It’s not uncommon for high school athletes to compete in more than one sport throughout the year. But what sets Jordan’s Hannah Dutson apart from others is that she competed in two sports during the same season, and excelled in both.

“It keeps me pretty busy, and we had to work out some conflicts with practices, but I had a lot of fun this season,” Dutson said.

Dutson, the daughter of Tracy and Sheryl Dutson of Sandy, represented Jordan in cross-country and tennis during the fall season. The sophomore athlete not only made it to post-season action in both sports, she also medaled in cross country.

 She ran the 3-three mile course at Sugar House Park in a time of 18:14.1 for a fifth-place finish overall in the 5A race, held Oct. 22.

“I went out pretty fast and was holding on to third place for most of the race,” Dutson said. “It wasn’t till the end that I got passed by two other runners.”

Dutson comes from a family that has enjoyed running. Her older sisters, Haley and Tavia, as well as older brother Colin, all ran for Jordan. Tavia graduated last season, giving Hannah time to compete with one older sibling.

“We pushed each other last year,” Dutson said. “I am the youngest of the family, so I am the last one running here. It’s still fun for me, but I miss running with my sister.”

Colin also competed in cross-country and tennis for Jordan, but the boys tennis team competes in the spring so he didn’t have to juggle his practices.

Jordan implements a season-long training regimen geared toward being prepared for the state meet, a program Dutson thinks helped her with the finish she turned in.

“We do certain workouts throughout the season that push us beyond our weekly races,” she said. “We gear them so we can peak at state. It includes increasing the distance we train and then tapering down just before state.”

Dutson’s fifth-place finish helped Jordan take third overall in the 5A team standings. Other contributors to the cross-country team tally were Aubrey Monson (22nd), Katie Chinchen (30th), Jody Meads (36th) and Desie Thorn (45th).

Just a few weeks prior to the state cross-country meet, Dutson represented Jordan in the State 5A tennis tournament, held Oct. 8, 11 at Liberty Park. Dutson competed in the No. 1 doubles with fellow Beetdigger Tabby Jones.

The duo had compiled a 9-6 overall record and a second-place finish in the Region 3 tournament to qualify for state. Dutson and Jones took the first set of a best-of-three match, 6-3, against a team from Davis. The next set went to the Davis duo, 3-6, as did the final set, 7-6.

“We played well during the season but lost in the first round at state,” Dutson said. “But we did force a tie breaker and had a chance to win it.”

Dutson plans on competing in distance racing for the track team in the spring. She also plans on competing in tennis and cross-country her final two years at Jordan.