Wednesday afternoon was filled with excitement as the community gathered at the Carbon Country Club Golf Course to witness the Region 12 Cross Country Championships. Regional awards were on the line as well as invitations to the state meet next week. Only the top three teams qualify for state, forcing everyone to bring their ‘A’ game.
Starting with the girls’ race, Rozlyn Stowe impressed the crowd by immediately jumping out to a huge lead. No one would ever come close to her as she set a new personal record with a time of 18:09.4 to become the region champion.
Grand filled in three of the next five spots to put the Red Devils in front of the Dinos. Carbon then had Ambree Jones and Lindsie Fausett finish in seventh and eighth, respectively, to tighten up the team race. Sophie Taylor then came in 11th while Beverly Lancaster gave all that she had to make one more pass just before the finish line to take 13th. Lancaster beat out the next runner by just 0.2 of a second.
It was a tight race for the teams with just three points separating the champs and the runner-ups. In the end, Carbon was victorious 40-43 over Grand to take the region title.
The Lady Spartans were led by their star freshman Addie Hurst, who came in fifth place. Her twin sister, Carlie Hurst, was the next to cross in 19th while Kallee Cook came in 22nd, Rileigh Meccariello in 25th and Kallee Lake in 26th. Though Emery took fourth and will not go to state as a team, both Hurst sisters qualified. They will race as individuals and will not count toward the team scoring.
Richard Crane of Richfield had an incredible time in the boys’ race, finishing with a sub-16 minute time to take first. Emery’s Camdon Larsen was the next to cross in second place. Dino teammates Braxton Ware and Garrett Black then came in fourth and fifth, respectively, with Jack Christiansen (EHS) right behind in sixth.
Easton Humes (CHS) finished in eighth while Logan McEvoy (CHS) set a new personal record in 16th and Sean Stromness (CHS) came in 18th. Rounding off the top five finishers for Emery were Merritt Mecarriello in 12th, Dillan Larsen in 20th and Mason Stewart in 22nd.
Canyon View (40) won the region title with Carbon (51) in second and Emery (62) in third. As a result, both Carbon and Emery qualified for state as a team. For comprehensive results of the Region 12 Championships, click here.
Carbon and Emery will now prepare for the state race next Tuesday, Oct. 25.
