HERRIMAN — Jackson Spencer thought he was going on an early morning run under the storm clouds that blanketed the west side of the Salt Lake Valley with a few inches of snow Wednesday morning.
He had no idea his morning would end with an Olympian and distance running superstar honoring him.
"Coach told us that the district was getting mad at us for skipping class, so we had to show up at 7:30 sharp to run through the blizzard and back," he said. "They told us to fill out some forms for New Balance nationals in a room, and when I went in there was the trophy — it was sick."
Sick, indeed.
The Herriman High cross country star was named the Gatorade boys' cross country athlete of the year Wednesday, when he was surprised by U.S. Olympian Grant Fisher before being mobbed by friends, family and teammates on the Mustangs' campus.
"It means a lot," said Spencer, the current Utah boys' cross country athlete of the year who holds a 3.92 GPA and will serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once he graduates. "I've put in a lot and have been given a good amount out, so I'm really happy to have been given this award."
His senior season isn't over for Spencer, but it's already been one to remember for the reigning Utah 6A cross country champion who set a new state record in 14 minutes, 29.78 seconds on the 5,000-meter course at Sugar House Park back in October to anchor the Mustangs' team title.
Since then, the BYU signee ran the nation's fastest 3-mile and 5K at the Woodbridge Classic and Clovis Invitational, respectively; won a Nike Cross Nationals title in 15:01.1; added a second national title at the Brooks XC championships in San Diego in December; and became the first high school boys distance runner to complete the acclaimed double since Lukas Verzbicas in 2010.
That helped earn Spencer a spot on the U.S. U-20 national team at the World Athletics Championships in January in Tallahassee, Florida, where he was the top American high school finisher at 18th overall in the 8K race to help Team USA to the bronze medal.
Now Spencer joins Fisher, a two-time Gatorade national cross country athlete of the year who won a pair of bronze medals at the Paris Olympics; last year's winner Charlie Vause, a fellow BYU commit; American Fork's Danny Simmons, who will soon return to BYU after a church mission in Atlanta; and former BYU athletes Casey Clinger and Aidan Troutner to win the top honor in prep distance running as celebrated by Gatorade since 1985.
"It was exactly the season I was hoping to get since the start of the season," Spencer said. "I'm really happy I was able to do it, and it's all I think about."
Add in distance racing wunderkind Jane Hedengren, who was named Gatorade girls cross country athlete of the year last season, and BYU-bound distance athletes have won the top prep honor from Gatorade six times in the past decade (as well as numerous state awards).
It's no wonder dozens of professionals are discovering the same thing Fisher followed his coach Mike Scannell to the Beehive State: there's something special about Utah's high-altitude, tight-knit distance running community.
"You have fantastic high school programs, fantastic college programs, and really good infrastructure for professionals," said Fisher, who has lived and trained in Park City since 2023. "It's a rising tide that lifts all boats. When you get in an environment where everyone is achieving great things and working hard, that just becomes the norm.
"This is becoming a huge hub (for sports)," he added. "I think it's a great place to live and to train. When you're around high-level people, you become that yourself."
Spencer knows that as much as anybody. He admits he wouldn't have gotten where he is without his family, his coaches, and a powerhouse roster at Herriman and the surrounding distance running scene.
"It's been awesome to be on some national-caliber teams," he said. "This year's team was awesome, and to be propelled by them has kept me grounded and kept me going up the ranks."
