Joe Benson, the top returner to the Class 4A championships, hopes to lead his No. 9 nationally ranked Timpanogos team to a repeat state title.
Class 4A Boys
Saucony Flo50 Teams: #9 Timpanogos, #19 Ogden
Saucony Flo50 Individuals: #15 Joe Benson (Timpanogos), #20 Garrett Barton (Ogden)
Both Joe Benson and Garrett Barton seem to be as good as any individual runner in the state of Utah this season. Barton has lost only to No. 19-ranked Talon Hull this season, a 2015 Foot Locker finalist and Class 5A runner-up, while Benson is undefeated and nailed a big win at the Nike Portland XC Invite over Tibebu Proctor of Washington and Ahmed Muhumed of Oregon, both of whom were nationally ranked earlier this season.
Benson and Barton have raced often over the past few years. These races seem to produce split results, though Barton is typically stronger on the track and Benson is superior in their recent cross country meetings. Benson is the top returner from the 2015 Class 4A meet, where he placed fourth in 15:09.3, while Barton was fifth in 15:24.4.
Timpanogos won the 2015 state title over Ogden, 42 to 65 points, but returns only Benson from its top five. Meanwhile, Ogden loses only one from its top five: 2015 individual state champion Alek Parsons, now of Stanford. Both teams easily advanced from their regional meet: Timpanogos won Region 7 with 32 points, a 53-second top-five spread and 15:22 three-mile average; Ogden won Region 5 with 24 points, a 1:15 top-five spread and 15:48 three-mile average.