Cross Country Update - State Championships

Darts -
It was an incredible day at the state championships for the Davis cross country team. It capped one of our most remarkable seasons in school history. Winning is nice, but the best part of the state meet was the fact that we had worked hard as a TEAM for so long, and then we showed a lot of toughness, poise, and teamwork.
The girls started us off with a near perfect race. Each of the girls followed our race plan and ran with a lot of heart. We ended up with our best TEAM performance of the year. Shea was extremely tough as she earned her 2nd straight individual state championship. It is the first time a Davis girl has ever won 2 state xc titles. There were a few points in the race where she nearly allowed the girl from Alta to pull away from her, but Shea stayed mentally tough and stayed with her until about 800m to go. At that point, she put in a strong move and pulled away for the win. Shea's time was 17 seconds faster than a year ago. It is also the 2nd fastest time a Davis girl has ever run. Madi also ran a very smart and patient and tough race. Her race plan was to stay with the lead pack for the first 2 miles, then see how many of them she could beat. It was a challenge, but Madi ended up outkicking a very good runner from Bingham to get 4th place - it was only her 4th cross country race ever - and it ended up being the fastest 9th grade time we have ever had. It also puts Madi at #5 on our all-time state list (behind 4 girls who have all been state champions). Joanna also ran one of her strongest races of the season. She has been working so hard with a goal of being all-state (top 10). A year ago Joanna ran a great race to help us win a state title - she was 26th in a time of 20:12. This year, Jo improved to 19:00 - which was good enough to finish 8th and earn her all-state. Ashley ran with Joanna as long as she could. It was a very strong and courageous race, and although she finished just outside of the top 10, she ran an incredible time of 19:20 (13th place). Ashley is probably our most improved runner from a year ago. Chelsey also came through big for us. She ran her race perfectly - moving up through the 20s in the middle part of the race and finishing strong to be our #5 girl in a time of 19:41. Chelsey was a great example of how tough and competitive our girls TEAM was in this race and throughout the season. Kami was also moving well through the second half of the race. In the first 800m, Kami was in about 50th place - over the next 2 miles, she moved her way all the way up to 25th. Kami has been a solid surprise for us all season long, and did a great to finish up at the state meet. Becca also did a great job in her final cross country regular season race in a strong 4 year career. Becca runs with a lot of guts - she is what DXC is all about. The girls who were there as alternates and as teammates also did an incredible job supporting and encouraging the girls who ran. They could not have run so well without the rest of their TEAM being their to inspire and support them. In the end, it was our best girls' TEAM performance in the history of the state championships. Our top 5 girl's times combined to a team time of 95:10. It was the 3rd fastest team time that a girls team has run on the course. (Behind 2 teams that finished the season ranked in the top 5 in the U.S.) We ended up winning with a score of 44 points - over 2nd place Lehi who had 88 points. It will most like propel our girls TEAM into the top 25 in the U.S.
It is difficult to explain just how good our boys TEAM really is. We left the state meet with a 2nd place trophy, but it does not do the TEAM justice. We are literally the best 2nd place team that our state has ever had. There have only been 2-3 times in the history of the state championship where our boys team would not have come home as the champions. We finished the race with 5 boys in the top 11 runners. Our TEAM time of 79:01 is the 3rd best time ever run on the course (behind AF from last year and AF from this year - both of whom were ranked #1 or #2 in the U.S. when they ran those times). Our state performance should move us up in the U.S. rankings from 9th to about 5th place (we will find out on Thursday). But even more impressive than how fast our boys are is how tough they ran and how hard they have worked. They may not have earned a state title, but they definitely earned the title of champions. Brad's time of 15:23 was good enough for 2nd place, but it was also the 5th fastest time in the history of the course, and the fastest time by any Davis athlete. Brayden Cromar, Preston Johnson, and Logan Wood all fought to the end - finished with times under 16:00 - and earned all-state awards. Skylar Williams finished in one of the hardest positions with an 11th place finish - but he ran a tough, positive race and now has our fastest time ever by a sophomore at 16:01. Alex Hedquist may not have had his best race of the season, but he ran hard and never gave up - and he'll be back with some great races in the fuutre. And Jackson took advantage of his opportunity by pushing himself through a tough race, and hopefully learning some valuable lessons for the future. Overall, I was extremely proud of our boys and their efforts and the way they conducted themselves after a tough loss to an incredibly strong team (who we will get to race 2 more times in the next 6 weeks). And again, the alternates and the teammates of those who ran brought a lot of energy and are every bit a part of the TEAM's success throughout the season and at the state meet.
The support was outstanding. Thanks to all of the athletes, parents, and alumni who were able to come and watch the Darts and help to inspire them. I feel like the runners were given a lot of energy from the crowd.
There are some pictures on facebook.com and there will be a video posted to youtube.com.

