Luke Puskedra (Sr., Judge Memorial, UT) won the Utah State Cross Country Championships Wednesday in record time, as the snow fell on the state course. Puskedra blew away the field, running 14:54.6 to repeat as 3A boys champion. Ogden easily won the boys team title, placing three in the top ten, while Cedar beat Judge Memorial on a sixth-person tie-breaker for the girls 3A team title, in the most exciting girls race of the day.
MileSplit US Coverage: Utah State CC Championships
Utah State CC Championships Meet Page
Boys
The previous course record at the Utah State Cross Country Championships, held by Josh Rohatinsky (last year's NCAA National CC Champ), was shattered Wednesday at the 2007 edition of the meet. Senior Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial) continued his dominating season, as he broke Rohatinsky's course record by nearly 13 seconds, running 14:54.6. Puskedra blasted away from the start, easily beating everyone in the field. 5A champion Stephen Clark (Sr., Skyline) ran the next fastest time of the day in 15:23.
In the 4A team race, which was the race of the day, Timpview beat out Mountain View and Mountain Crest for the team title, scoring 49 points in the process. Timpview's leader, junior Jonathan Nelson, won the race by seven seconds, leading Timpview's charge of five runners in the top 21 spots. Timpview beat runner-up Mountain View by 12 points, establishing themselves as the best team in the state Wednesday based off of team time.
Girls
While Puskedra excited the fans watching the boys races, Krystal Harper (Sr., Orem), who won the 4A girls race in 19:11, led one of the more impressive performances of the day. Harper won her second-straight state cross country championship by ten seconds over Katie Harris (Mountain View).
Mountain View won the team title in grand fashion behind Harris' second place finish and a third place finish from Ashley Robison. Placing their top five in the top eighteen spots, Mountain View beat runner-up Orem by 14 points, getting redemption on a team that beat them the prior week at regionals. This year's state title made it 15 state championships for the historic program.
In the 5A race, Davis beat Skyline 55-102, as Natalie Haws led the way for the squad, winning the individual title by .4 over Shalaya Kipp (Skyline). Davis also had two other top ten finishes from Candace Eddy and Emily Hansen, as the team won their first ever state title.
The most exciting team race of the day came in the 3A championship race. Cedar and Judge Memorial tied, with Cedar winning the team title on the sixth-person tie-breaker.