* Farmington's boys celebrate their Class 6A state championship on Wednesday
Photo Credit: Serina Dean/Utah MileSplit
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The season-ending matchup between Farmington's and American Fork's boys at the UHSAA Class 6A Championships did not disappoint on Wednesday at Valley Regional Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Two of the state's top teams -- both of which are nationally ranked -- squared off, and in the end, less than 20 points separated both programs.
But while American Fork's average was lower, it was Farmington's boys who pulled ahead late, winning with 49 points behind the sixth, seventh, ninth, 10th and 17th-place finishers.
Coincidentally enough, the No. 4 nationally ranked Phoenix are now back-to-back champions -- only in two different classifications. They won 5A in 2020 and now 6A in 2021.
"We knew that we could do it, we trained hard and came in and ran our race," Farmington senior Britton Austin said after the win. "I'm proud of these boys."
No. 18 American Fork didn't go home empty-handed, though.
The Caveman saw its top two runners, Nate Jaster and Jayden Fitzgarrald, finish first and third, respectively, as the pair guided the program to a respectable second-place finish with 68 points. Jaster won with a time of 14:55.50, while Fitzgarrald came through in 15:08.6.
And yet, it was hard to beat a Farmington team which finished its entire scoring five in the top 20. The Utah program said later they knew they had to race well to beat the Cavemen.
"It wasn't going to be handed to us," Austin said later. "We knew we would have to come out and fight for it."
Related Links:
State Championship Boys Meet Merge
State Championship Girls Meet Merge
Riverton was third, Corner Canyon was fourth and Skyridge, last year's 6A champion, was fifth.
Jaster, meanwhile, won his second straight championship in Class 6A. Importantly, it came after he did not feature at the Divisional 5A-6A race. Oddly enough, it was only one of a handful of wins over the season.
It was his third victory overall, but his first under 15 minutes.
* The UHSAA Class 6A boys race
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"I was like, 'I'll sit behind and maybe come up if it feels slower,'" he said. "We came through that second mile and I was like, 'I don't want it to come down to a 400m or a sprint,' so I decided to make a surge. From there, I felt good."
The motivation was certainly there for the Cavemen on the day, as the team had finished fourth at Divisionals and was, perhaps for the first time in ages, a legitimate underdog at the state championships.
But Farmington's pack strength was simply hard to ignore.
In Class 5A, the Mountain View's boys, ranked No. 11 in the most recent national poll by MileSplit, weren't challenged nearly as much as the program scooped up the win with 88 points across a 16:12 average.
On another day, perhaps, faced with Farmington's and American Fork's firepower, this team would have been right there. But on Wednesday, the team actually placed 10th in the overall Utah state merge -- a fact reflected of the talent in Class 6A.
Lehi's Jefferson McMullin, fresh off his first huge win at Divisionals, continued his torrid run as he won the Class 5A race in 15:06.8. Orem's Tayson Echohawk was second in 15:22.1 while Woods Cross' Sam Hansen was third in 15:36.8.
Over in the girls action, the only surprise was how class Class 6A finished.
The No. 13 nationally ranked American Fork girls didn't relinquish their commanding grip on the season, though the Lone Peak girls certainly made it difficult, finishing second in the team standings by just 19 points.
American Fork, however, was just too good, compiling a winning mark of 70 points behind an 18:20 average and three runners inside the top 10.
Sophomore Avalon Mecham was second overall in 17:30.00, while senior Abigail Barlow was fifth and senior Avery Moore was 10th.
Herriman's Addi Bruening claimed the overall win with a time of 17:28.3.
In Class 5A action, Timpanogos' Raygan Peterson won the overall individual title with a time of 18:15.00. Springville's girls won the 5A title with 44 points on an 18:56 average.
Related Links:
Utah State Championships coverage page