Jordan cross country takes third, 12th at state

The Lady Beetdiggers rode a strong second-place individual finish by sophomore Tavia Dutson to a third-place team finish at the 5A state cross country championships, held Oct. 19 at Sugar House Park. Dutson finished the 3-mile course in a time of 18:34.3, just six seconds behind state medalist Shea Martinez of Davis.

Meanwhile, the boys team finished 12 overall. Nationally-ranked American Fork won the team title, besting another nationally-ranked team from Davis.

Dutson’s teammates also performed well, with sophomore Danielle Menlove taking 7^th, senior Bridget Hazel placing 15^th, senior Amy Reid coming home in 24^th and junior Jessica Lindsay finishing in 53^rd. Davis took team honors with a score of 44 (low score wins in cross country), followed by Lehi at 88 and Jordan at 96.

The boys’ top finisher was junior Erik Marchant, 53^rd in a time of 17:12.7. Other Beetdiggers who scored points for Jordan were Marchant’s twin brother Nathan in 63^rd, junior Matt Vierkant in 80^th, senior Colin Dutson in 85^th and junior Brandon Evans in 87^th. American Fork won the team title with 25 points. Jordan finished with 335.

Earlier in the year, the Beetdiggers took part in a series of invitationals. In August, the team competed in both Tooele’s Premier Cross Country Invitational and the American Fork Grass Relays. In September, In September, Jordan competed in the two largest invitationals in the state—the BYU Autumn Classic and the Murray Invitational.

During both the Grass Relays, held Aug. 27, and the BYU Autumn Classic, held Sept. 10, Jordan girls took sixth place overall. They were second among 5A schools at the Grass Relays and third at BYU.

With a solid mix of runners across all grades, coach Greg Cramer was confident in the group of athletes assembled on Jordan’s team this year.

For the girls’ side of competition, Cramer looked for Dutson to repeat last year’s all-region performance. “She really is a running force for our team and someone to look out for,” he said. Dutson finished ninth overall among the 90 varsity girls competing in the BYU Autumn Classic.

Along with Dutson, seniors Hazel and Reid returned this year to lead Jordan’s team. Together, the three runners finished third, fourth and fifth respectively—all within six seconds of each other—at the Tooele Invitational.

For the varsity boys, Cramer hoped that the team’s off-season discipline will convert into greater improvement. Part of the “junior-heavy” boys team Cramer assembled included the Marchant twins, along with fellow junior Vierkant.