Canyon View, Desert Hills take top team honors at SUU Invitational cross-country meet

Written by Jeff Richards
August 29, 2018
Runners approach the finish line of the boys varsity race at the Southern Utah University Invitational high school cross-country meet, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 25, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Hundreds of runners from the seven 4A schools in Region 9, plus two additional high schools, competed in Southern Utah University’s annual invitational meet Saturday morning at the Bicentennial Park soccer fields.

First-place finisher Caleb Armstrong of Hurricane approaches finish line of the boys varsity race at the Southern Utah University Invitational high school cross-country meet, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 25, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Top team honors in the varsity races went to Canyon View High in the boys race and Desert Hills High for the girls. Desert Hills also won both of the junior varsity races.

Leading the way in the varsity boys race was senior Caleb Armstrong of Hurricane, who posted a winning time of 15 minutes, 31 seconds. Placing second individually was Easton Brandt of Canyon View with a time of 15:38, while Nathan Beitler of Pine View took third in 15:50 and sophomore Josh Armstrong of Hurricane was fourth in 15:51. Junior McKay Burnside of Canyon View placed fifth with a time of 15:54.

In the varsity girls race, Desert Hills swept the top three individual spots, with teammates Samantha Nelson (6:11), Bailey Brinkerhoff (6:12) and Lauren Leukenga (6:14) all finishing within three seconds of each other. Right behind them was Jessica Hill of Pine View, who placed fourth with a time of 6:16, and Trinity Shimbeck of Desert Hills, who was fifth with a time of 6:19.

The two schools outside of Region 9 that also participated in the meet were Wasatch and San Juan, although San Juan was limited to just the JV races.

The varsity boys team placings and point totals were as follows:

1. Canyon View (48)
2. Pine View (63)
3. Hurricane (70)
4. Desert Hills (78)
5. Cedar (88)
6. Wasatch (183)
7. Dixie (206)
8. Snow Canyon (209)

The girls varsity results were as follows:

1. Desert Hills (22)
2. Pine View (51)
3. Cedar (60)
4. Canyon View (122)
5. Hurricane (128)
6. Wasatch (144)
7. Snow Canyon (200)

More than 400 runners – approximately 100 varsity and 300-plus JV athletes – participated in the event.

The next scheduled Region 9 meet is the Dixie All-Comers invitational at Bloomington Hills Park Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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