CEDAR CITY — The Canyon View boys won the school’s first-ever cross-country state championship on Tuesday, while the Falcon girls brought home the 3A classification’s runner-up trophy. Additionally, the Panguitch girls won their fourth straight girls 1A cross-country title, while the Bobcat boys placed third.
Junior Thomas Daniels led the way for Canyon View, taking sixth place overall out of 120 runners in the 3A boys race. Daniels’ time was 16:31.1 in the 5,000-meter event, which was staged along with all the other state championship races (1A through 6A) at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City.
Just several seconds behind Daniels, three of his teammates crossed the finish line almost in unison. Junior Logan Hadley came in ninth place in 16:38.8, senior Payson Slade placed 10th in 16:40.5 and senior Bret Sorensen took 11th in 16:41.4.
Those four, along with junior Nathaniel Callison, who took 24th, gave Canyon View a top-five-placers score of 63 points, with Manti placing a distant second with 110.
“It was a good day for Canyon View,” boys head coach Kirk Lovell said. “It’s been a good year. We have had a very talented group of guys that run very well together.”
Lovell said that even though the team’s goal had been to contend for the state title, “There are a lot of good teams with amazing runners, so you never really know where you will be at the end of the season.”
Added Lovell: “We had a couple setbacks because of injury and illness that cost us a loss at region by a single point. It was great to see the guys regroup and have success on the state course.”
The Canyon View girls, meanwhile, finished with a team score of 94, while first-place Ogden won with a score of 69. Canyon View was led by seniors Lydia Forsyth (19:36.4) and Lara Sorensen (20:01.1), who placed a respective 11th and 12th overall out of 106 runners.
In the 1A girls race, the Panguitch Bobcats were led by senior Tabi Henrie, who posted a time of 19:03.6 to take first place out of 72 runners.
Panguitch head coach Danny Yardley shared an anecdote about Henrie’s footwear over her career as she’s helped the Bobcats to four consecutive state titles.
“On the way to region in Tabi’s freshman year, we had her try on two different pairs of spikes to see which one she liked better,” Yardley told Cedar City News. “She tried a pink-and-white shoe on one foot and a black-and-blue shoe on the other foot. She kept them on that way until we got to the race. I thought she would pick which pair she liked better, but she couldn’t decide. So, she wore them just like that for the race. It worked out so well that she did the same for state.”
Yardley said that although Henrie opted to go with her pink spikes at state the last couple of years, she couldn’t find those shoes as the team was leaving for state.
“Her shoe choice worked out just fine,” Yardley said Tuesday after the state meet. “I guess it goes to show that it is not the shoes on the girl but the girl in the shoes that really counts!”
Joining Henrie among the race’s top finishers were Panguitch sophomore Brooke Albrecht, who placed fourth with a time of 19:47.0, and freshman Annie Yardley, who placed sixth with a time of 20:21.3. Rounding out the Bobcats’ top four was junior Paisley Henrie, who placed 15th. That gave the Bobcats a four-player team score of 26 points, while runner-up Rich High finished with 50 and third-place Whitehorse had 54.
Meanwhile, in the 1A boys state race, Panguitch finished third overall, with Monticello taking the title and Altamont finishing second.
Also bringing home a runner-up trophy from the state cross country meet was the Water Canyon boys team, which won the 1A state title last year but moved up to 2A this year. The Wildcats saw its three top runners finish among the top 10, with Theil Cook placing sixth, Rulon Barlow taking eighth and David Barlow coming in ninth. Water Canyon’s team score was 83, just nine points behind Millard’s 74. The 2A state champion Eagles were led by junior Ben Ralphs, who placed first overall out of 102 runners with a winning time of 16:10.3. It marked Millard’s fourth consecutive state title in boys cross country and its seventh overall.
For complete meet results on runnercard.com, click here.
Here’s a look ahead at this week’s volleyball and football playoff games involving the 3A/2A/1A schools in Southern Utah, followed by short recaps of recent successes seen so far this fall season:
3A girls volleyball
The No. 4 seed Canyon View Falcons played 13th seed South Summit to kick off the 3A tournament at Utah Valley University on Wednesday morning. The Falcons swept the Wildcats in that match, 25-14, 25-16, 25-20, only to be swept in the quarterfinals at noon on Wednesday by No. 5 seed Manti, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21. Canyon View finished its season with an overall record of 16-9. See full 3A tournament bracket here.
