followed a race strategy really well through two miles, and we still finished pretty strong – though the 90 degree heat impacted a couple of our ladies. Running without one of our top five and in the heat, we were still almost the top 5A team and I’m really proud that they finished out the race strong.”

Coach Hooper also noted “stand out performances” from seniors Allie Eliason and Eliza Gehring – who were 20th and 25th, respectively. “They have not been in our top seven the full season, but really performed great in tough conditions.”

The rest of the Viewmont cross country program competed in the Park City Invitational Sept. 8 where junior David Tervort’s 10th-place finish led the boys varsity team to seventh place. “He had a standout performance, running into the top 10 and breaking up Mountain View and Maple Mountain’s top five,” said coach Hooper.

Sophomore Brooklyn Brady led the girls varsity team to 10th-place, coming in 49th, with the JV boys team finishing fourth and the JV girls sixth. Sophomore Hyrum Elder was sixth and sophomore Thomas MacKay was fourth for the boys and sophomore Andiee Smith as sixth for the girls.

“It was a great day for the Vikes!!” said coach Hooper.

The Viewmont High girls team came in third at the Spartan Invitational behind a 14th-place finish from senior Naomi Egnew. Pictured, from left, Allie Eliason, Lyndsey Parke, Audrey Lemon, Naomi Egnew, Kiera Stacey, Sarah Scott. Not pictured: Eliza Gehring. Photos courtesy Trent Hooper

Davis

The Davis High boys and girls varsity teams both took fourth place at the Park City Invitational Sept. 8. Freshman Isabella Cram and senior Kate Larsen finished fifth and sixth, respectively, for the girls while senior Isaac Lundberg’s 12th-place showing was tops for the boys.

In the JV boys race, the Darts finished second with four top-10 runners in junior Blake Alvey (fourth), junior Dante Lione (fifth), senior Joey Hirst (ninth) and junior Cade Stout (10th). The JV girls also came in second behind junior Helen Glaze’s third-place finish and sophomore Keeley Miller crossing eighth.

Bountiful

At the Park City Invitational Sept. 8, junior Hayden Hooper’s eighth-place finished in the varsity boys race to help Bountiful to 12th as a team. The girls varsity team was also 12th behind senior Marji Richards who came in 46th.

In the JV boys event, freshman Evan Ostler led the way with a 17th-place showing for the fifth-place squad. The JV girls were 10th with sophomore Ella McQuay taking 55th as the first Redhawks girl crossing the line.

Woods Cross

At the Spartan Invitational Sept. 8, junior Katie Hansen won the varsity girls race, coming in 10 seconds ahead of Wasatch’s Kate Giles, to lead Woods Cross to an eighth-place showing as a team. In the boys varsity race, senior Brady Christensen was runner up behind Viewmont’s Gabe Hooper with the squad taking third.

Sophomore Henry Hyde was seventh in the JV boys race, leading the team to third place, while senior Camille Dunn came in 21st in the JV girls event, helping the girls finish in eighth.