Region 9 cross-country: Desert Hills boys, girls sweep Cedar All-Comers’ meet

Written by Jeff Richards
August 16, 2024

CEDAR CITY — The Thunder struck twice Wednesday to open the high school cross-country season as the Desert Hills boys and girls won the Cedar All-Comers meet at Cedar High School with Pine View finishing a close second in both races.

Olivia Lay of Desert Hills crosses the finish line in first place at the Cedar All-Comers cross-country meet at Cedar High School, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 14, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

In the girls race, Desert Hills senior Olivia Lay was first across the finish line in a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 56.98 seconds. Pine View junior Emmalee Williams took second in 18:13.36, also a PR, while Desert Hills junior Kendra Raiger placed third in 18:54.39.

As a team, the Thunder finished with 47 points, while runner-up Pine View scored 54. Scores are based on the finishing places of each team’s top five runners. Coming in third place was the host team Cedar, which was led by sophomore Kendee Corry who finished seventhin 19:55.81.

On the boys side, Desert Hills put six runners in the top 10 spots, with Pine View capturing the other four. The Panthers were led by senior Bridger Jaggi’s race-winning time of 15:13.74, a personal best. A little more than 15 seconds later, Desert Hills seniors Logan Boyer (15:31.38) and George Watkins (15:32.82) crossed the finish line to take second and third, respectively.

The race course was modified slightly from its typical route in years past, due to nearby construction. The starting times of the races were also pushed back an hour, due to logistical issues involving bus transportation from Washington County.

Runners compete in the Cedar All-Comers cross-country meet at Cedar High School, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 14, 2024 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The next major cross-country event involving local schools will be the annual Southern Utah University Invitational scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24, at Bicentennial Park in Cedar City, starting at 8 a.m.

Cedar All-Comers Meet

Cedar High School, Aug. 14

Girls team results

  1. Desert Hills, 47.
  2. Pine View, 54.
  3. Cedar, 72.
  4. Hurricane, 85.
  5. Snow Canyon, 127.
  6. Crimson Cliffs, 128.
  7. Dixie, 187.

Girls top 10 finishers

  1. Olivia Lay, Desert Hills, 17:56.98.
  2. Emmalee Williams, Pine View, 18:13.36.
  3. Kendra Raiger, Desert Hills, 18:54.39.
  4. Maggie Crosby, Snow Canyon, 19:22.88.
  5. Elin Holt, Pine View, 19:31.88.
  6. Arya Armstrong, Hurricane, 19:43.74.
  7. Kendee Corry, Cedar, 19:55.81.
  8. Tevye Geddes, Pine View, 20:05.24.
  9. Sophie Robinson, Hurricane, 20:07.89.
  10. Vanessa Ruiz, Pine View, 20:10.58.

Boys team results

  1. Desert Hills, 26.
  2. Pine View, 36.
  3. Hurricane, 83.
  4. Snow Canyon, 130.
  5. Cedar, 134.
  6. Crimson Cliffs, 151.
  7. Dixie, 224.
  8. Beaver, 231.

Boys top 10 finishers

  1. Bridger Jaggi, Pine View, 15:13.74.
  2. Logan Boyer, Desert Hills, 15:31.38.
  3. George Watkins, Desert Hills, 15:32.82.
  4. Trevor Prior, Pine View, 15:43.55.
  5. Tucker Larsen, Desert Hills, 15:47.57.
  6. Jaxon Bender, Pine View, 15:55.32.
  7. Jackson Mathews, Desert Hills, 15:57.89.
  8. Jake Saari, Pine View, 16:03.16.
  9. Jack Wells, Desert Hills, 16:10.41.
  10. Jack Heideman, Desert Hills, 16:16.24.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons and one granddaughter. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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