Desert Hills girls, Pine View boys win Region 9 cross-country titles

Runners compete at Region 9 cross-country championships, Sand Hollow Golf Course, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 9, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Pine View High School Athletics, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Desert Hills High School girls and the Pine View boys won the Region 9 cross-country championships at Sand Hollow Golf Course Tuesday.

“It was a great meet,” Pine View coach David Holt said afterward. “Cross-country in Region 9 is some of the best in the state, a state that is one of the best in the entire nation.”

Desert Hills girls pose with Region 9 trophy after winning regional cross-country championships, Sand Hollow Golf Course, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 9, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Desert Hills High School Athletics, St. George News

In the girls varsity race, Pine View junior Jessica Hill placed first among the event’s 44 runners with a time of 17 minutes, 49.5 seconds.

Just a few seconds behind were Desert Hills seniors Samantha Nelson (17:52) and Bailey Brinkerhoff (17:56), who finished second and third, respectively. Pine View sophomore Alli Baker placed fourth with a time of 18:28.

The Lady Thunder, who are ranked among the top 15 teams nationally and a strong favorite heading into next week’s state championships, had three other finishers among the top 10: senior Trinity Shimbeck was sixth, senior Lily Poulton was eighth, and junior Lauren Leukenga placed 10th.

The Desert Hills girls took first place with a score of 29, while Pine View placed second with 49, Hurricane was third with 89 and Cedar was fourth with 93. All four teams qualified for the state meet, which is scheduled for next Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City.

The Odekirk sisters of Hurricane High both placed in the top 10, with junior Hailey placing fifth in 18:38 and freshman Caila placing seventh in 18:47, helping the Tigers to a third-place region finish.

Harley Taylor of Cedar finished ninth overall in 18:54, helping the Lady Reds secure Region 9’s fourth and final qualifying spot for the state meet.

In addition, Malayna Steffenson of Canyon View, Gwen Sepp of Dixie and Kamryn Stott of Dixie qualified for the state meet as individuals, even though their teams did not qualify.

Pine View pose with Region 9 trophy after winning regional cross-country championships, Sand Hollow Golf Course, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 9, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Pine View High School Athletics, St. George News

In the boys varsity race, Hurricane senior Caleb Armstrong finished first overall out of 49 racers, crossing the finish line in 15:26.0, just six-tenths of a second ahead of his younger brother, sophomore Joshua Armstrong, who placed second with a time of 15:26.6.

But it was Pine View that ended up winning the team trophy, as the Panthers had five of the top 13 finishers.

“The Armstrong brothers from Hurricane started the race off very quickly, and a strong pack of Canyon View and Pine View runners formed behind them,” Holt said. “Eventually, the Armstrong brothers pulled away from Julien Canales of Pine View, who briefly took the lead in the final mile.”

Canales, a senior, placed third individually with a time of 15:32.2, while Nathan Beitler, also a senior at Pine View, placed fourth in 15:44.6. Matthew Thatcher of Desert Hills placed fifth with a time of 15:49.0, narrowly edging past sixth-place finisher Easton Brandt of Canyon View, who finished in 15:49.3.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were Hunter Jones of Canyon View (seventh place, 15:57.9), Tyler Nance of Desert Hills (eighth place, 15:58.3), Scottie Busher of Pine View (ninth place, 15:58.9) and Tim Amodt of Hurricane (10th place, 16:01.2).

Also qualifying as individuals for the state meet were Spencer Carlisle of Dixie, Bailey Oswald of Cedar and Brady Bettridge of Cedar.

For a complete list of all finishers, times and team scores from the Region 9 meet, click here.

Region 9 girls cross-country championship results (top 4 qualify for state)

  1. Desert Hills, 29
  2. Pine View, 49
  3. Hurricane, 89
  4. Cedar, 93
  5. Canyon View, 118
  6. Snow Canyon, 171

Region 9 boys cross-country championship results (top 4 qualify for state)

  1. Pine View, 40
  2. Hurricane, 50
  3. Desert Hills, 75
  4. Canyon View, 90
  5. Cedar, 101
  6. Dixie, 173
  7. Snow Canyon, 187

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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