Region 9 cross-country recap: Runners off to a promising start as season begins

CEDAR CITY  — Only two points separated the top three boys cross-country teams at the Canyon View Invitational meet last Saturday. Meanwhile, the varsity girls race was similarly competitive, with the top two teams finishing in a tie.

Hurricane senior Joshua Armstrong took first place in the varsity boys race, crossing the finish line in 15:49.27. Coming in second was Cedar’s Logan Peel, who finished in 15:54.47, while third-place finisher Carson Helmer of Desert Hills clocked at 16:16.90.

Those top three runners’ finishes ended up making the deciding difference in the team totals, as Hurricane boys placed first overall with 49 points, while Cedar took second with 50 and Desert Hills placed third with 51 points.

In the varsity girls race, Hurricane junior Caila Odekirk was the overall winner with a time of 18:46.97. She was followed by Madison Strasner of Desert Hills, who took second in a time of 18:52.87. Placing third and fourth, respectively were Ruby Ludlow of Dixie in 19:22.17 and Adri Baker of Pine View in 19:27.32.

The Pine View girls team, the reigning 4A state champions, ended up in a first-place tie with Desert Hills on Saturday at Canyon View, with each team scoring 52. There was also a tie for third and fourth place, as both Cedar and Hurricane scored 129.

See chart at bottom of story for team results. For complete individual results, click here.

Hurricane junior Caila Odekirk leads the girls varsity race at the Canyon View Invitational cross-country meet, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 22, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The Canyon View meet, which also included a handful of smaller schools such as Panguitch, Milford, Beaver and Bryce Valley, marked the second straight week that Region 9 runners had competed in Cedar City.

The previous week, Cedar High kicked off the season on Aug. 13 by hosting the Cedar All-Comers meet. The Desert Hills boys and girls teams placed first in that event, but the individual race winners were Hurricane’s Armstrong and Odekirk. Armstrong’s winning time was 15:25, while second place went to Daniel Vesprey of Snow Canyon, who finished in 16:01.7.  In the girls race, Odekirk won in 18:29.1, while Dixie’s Ludlow placed second in 18:38.4 and Strasner of Desert Hills took third in 18:44.2.

The SUU Invitational in Cedar City was originally scheduled for Saturday, but that event has been canceled, leaving the Region 9 teams to find other meets in which to compete.

At the end of the cross-country season, Canyon View is scheduled to host the Region 9 championships on Oct. 13, with the state meet taking place Oct. 21 at Salt Lake City’s Sugarhouse Park.

Boys team results, Canyon View Invitational, Aug. 22

    1. Hurricane 49
    2. Cedar 50
    3. Desert Hills 51
    4. Snow Canyon 81
    5. Pine View 109
    6. Canyon View 201
    7. Crimson Cliffs 217
    8. Bryce Valley 241
    9. Beaver 251

Girls team results, Canyon View Invitational, Aug. 22

    1. (tie) Pine View 52
    2. (tie) Desert Hills 52
    3. (tie) Cedar 129
    4. (tie) Hurricane 129
    5. Dixie 133
    6. Snow Canyon 134
    7. Canyon View 139
    8. Crimson Cliffs 181
    9. Beaver 248

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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