SALT LAKE CITY -- Last year's Utah state championship run might not have been an easy victory for Davis cross country runner Shea Martinez, but it was definitely easier than this year.
Martinez, who won the 2010 championship as a sophomore by more than 20 seconds, was challenged by several runners this year at Sugarhouse Park Wednesday afternoon, as she went on to the win in a time of 18 minutes, 28 seconds, just six seconds faster than Jordan's Tavia Dutson.
"I liked how the girls pushed me through the race," said Martinez. "It was hard to break away from them."
With a close pack of about five girls, including teammate Madison Garlock, Martinez said that she had to wait to use her track speed to break away with half a mile to go. The course, which runs through Sugarhouse Park, finishes with about 200 meters on the Highland High School track, and Martinez said that's where she started to feel tired but kept going.
"On the track I really tried to come off fast, but I couldn't pick my legs up," she said.
Martinez not only had her track speed but she also had the Davis "team focus" philosophy pushing her.
"I have all the initials of my teammates written on my arm and when I wanted to give up I remembered I was running for my team," she said.
The Davis girls turned in a convincing win, scoring 44 points to second-place Lehi's 88. Garlock (18:39) was fourth with Joanna Boyd (19:00) eighth, Ashley Tyndall 13th and Chelsey Johnson (19:41) 18th to complete the scoring for the Darts.
"We're just thrilled because of where we were coming off of last year," said Davis coach Corbin Talley. "They really had to earn it today."
Weber's Karlee Deeter finished 12th overall with a time of 19:18 to lead her team to a fourth-place finish. Viewmont finished nine overall with Syracuse pulling a 10th-place team effort.
In the boys 5-A race, Davis lost a hard-fought battle to American Fork, scoring 33 points to American Fork's 25 in a chase of two nationally ranked squads.
"They fought really, really hard," said Talley of his team. "American Fork is a great team that knows how to win."
Led by senior Brad Nye, who placed second behind American Fork's Mackenzie Morrison by less than a second, the Darts had all five of their scorers in the top 11. Nye ran 15:23, and was followed by teammate Brayden Cromar in fifth (15:46), Preston Johnson in eighth (15:53), Logan Wood in 10th (15:57) and Skylar Williams in 11 (16:01).
"These guys are a little sad today, but eventually they'll be proud of it," said Talley.
Syracuse's Brandon Yardley was the only other top of Utah runner to break the top 20, placing 20th with a time of 16:30. The Titans finished sixth as a team, with Weber eighth and Viewmont 11th.
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