Athletes from two of the nation's deepest states in cross country will duke it out with the hopes of qualifying for nationals in Portland.

It will be quite the showing for Colorado and Utah runners.

The biggest storyline may be one of the most intriguing of all the Team Regionals, mainly in light of the Utah State Championships that saw a lot of surprise shake-ups and upsets on the team front.

Two of the favorites for the team title hail from Utah: American Fork and Mountain View. Both won state titles across the Class 6A and 5A classifications. 

In a true game of seconds, positioning will matter big time. Both Mountain View and American Fork may be state champions in their respective classes, but the former has the better 1-5 spread of 42 seconds, and the latter has the better team 5K average of 15:18.98. Stats don't tell the full story, but those numbers could be key in how the team narrative unfolds. 

Where does the rest of the team field fall? 

Look first to Lone Peak, who is coming off an impressive second-place finish at the 6A state meet in Utah to American Fork. They're led by one of Utah's best in Jaron Hartshorn, and their best performance of the season came when it mattered most at states, beating Riverton by just two points for the silver team position.

Then there's a peculiar team like Herriman, certainly no stranger to winning this season. They took down Mountain View and many of the Northwest's best teams out at the Woodbridge Classic earlier this season, and they also defeated the trio of Mountain View, Riverton and American Fork at the Timpanogos Invitational in September.

The squad dropped to fourth at the 6A state meet, but they are a team that has won at various points during the season and that shouldn't be discounted.

And then there's Riverton, who has really come on strong in the latter months of the fall. The 6A third-place finishers beat out both American Fork and Lone Peak at the TwiKnight Invite in October to move up the ranks in Utah, so they have the potential to place well on any given day.

Outside of Utah, the Colorado Class 5A state champions of Valor Christian could make a run for the top two, led by a strong front pack of Dane Eike, Drew Costelow and Kaeden Dendorfer. There's also Cheyenne Mountain, which won the title at the CHSA Class 4A level and boast a 33-second spread for their top five runners.

Looking at the individual auto qualifiers, it's a similar battle between nationally-ranked talents.

Daniel Simmons -- the Utah Class 6A state champ out of American Fork -- will toe the line with the fastest 5K time of anyone in the field of 14:31.8, and he could be the next athlete in program history to add to the American Fork lore.

He enters the field coming off a 14:49.8 5k performance at the state meet, which was the fastest time recorded out of all the divisions.

But expect to see some other top dogs from Utah up at the front, namely Utah Class 5A state champion Tayson Echohawk (Orem). Ranked at No. 10 on the MileSplit50 rankings, Echohawk has been a consistent winner in Utah and also notched a marquee runner-up finish to Team Northwest Regional champion Tyrone Gorze at the Woodbridge Classic in September.

Echohawk finished second at the Southwest regional in 2021 during the year of regionals-only competition at the Team National level.

We'll likely see Mountain View's Liam Heninger competing, too. Heninger and Echohawk have gone head-to-head seven times already this season, with Heninger finishing just behind Echohawk by mere seconds in the majority of those races.

But Heninger's performance at regionals goes beyond the individual stats and placement, as he plays a crucial role in helping a favored Mountain View team earn a bid to nationals.

Throw in other state talents like the Class 6A silver and bronze medalists Noah Jenkins of Herriman and Hartshorn, and the lead race pack could be dominated by Utah.

But Utah by no means owns this race. Colorado state champions and top finishers from nearly every division will make the trip to Arizona for a shot at qualifying for Team Nationals. That group of champions includes 4A winner Nolan Hoffman from Mead,  5A runner-up Costelow and other top-five finishers like Eike and Porter Middaugh who are proven sub-15-minute racers. 

Cory's Picks

Ashley's Picks

FINISH	TEAM
1	Daniel Simmons, American Fork (UT)
2	Tayson Echohawk, Orem (UT)
3	Liam Heninger, Mountain View (UT)
4	Noah Jenkins, Herriman (UT)
5	Dane Eike, Valor Christian (CO)

Olivia's Picks