Region 9 cross country: Desert Hills wins girls, boys races at season-opening meet in Cedar City

Written by Jeff Richards
August 18, 2023

CEDAR CITY — The Desert Hills High School cross country team won both the girls and boys races at Wednesday evening’s season-opening meet at Cedar High School.

Olivia Lay of Desert Hills after finishing first at the Cedar All-Comers cross country meet, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 16, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The Cedar All-Comers event featured teams from all seven Region 9 high schools, plus North Sevier, a 2A school in Salina.

Rain fell throughout the evening, soaking runners and spectators alike. The three-mile race took place on the Cedar High campus, starting behind the baseball field’s centerfield fence and ending on the track at Reds Stadium.

Desert Hills junior Olivia Lay was the winner of the girls race, crossing the finish line in a time of 18:54. Desert Hills, Pine View and Cedar all placed five finishers among the top 16.

The only outlier was Snow Canyon sophomore Maggie Crosby, who finished second overall with a time of 19:22.

Athletes compete at the Cedar All-Comers cross country meet, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 16, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Rounding out the rest of the Thunder’s top finishers were sophomore Kendra Raiger (5th), Talia Skinner (7th), Kara Olsen (13th) and Rosalind Woolley (14th). The Thunder’s combined team score was 40, while Pine View and Cedar tied for the runner-up spot with 47 points apiece.

The boys race wasn’t as close, as Desert Hills had the top three finishers, plus the fifth-place runner, to score 29 team points overall. Runner-up Pine View tallied 43 points, while third-place Cedar had 56.

Senior Walker Brinkerhoff led the way for the Thunder with a winning time of 15:48. He was followed by junior teammates Tucker Larsen (2nd, 15:56) , Logan Boyer (3rd, 16:10) and George Watkins (5th, 16:12).

Edging Watkins at the finish line was senior Talmage Wright of Pine View, who also finished in 16:12 but secured the fourth-place slot.

The next scheduled meet involving Region 9 team will be the Southern Utah University Invitational starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26, at Cedar City’s Bicentennial Park.

Cedar All-Comers Meet 2023

Cedar High School, Aug. 16

Girls team results

  1. Desert Hills, 40.
  2. (tie) Pine View, 47.
  3. (tie) Cedar, 47.
  4. Snow Canyon, 115.
  5. Hurricane, 148.
  6. Crimson Cliffs, 163.
  7. Dixie, 172.
  8. North Sevier, 215.

Boys team results

  1. Desert Hills, 29.
  2. Pine View, 43.
  3. Cedar City, 56.
  4. Hurricane, 115.
  5. Crimson Cliffs, 139.
  6. Snow Canyon, 157.
  7. North Sevier, 195.
  8. Dixie 254.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, 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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