Doug Soles's Herriman boys take Riverton to the brink at the Utah Pre Region 3 Meet
- - -
The return of Soles to the sidelines was a notable headline to begin the 2022 season.
After all, the former Great Oak High School coach had won a national title with the Wolfpack girls, had qualified for countless national championship races and was considered by and large to be one of the nation's top prep coaches in cross country.
But ahead of the 2021 season, he quit and set off for Utah.
And yet, it didn't take long for Soles to find his next project. Perhaps the allure of cross country -- and its many machinations -- wrangled the former California resident back into duty at Herriman.
Three meets in, all signs point toward a healthy and successful season.
On Wednesday, the squad from North Utah took state-championship contenders Riverton to the brink, finishing just four points shy of victory at the Utah Pre Region 3 Meet at the Big Cottonwood Complex.
That's notable, if only because it looks like Soles has positioned his latest team into potential state contenders, too.
On Saturday, he had one runner under 16 minutes for 3-miles and three more under 16:40. His team's one-to-five spread was just 53 seconds.
Obviously, let's not forget Riverton here. One of the country's top programs to begin the season, they scored the race's first two runners -- Andrew Ludwig and Tyler McDougal -- and had four athletes inside the top 10.
If Riverton can shore up the gap between its fourth and fifth, the team will be flat out hard to beat.
VARSITY BOYS THREE MILE RUN FINALS
PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS
1 Andrew Ludwig 11 Riverton 15:49.06 1
2 Tyler McDougal 12 Riverton 15:49.31 2
3 Ryland Garner 12 Herriman 15:50.84 3
4 William Steadman 11 Herriman 16:03.22 4
5 Samuel Ghiz 11 Riverton 16:04.84 5
6 Alex Maxfield 12 West Jordan 16:13.12 6
7 Michael Ballard 12 Copper Hills 16:21.62 7
8 Bridger Kelley 12 Bingham 16:22.12 8
9 Corbin Randall 10 Riverton 16:28.25 9
10 Hyrum Wood 11 Herriman 16:36.00 10
11 Jack Beckstrom 11 Herriman 16:36.34 11
12 Sebastian Nielson 12 Herriman 16:43.22 12
13 Nathan Wardle 11 Herriman 16:44.02 13
14 Kadan Allen 12 Herriman 16:50.75 14
15 Maxwell Hofheins 11 Herriman 16:54.66 0
16 Isacc Allen 11 Bingham 16:56.59 15
17 Braden Smith 12 Copper Hills 16:57.75 16
18 Jonah Tang 10 Herriman 16:58.28 0
19 Caleb McDonald 11 Bingham 17:06.56 17
20 Sam Sorensen 12 Bingham 17:07.02 18
The Scoop:
- Page 2: The Doug Soles project gets its biggest test yet in Utah
- Page 3: Hunter Jones made a statement at Pete Moss, his home meet
- Page 4: The Woodlands vs. Atascocita lived up to the billing
- Page 5: Girls take center stage at Southlake Carroll XC Invite
- Page 6: Bolles versus Cambridge Christian was a win-win
