Alta's boys team and Hillcrest's boys and girls teams all earned spots in the 5A state cross country meet after the Wednesday, Oct. 14, divisional races at Lakeside Park in Orem.
Alta senior Myles Jessen led the Hawks with a sixth-place finish and a time of 16:00.6 in the boys Section B race, according to results reported by the Deseret News. Alta's boys scored 129 points for fifth place in a 14-team field where the top 11 advanced. Viewmont (52) and Timpview (68) led the section.
Jessen, who finished fourth at the Region 6 championship with a 15:45.9, was the only area runner to crack the top 25 in his section. West Field junior Daxton Coombs won the Section B boys race in 15:30.4.
Alta's girls fell short. They finished 11th with 256 points in Section B, where nine teams qualified.
Hillcrest's girls finished eighth with 201 points in the same section, comfortably inside the nine-team cutoff. Sophomore Lena Moise was the Huskies' top finisher, placing 22nd in 20:07.7. Moise had led Hillcrest to a third-place finish at the Region 4 championship, according to the Sandy Herald, where she placed eighth individually in 20:38.5. Seniors Ella Goodman (ninth, 20:45.6) and Tristan Oler (13th, 21:28.2) also scored for the Huskies at regions.
On the boys side, Hillcrest squeezed into the state field from Section A, finishing 12th with 367 points. Twelve teams advanced from that section, with Maple Mountain (63) and Springville (77) at the top. Senior Gregory Anderson was the Huskies' top runner at the Region 4 championship, finishing 19th in 18:08.5.
The Oct. 14 divisional meets narrowed the 5A field by advancing the top 75% of teams in each section, along with the top six individuals not on a qualifying team.
All three qualifying squads head to the 5A state championship Oct. 27 at Sugar House Park.