Girls Results
1. Shea Martinez - 18:28
2. Tavia Dutson, Jordan - 18:34
3. Whitney Paskins, Alta - 18:36
4. Madi Garlock - 18:39
5. Emily Rich, Bingham - 18:39
6. Laura Young, Bingham - 18:52
7. Danielle Menlove, Jordan - 18:59
8. Joanna Boyd - 19:00
9. Jessica Smith, Lone Peak - 19:01
10. Jackie Heaps, Lehi - 19:11
13. Ashley Tyndall - 19:20
18. Chelsey Johnson - 19:41
25. Kami Dixon - 19:59
42. Becca Albrechtsen - 20:47
*124 Total Runners

Team Scores -
1. Davis 44
2. Lehi 88
3. Jordan 96
4. Weber 133
5. American Fork 136
6. Alta 145
7. Bingham 161
8. Lone Peak 177
9. Viewmont 291
10. Syracuse 305

Boys Results -
1. MacKenzie Morrison, AF - 15:22
2. Brad Nye, Davis - 15:23
3. Clayton Young, AF - 15:31
4. Brayden McClelland, AF - 15:33
5. Brayden Cromar - 15:46
6. Haven Shelton, PG - 15:47
7. Connor McMillan, AF - 15:47
8. Preston Johnson - 15:53
9. Kramer Morton, Alta - 15:56
10. Logan Wood - 15:57
11. Skylar Williams - 16:01
24. Alex Hedquist - 16:33
25. Jackson Sagers - 16:33
*124 Total Runners

Team Scores -
1. American Fork - 25
2. Davis - 33
3. Bingham - 122
4. Lone Peak - 135
5. Riverton - 162
6. Syracuse - 163
7. Alta - 165
8. Weber - 238
9. Copper Hills - 296
10. West Jordan - 302

Athletes of the Week - Madi Garlock, Chelsey Johnson, Brayden Cromar, Skylar Williams

Coming Up -
Monday - TEAM meeting. We will watch the video from the state meet (it's really good thanks to Logan Petty and Nalany Resek). We will also be going over the schedule and the expectations for the Nike Regionals. I will be sending home some information about the trip on Monday. We will also be going out for a distance run on Monday - followed by a small celebration (with some food).

Tuesday - TEAM pictures. We will be waiting for the 9th graders (9th graders should go straight to the bleachers when they get there). We will also turn in uniforms after the pictures. Make sure to bring your uniforms with you.

Plan on hard workouts on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this next week. With distance runs on Monday-Wednesday-Friday.

Awards Banquet - will be held on Thursday, November 3rd (most likely at the school). More information to come.

24 Hour Run Fundraiser - will be on Friday/Saturday, November 4-5. More information to come.

Nike Regionals - The race is on November 19. The trip will be from the 17-20 of November.

Thanks for a great season. Thanks for all your sacrifices and your hard work and commitment. And thanks to all the parents who were so willing to help with the many things we did as the season went on. And a special thanks to Brad and Janae and their help and expertise - they make me a better coach, and they make our athletes stronger, smarter runners.
It has been a pleasure,
Coach Talley