Panguitch Girls Cross Country Team Now Five-Time State Champs

For the fifth year in a row, the dominant Panguitch girls cross country team has taken state, with its star runner, junior Brooke Albrecht, taking first.

Last year’s state tournament was tough for Brooke. Despite her strong track record, she ended up getting sick at state and taking fourth. This year, to avoid pushing herself too hard, she focused less on being in first place right away, and more on patience.

“I’ve had experiences with races where I’ve gone out way too hard,” she said. 

All the adrenaline going into the state meet tempts Brooke to reach her top speed as soon as the gun goes off to start. This time, “I wasn’t in first,” she said. “I think I was in third or fourth so I could really push it the last mile.” That last mile was when she secured her 31-second lead over the second place runner from Rich.

Of course, putting that much space between you and another runner can make things difficult at the end.

“Getting to the finish line, I knew in my head that I had won,” said Brooke. “I wonder if I could have gone any harder.” Brooke ended up winning with a time of 19:21, a little less than 10 seconds short of her personal record.

Here are the team placings and rest of the top 15 finishers from along the Byway:

Varsity Girls

Runners from the Byway finishing in the top 15 included Brooke Albrecht (Panguitch) who placed 1st; Annie Yardley (Panguitch) who placed 5th; Siri Syrett (Bryce Valley) who placed 9th; Halle Albrecht (Panguitch) who placed 10th; Paisley Henrie (Panguitch) who placed 12th; and Grace Leech (Bryce Valley) who placed 14th.

The team line-up and scores were as follows:

1. Panguitch, 28
2. Monticello, 37
3. Rich, 53
4. Bryce Valley, 68
5. Milford, 71
6. Whitehorse, 76
7. Valley, 127
8. Altamont, 137
9. Manila, 161
10. Pinnacle, 231

Varsity Boys

Runners from the Byway finishing in the top 15 included Taj Morse (Bryce Valley) who placed 5th; Blake Peterson (Wayne) who placed 8th; Lincoln Henrie (Panguitch) who placed 11th; Eli Beesley (Bryce Valley) who placed 12th; Josh Perez (Panguitch) who placed 13th; and Curtis Henrie (Panguitch) who placed 14th.

The team line-up and scores were as follows:

1. Monticello, 59
2. Panguitch, 61
3. Wayne, 68
4. Tintic, 75
5. Bryce Valley, 83
6. Valley, 113
7. Whitehorse, 131
8. Manila, 137
9. Rich, 140
10. Milford, 147
11. Escalante, 159
12. Altamont, 204
13. Monument Valley, 222
14. Piute, 308
15. Tabiona, 308
16. Pinnacle, 311

More complete individual results can be found at DeseretNews.org.

When asked what she’d remember from state, there were two moments that stood out in Brooke’s mind.

First, at state you have so many people cheering for you, even tons of people you don’t know. “That was pretty cool hearing everyone cheer you on,” she said. “It gave me more confidence.”

Second, there was one moment right after all of the Panguitch girls team had finished the race. They all hugged, exhausted but proud, knowing they had taken state. “It felt so good after the race, knowing that we had conquered that,” said Brooke. “That moment of all of us together.”

– by Abbie Call

Feature image caption: The Panguitch girls cross country team with their fifth straight state trophy.

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