ETV News stock photo by Dusty Butler
While Carbon already had a meet under its belt, the UIAAA Cross Country Invitational was the season opener for the Spartans. Against some of the top competition of the entire state, Jess Christiansen of Emery made a large impression.
According to assistant coach Hugh Christiansen, “Jess turned some heads with a big performance.” Hugh went on to recall Jess’s entire race: “Jess ran a conservative race early on and was in 20th place through the first mile. At about 1.5 miles into the race, he began to make his move. With 3/4 of a mile to go, he had closed a 20-second gap and took the lead. Jess held the lead up until the final meters of the race where he was out-kicked by the eventual winner Jaron Hartshorn of Lone Peak High School. Hartshorn’s finishing time was 15:20.41 and Christiansen was close behind with a time of 15:22.12. Christiansen ran over a minute faster than the previous year at this same meet.”
After the race, Jess reflected, “My time and place gives me a lot of confidence. It shows me that my summer miles have paid off.” Jess continued, “Jaron is a fast guy, and Lone Peak and Corner Canyon are two of the top teams in the state among all classifications. It was fun. I am excited for the rest of the season.”
As mentioned, Corner Canyon and Lone Peak finished one and two, respectively. Sophomore Camdon Larsen also put up a good time, finishing 35th with a 16:38.06 time. “I had fun, [but] I went out too fast I think,” said Larsen. “So, the end was tough, but I feel good about it.”
The remaining Spartans finished as follows: Merritt Meccariello, 70th 17:44.22; Dillan Larsen, 87th 18:15.09; Jack Christiansen, 93rd 18:30.52; Hayden Christiansen, 99th 18:39.40; and Mason Hurdsman, 121st 19:56.81. Emery took 12th overall as a team.
The Dinos collectively finished better than Emery and ended in 10th place. Kobe Cruz took 15th overall to led the Dinos with a time of 16:05.18. He was followed by Easton Humes, 52nd 17:12.31; Braxton Ware, 58th 17:22.50; Pierce Bryner, 61st 17:26.59; and Garrett Black, 72nd 17:45.00. Union had the best time in 3A with an eighth-place finish.
The Lady Dinos took 12th overall, led by Beverly Lancaster in 25th with a 19:42.50 time. Ambree Jones came in 42nd at 20:25.21 followed by Sophia Taylor, 81st 21:38.78; Ellie Hanson, 93rd 22:25.94; Ada Bradford, 94th 22:36.03; and Lindsie Fausett, 113th 23:52.97.
On the other hand, the Lady Spartans elected to participate in the JV race. The top runner from the Spartans, Ady Lester, placed 34th with a time of 22:22.38. She was followed by her teammates Kallee Cook, 63rd 23:59.47, and Daicee Ungerman, 114th 26:39.38. Rileigh Meccariello did not finish due to injury. For full results, please click here.
Up next, Carbon and Emery will compete at the Pre-Region Meet at Canyon View on Sept. 3.