Woods Cross High junior Katie Hansen is back after an All-State showing at last year’s 5A state championships to lead the girls squad. The boys, who finished sixth at state, return most of their lineup, led by senior Brady Christensen – who was 14th at state last fall – along with fellow seniors Brennon Koldewyn, Ian Thompson and Micah Gillespie. 

Head coach Zach Hansen, in his 21st year with WXHS, said junior Kiara DeVries is one to “look out for” this year on the girls side as well as senior Beau Thompson on the boys team, who “has made a lot of progress this offseason.”

After a summer of training focusing on consistency and translating that to race-day, the Wildcats 

ran at the Premier Invitational Aug. 12 at the Cottonwood Complex. Christensen won the 5A boys race in a time of 15:17, four seconds ahead of Alta’s Cooper Walbeck. Also running for the second-place Woods Cross team were Koldewyn (third place), Ian Thompson (sixth), Gillespie (seventh), Beau Thompson (16th), senior Rees Christensen (22nd) and senior Jameson Blanchard (27th). Katie Hansen came in first in the 5A girls event, crossing the finish line in 18:37, eight seconds faster than Wasatch’s Kate Giles. Junior Kendell Rhees placed 17th, sophomore Angie Payan 23rd and sophomore Abby Marx (25th). 

Also on the WXHS team this year are seniors Ethan Carter, Aaron Chan, Eli Crowther, Connor Duke, Camille Dunn, Grayson Ence, Noah Heap, Will Hunter, Kera Keeler, Daniel Olsen, Elliya Parrish, Lydia Ponder, Morgan Ray and Caleb Robinson; juniors Erin Clark, Kate Hansen, Daniel Lavin, Torey Mortensen, Tyler Noall, Skyler Pace, Sam Phippen, Sam Porter, Sam Poulton, Niki Symkoviak, Ryan Wiberg and Ben Wirthlin; sophomores Kyler Anderson, Adam Bott, Blake Chandler, Jarrett Coleman, Ben Gessel, Henry Hyde, Cameron Keddington, Everett McClellan, Simon Miller, Nolan Nielsen and Zach Tucker; and freshmen Caroline Christian, Reese Dunn, Gwen Gillespie, Madeline Marx, Isabel Priest and Andy Roberts.

At the Region 5 Pre-Region race Aug. 22, the boys team came in second place at the Region 5 Pre-Region race led by Thompson who finished ninth in a time of 16:17. Other top-25 showings were Brady Christensen (11th), Micah Gillespie (13th) and Koldewyn (18th).

Hansen placed fourth with a time of 20:00 to help the girls squad take sixth as a team.

At the Beetdigger Invitational Aug. 26, Christensen won the varsity boys race, leading Woods Cross to a second-place finish as a team. Koldewyn (third) and Ian Thompson were also top-10. On the girls side, Hansen came in second and DeVries was 10th for the fifth-place varsity squad.

For the JV boys, who finished second, Olsen’s third-place led the way with Pace (fifth) and Noall (seventh) also earning top-10 placements. Dunn’s ninth-place finish led the JV girls team.

Phippen won the boys freshman/sophomore race with Hyde just behind and McClellan was ninth to also place top-10. For the girls, Gwen Gillespie and Christian were second and fourth, respectively.

Woods Cross is also scheduled to race at the Timpanogos Invitational Sept. 1, the Murray Invite (Murray City Park) Sept. 8, the Pre-State Meet (Regional Athletic Complex) Sept. 13, the Bob Firman Invitational Sept. 23, the Davis County Meet (Layton Commons Park) Oct. 4 and Divisionals (Lakeside Park) Oct. 10. The 5A state championship will be held Oct. 24 at the Regional Athletic Complex.