The Viewmont High cross country teams swept through Region 5 with titles in the boys and girls varsity and boys and girls junior varsity races Oct. 4 at Layton Commons Park.

“Region went well for us,” said head coach Trent Hooper. “The scoring was tight in the varsity races, but we pulled out the win in all four races.”

The boys varsity race ended in a 43-43 tie between the Vikings and Woods Cross with Viewmont’s Gabe Hooper’s winning the race in a time of 14:52. The rest of the scoring top five for the Vikings were Ben Hyde (seventh), Peter Gehring (eighth), Weston Egnew (13th) and Talmage Bruschke (14th). The Wildcats lineup finished in second (Brady Christensen), sixth (Ian Thompson), ninth (Brennon Koldewyn), 10th (Micah Gillespie) and 16th (Jameson Blanchard). The Region 5 championship went to Viewmont by virtue of a tiebreaker where David Tevort finished ahead of Woods Cross’ sixth-place finisher Sam Phippen.

“Gabe ran a great race, breaking 15 minutes on the three-mile course,” coach Hooper said. “Woods Cross’ Brady Christiansen was stalking him about three seconds back for most of the race, but Gabe made a strong acceleration in the final mile and won by about 20 seconds. As a team, we did not feel we performed at our best. So, while we are happy that we won, the tight score is a motivator as we prepare for state.”

“We battled hard,” said WXHS head coach Zach Hansen.

Bountiful High junior Hayden Hooper also finished third in the boys varsity race for the fifth-place Redhawks.

In the girls varsity event, Viewmont won by six points over Box Elder.

“This was closer than we expected,” said VHS coach Trent Hooper. “Box Elder put together a fantastic race and executed some strong pack running. Several of our girls ran personal best times and we generally felt like we executed well.”

The Vikings’ Keira Stacey came in fifth and Naomi Egnew was sixth, both running in under 19 minutes. “Lyndsey Park (who finished 10th) came through in a big way. She is racing through some injury but came through as a strong third runner,” coach Hooper said. “Brooklyn Brady is a first-year cross country athlete and a sophomore, and she ran solidly into our top seven and continues to get better and better.”

Viewmont’s Audrey Lemon and Sarah Scott were 13th and 16th, respectively, for the region champions.

Woods Cross’ Kate Hansen was second for the fourth-place Wildcats lineup with Brie Nydegger, in her first cross country season, finishing fourth.

“It was a good region race with a lot of depth,” said coach Hansen.

Bountiful High senior Marjie Richards was 27th as the top Redhawks runner for her seventh-place squad.

In the girls junior varsity race, Viewmont had a perfect score of 15 – producing the top five runners – in taking nine of the top 10 spots. Lexi Toronto, who is “showing some consistent strong finishes the last couple of weeks,” according to coach Hooper, placed first.

Also medaling for the Vikings were Tempe Anderson (second), Lydia Stringfellow (third), Abi Lee (fourth), Cecelia Walton (fifth), Kate Egnew (sixth), Grace Mitchell (seventh), Ashley Covey (eighth) and Allie Phelps (ninth).

For the third-place Bountiful girls JV squad, Lydia Sullivan, Ella McQuay and Lily Tew were 13th, 14th, and 15th respectively.

Woods Cross’ Caroline Christian was 23rd for the sixth-place Wildcats’ lineup.

Viewmont High’s Ayden Lee won the boys JV race by more than 45 seconds. Junah Overson (second), Austin Wilson (third), Will Hyde (fourth), Sam Hooper (sixth), Spencer Lewis (ninth) and Hyrum Elder (10th) were also top-10, securing medals.

“Ayden’s time of 16:14 would have put him in the top 25 in the varsity race,” said coach Hooper. “We were one point from a perfect score as well. These powerful JV showings indicate a promising future.”

Woods Cross’ Skyler Pace was 11th for the third-place Wildcats team with Bountiful’s Evan Ostler coming in 29th for the fifth-place Redhawks squad.

“What we really have going for us is good depth,” said VHS coach Hooper. “We are strong all the way to the seventh runner. If we come in hungry and ready to race, we will be tough to beat. But the competition will be tough. We can’t be complacent.”

Region 1 Championships

Farmington High’s boys varsity team placed second at the Region 1 championships at the Weber County Fairgrounds Oct. 4. Landon Sturgeon was fifth, Izaac Crosland sixth and Tyler Muirbrook was ninth for the Phoenix team’s top-10 showings.

Davis High’s Isaac Lundberg came in third for the third-place Darts with Jonny Reed taking seventh and Gabe Trujillo 10th.

In the girls varsity race, Farmington was third behind Skye Siddoway’s third-place finish along with Alexis Bradshaw taking fifth and Tai Aston 10th. Davis High’s Isabella Cram came in second overall for the fourth-place Darts squad.

The Davis High boys JV team won the Region 1 title with junior Ivan Van Drimmelen crossing the finish line first in 17:10, 10 seconds ahead of teammate Nathan Taggart. Blake Alvey was third and Cade Stout tied for eighth. Farmington came in second with four top-10 finishes in Spencer Grover (fourth), Henry Kimoto (sixth), Sam Swain (seventh) and Trey Austin (10th).

On the girls JV side, Farmington was second with Brooklyn Nowling (third), Hailey Bird (seventh) and Gabriella May (eighth) earning medals. Davis was third with Juliet Stanley leading the Darts with a 12th-place finish.