Juan Diego Catholic's boys cross country team earned a spot in the 4A state meet Wednesday, Oct. 14, finishing 11th in Section B at the divisional qualifier at Lakeside Park in Orem.

The Soaring Eagle scored 290 points, finishing inside the 12-team cutoff in the 15-team field. Mountain View won Section B with 49 points, followed by Desert Hills (69) and Deer Creek (108). Snow Canyon (356), Deseret Peak (431) and Murray (440) were the three teams eliminated.

Juan Diego will race at the 4A state meet Oct. 28 at Sugar House Park.

The boys entered the divisional after placing third in Region 10 on Thursday, Oct. 8, scoring 85 points behind Jordan (31) and Judge Memorial (77). That third-place finish sent them to Orem with a chance to qualify, and they converted it.

Individual divisional times were not yet available, but Juan Diego's region results showed a young lineup leading the way. Sophomore Isamu Downey and freshman Thomas Schoeman led the Soaring Eagle at the Region 10 meet, clocking 16:38.6 and 16:38.9 to finish seventh and eighth individually. Senior Seamus Arndt ran 17:07.0 at the region meet to place 17th.

Arndt set a Juan Diego school record earlier this season at the Premier Cross Country Invitational, finishing eighth in the 4A division with a time of 16:35.7 on a 2.95-mile course, according to the Deseret News. Juan Diego coach Andrew Zinman praised Arndt in an Aug. 31 athletes-of-the-week feature, calling him "pivotal to the progress of the Juan Diego boys program."

The girls team had a tougher day. Juan Diego's girls placed 15th in Section B with 434 points, outside the top 12 needed to advance. Orem won the girls section with 51 points. The girls had finished seventh in Region 10 with 161 points, and freshman Gabrielle Beall was their top finisher at the region meet, running 21:41.9 to place 18th individually.

Teams from Regions 8, 9, 10 and 11 were split into two divisional sections, with the top 12 teams in each section qualifying for state, along with the top six individuals not on a qualifying team, according to the Deseret News.

The boys open state meet preparation with the Oct. 28 race at Sugar House Park, where Mountain View enters as the defending 4A champion.