Springville UT has chance to jump to the front in Southwest

By Paul Schmitz of DyeStat

Boys Southwest Preseason

The state of Utah saw the graduation of an incredibly talented group of runners in June. The big three at American Fork – Casey Clinger, McKay Johns and Patrick Parker – led A-F to two second-place finishes in a row at NXN, as Clinger won two consecutive individual titles. Davis graduated six seniors on a team that finished fourth at NXN. Those graduations open the door for some new teams to have optimism heading into the season after Utah swept the first five spots in the regional last year. 

Although there is a chance that a couple of Utah teams are still a cut above, there are some new players in the state that are closing the gap.

Springville UT was one of the surprise teams in the country last fall. The team placed third in the Utah Class 4A meet but then leapfrogged Timpanogos and Olympus at NXR Southwest. Springville was third that day and secured one of the four at-large bids, making it nationals for the first time. Springville placed 15th in Portland and returns five of the top seven, including its top two.

Right behind them is Timpanogos. The Timberwolves were likely the first team on the outside looking in at NXN last year with their fourth-place finish at NXR Southwest (six points behind Springville). They return four of their top five, but the loss of low stick Joe Benson stings. Even with its graduation hit, American Fork won’t fall far. The Cavemen have an eight-year nationals qualifying streak going but have shown an ability to reload in the past. 

Also squarely in the mix is Colorado power Mountain Vista. The four-time defending state champion got knocked off by Monarch last year in the 5A state meet when the team was decimated by injuries. The Golden Eagles slipped to fifth at NXR (Monarch finished ninth, but return five of the top seven and could make a push up the rankings. 

Right behind them in the Rocky Mountain State are three teams that are virtually tied in our rankings: Silver Creek, Palmer Ridge and Rock Canyon. Silver Creek finished fourth in the 4A state meet last year and didn’t run in the NXR Southwest, but return all of the top seven and have an experienced group of seniors. Palmer Ridge won the 4A meet last year and finished seventh at NXR but loses three of its top four and will need growth from underclassmen in order to move up. Rock Canyon placed third in Class 5A and loses five of the top seven, but end up on the watch list anyway based upon a solid spring on the track. 

The Utah and Colorado powers are far from the only interesting stories in the Southwest. It is a region filled with intrigue. In Arizona, three-time defending Division 1 state champions Desert Vista returns six of seven. DV had a great year on the track and returns three of the top six 3,200 runners in the state. The Thunder’s potential earns them a top-five spot in the region after finishing 20th last year. Potentially underrated are the Golden Eagles of Eldorado in New Mexico. They placed second to Hobbs in the state meet and were 15th at NXR Southwest. They return five of their top six runners.    

An emerging darkhorse in the region is from a state that has never advanced a team to NTN/NXN: Nevada. Spanish Springs is the reigning state champion and the Cougars return their top five runners on a team that finished with a 16:01 5K team average at state. In fact, they have the top three returning individuals in Nevada with Daniel Horner, Matthew Hakin and Andrew Ribeiro. Eldorado did not travel to NXR last year and have very few reference points against national caliber teams.   

1. Springville UT. Third place at NXR and 15th-place NXN team in 2016 was a new benchmark for the program. Look for these guys to move up in those spots behind low sticks Grant Gardner and Brandon Garnica, the top two returners from the Southwest Regional team scoring. 

2. Timpanogos UT.  The Timberwolves return five of six. A top-20 team nationally last year, they are led by a quality pack of seniors that will be motivated after their near-miss to nationals.   

3. Mountain Vista CO.  The sixth-place NXR team from 2016 will be in the mix if it can stay healthy. The boys vaulted up the national rankings last year when they traveled to California and won the Woodbridge Classic in September against quality competition. An injury to Parker Mackay later in the year was too much overcome. MV appears healthy and ready to compete in 2017.  

4. Desert Vista AZ. This team is led by seniors Aksel Laudon, Habtamu Cheney and Reece Donihi, the top three 3,200-meter runners in Arizona. If DV can convert those track times to cross country performances, it has a chance to compete with the best in the nation, let alone the Southwest.     

5. American Fork UT. AF is not placed here because of history and reputation alone. The Cavemen are here because of their depth and the quality runners getting their shot at varsity.  Led by junior Carson Clinger, a member of the national-record 4xmile lineup, AF will be filling key roles with underclassmen, including Saugus CA transfer Kobe Serrano.     

Watchlist:

Silver Creek CO

Palmer Ridge CO

Rock Canyon CO

Davis UT

Olympus UT

Pine View UT

Stansbury UT

Westlake UT

Ogden UT