2A girls volleyball
Top-seeded Parowan is undefeated in 25 games this season, including a perfect 12-0 record in Region 18. The Rams will be looking to defend last year’s state 2A title as they open the playoffs against 16th seeded Wasatch Academy at 4 p.m. Friday at UVU in Orem. Then, on that same court immediately following, No. 2 seed Kanab will face No. 18 Duchesne. Other Southern Utah schools represented at the tournament include 10th seeded Enterprise and 13th seeded Beaver. To see the full bracket on maxpreps.com, click here.
1A girls volleyball
The Panguitch Bobcats went 17-9 this season but were undefeated in Region 20 play and earned the No. 1 playoff seed. They’ll open the 1A tournament on Friday morning at 9 a.m. against region rival Bryce Valley, the 17th seed. Other Southern Utah schools represented at the tournament include No. 7 Piute, No. 8 Valley, No. 10 Escalante, No. 11 Wayne and No. 14 Milford. For the full bracket on maxpreps.com, click here.
3A football
The Canyon View Falcons went 8-2 during the season and earned the No. 4 seed in the 3A playoffs. After having a first-round bye last week, the Falcons will host No. 5 Grantsville at 6 p.m. Friday, with the winner of that game facing the winner of Friday’s game between No. 1 Richfield and No. 8 Ogden, the following week. Click here for full bracket.
1A football
The top-seeded Beaver Beavers, owners of a 9-1 record, will open the 1A playoffs at home on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 8 Gunnison. The other three 1A quarterfinals that same evening area as follows: No. 4 Kanab hosts No. 5 Millard at 6 p.m., No. 2 Duchesne hosts No. 7 Milford at 5 p.m. and No. 3 Enterprise hosts No. 6 North Summit at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, in the 8-player football classification, No. 4 Water Canyon will play No. 5 Whitehorse at Hildale on Friday at 6 p.m.
3A girls soccer
As previously reported, top-seeded Canyon View won its first two playoff games, defeating South Summit 9-0 on Oct. 11 and edging Judge Memorial 1-0 on Oct. 14. However, in the 3A semifinals played on Oct. 19 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, the Falcons lost to No. 4 seed Morgan by a score of 3-0. Second-seeded Ogden then defeated Morgan 3-1 two days later for the state championship. Canyon View finished the season with an overall record of 17-3.
2A girls soccer
The Parowan Rams earned the 2A tournament’s top seed after going an unbeaten 10-0 in Region 18 play. The Rams defeated No. 8 seed Grand County in the quarterfinals at Parowan on Oct. 14 by a score of 4-2. However, in the semifinals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Oct. 19, the Rams were upset by fifth seeded St. Joseph, 2-0. The Jayhawks then went on to lose to Rowland Hall in the 3A state finals at America First Field on Saturday by a score of 4-3.
2A boys golf
At the state 2A golf tournament staged Oct. 4-5 at Glendale Golf Course in Salt Lake City, Beaver High School saw its dominant six-year reign as state champions come to an end. The Beavers, led by seniors Sky Moon, Mace Robinson and Rexton Hollingshead, posted a two-day score of 612 strokes; however, that total fell two strokes shy of new champion Rowland Hall’s score of 610.
1A baseball
After decisive playoff wins over Green River and Bryce Valley, the No. 1 seeded Panguitch Bobcats lost in the 1A baseball semifinals to Altamont 14-6 on Oct. 6 at Kearns High School. The next day, the sixth-seeded Wayne Badgers defeated Altamont to capture their first state title since 2015. Panguitch ended up taking third in state after defeating American Heritage 11-0 in the consolation game at Kearns on Oct. 7.
Photo Gallery
Canyon View girls celebrate atop podium with 3A state cross-country runner-up trophy, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Canyon View Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News Canyon View boys celebrate atop podium with 3A state cross-country championship trophy, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Canyon View Athletics, St. George News / Cedar City News Panguitch runners celebrate 1A girls cross-country championship, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Danny Yardley, St. George News / Cedar City News Kanab sophomore Kenidee Glazier crosses the finish line in 18:15.5 to take second place in the 2A girls race at the state cross-country meet, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Kay Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News Panguitch teammates Tabi Henrie and Brooke Albrecht celebrate after 1A state cross-country race, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Danny Yardley, St. George News / Cedar City News Panguitch freshman Annie Yardley competes in 1A state cross-country race, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Danny Yardley, St. George News / Cedar City News Panguitch teammates pose before 1A state cross-country race, Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 24, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Danny Yardley, St. George News / Cedar City News Parowan senior Bella Robinson kicks the ball in playoff game vs. Grand County, Parowan, Utah, Oct. 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of David B. Mineer, St. George News / Cedar City News Panguitch baseball playoff game vs. American Heritage, Kearns, Utah, Oct. 7, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Kay Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News 
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