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SUGAR HOUSE — Even as the Brooke Albrecht began to pull away from the field after about two miles of the 1A girls cross country state meet, first by a few seconds, and gradually to 10 seconds, and 20, and as much as 31 by the time she broke the tape, the Panguitch junior emphasized one key in her mind: patience.
Slow, steady or with a mean kick at the end, Albrecht's patience paid off.
The junior pulled away for an individual state title in 19 minutes, 21.02 seconds to help the Bobcats to their fifth straight 1A girls cross country state title Tuesday at Sugar House Park.
"In my past races, I've gone out way too hard and paid for it at the end," Albrecht said. "Today I really tried to settle in the first two miles, and go with how I was feeling. I was feeling really good, so I went.
"Obviously, I was ready to collapse," she later added, correcting herself with a laugh. "But it felt really good. I'm just proud of my team for being here. We've had a really fun time up here, and we're looking forward to a fun day, too."
Annie Yardley finished fifth in 20:10.79, and Halle Albrecht added a third top-10 finish individually in 21:26.08 for Panguitch, which clinched its 10th state title in program history.
It was enough to help the Bobcats to 28 points, holding off second-place Monticello by 9. Rich (53), Bryce Valley (68) and Milford (71) rounded out the top five.
It wasn't as close as the 1A boys race, which saw Eli Carling's fourth-place finish in 17:56.50 help Monticello edge Panguitch, 59-61 for the Buckaroos' second straight title and 13th in program history.
March Long finished third in 20:00.27 to pace Monticello, which won back-to-back championships for the third time in the past decade.
Valley's Warren Spencer had two goals coming into the final state meet of his senior year: break 17 minutes, or win a state title.
"I only got one, but it was the one that mattered," said Spencer, who finished first in 17:23.32. "I couldn't have hoped for anything better in my senior year. I'm truly blessed, and I'm super grateful for what happened today."
2A boys cross country: Ralphs captures state title for 1st-place Millard
Ben Ralphs saw the school record of 15:59 for Millard's boys cross country program, and knew that if he set his mind on it, good things would happen for the Eagles.
An individual and team title later, that record belongs to the senior.
Ralphs held off North Sevier's Cruze Hallows in 15:58.52 for first place, helping the Eagles tie North Sevier with 77 points apiece Tuesday at Sugar House Park.
"I went out pretty hard," said Ralphs, whose team won the title on a sixth-runner tiebreaker. "I felt it during the second mile. But it felt good. I said a prayer right before, asked God for help, and he sure helped me. It was very good."
James Ralphs added a seventh-place finish for Millard on the hill-heavy course in Sugar House, finishing in 17:07.92. North Sevier added three top-15 finishers in 11th-place Kade Johnson (17:19.65) and 15th-place Emmitt Nelson (17:24.70).
But Millard took four-straight spots from Nos. 24-27 to claim a share of their fifth consecutive team championship and eighth in program history.
In the 1A girls race, Chayden Sargent finished third in 19:33.62 to led four North Summit harriers in the top 10 to cruise to the team title with 31 points.
Rowland Hall's Brooke Greeneberg finished first in 18:11.48
2A boys cross country
- Complete results available at meettrax.com
Team scores
- Millard, 77
- North Sevier, 77
- San Juan, 98
- American Heritage, 128
- Waterford, 131
Top-10 finishers
- Ben Ralphs, Millard — 15:58.52
- Cruze Hallows, North Sevier — 16:08.24
- Whittaker Bettis, Intermountain Christian — 16:53.80
- River Shaw, Grand County — 17:01.35
- Platte Lyman, San Juan — 17:05.90
- Camden Judd, Waterford — 17:07.37
- James Ralphs, Millard — 17:07.92
- Braxton Brown, Kanab — 17:09.75
- Spencer Crossley, American Heritage — 17:11.26
- Austin Church, Kanab — 17:14.62
2A girls cross country
Team scores
- North Summit, 31
- Grand County, 58
- San Juan, 137
- Millard, 143
- Rowland Hall, 146
Top-10 finishers
- Brooke Greeneberg, Rowland Hall — 18:11.48
- Kenidee Glazier, Kanab — 18:33.07
- Chayden Sargent, North Summit — 19:33.62
- Elaine Lunsford, Intermountain Christian — 19:35.05
- Isabelle Sargent, North Summit — 19:56.78
- Ainsleigh Kaspric, Grand County — 20:09.44
- Audrey Moore, North Summit — 20:10.36
- Gemma Phillips, Grand County — 20:10.59
- Callie Owens, South Sevier — 20:15.28
- Tessa Zwahlen, North Summit — 20:22.21
1A boys cross country
Team scores
- Monticello, 59
- Panguitch, 61
- Wayne, 68
- Tintic, 75
- Bryce Valley, 83
Top-10 finishers
- Warren Spencer, Valley — 17:32.32
- Daniel Draper, Manila — 17:25.65
- Dax Jolley, Rich — 17:55.03
- Eli Carling, Monticello — 17:56.50
- Taj Morse, Bryce Valley — 17:59.07
- Ethan Begay, Whitehorse — 17:59.95
- Masen Brown, Tintic — 18:04.10
- Blake Peterson, Wayne — 18:06.31
- Trexton Spaulding, Milford 18:07.44
- Fidel Pena, Tintic — 18:07.84
1A girls cross country
Team scores
- Panguitch, 28
- Monticello, 37
- Rich, 53
- Bryce Valley, 68
- Milford, 71
- Whitehorse, 76
Top-10 finishers
- Brooke Albrecht, Panguitch — 19:21.02
- Paige Smith, Rich — 19:52.00
- March Long, Monticello — 20:00.27
- Keiarra Martin, Whitehorse — 20:02.89
- Annie Yardley, Panguitch — 20:10.79
- Lyda Taylor, Rich —20:26.15
- Dakota Monroe, Milford — 21:03.59
- Lilli Burton, Monticello — 21:09.25
- Siri Syrett, Bryce Valley — 21:23.01
- Halle Albrecht, Panguitch — 21:26.08
