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Box Elder's Parker Lattin makes the final push during the Region 5 cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Northridge's Evelyn Cook nears the finish line during the Region 5 cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Box Elder's Macie Lee leads the pack during the Region 5 cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Box Elder runners await the starting gun during the Region 5 cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Northridge's Jeff Hazard makes the final push during the Region 5 cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Box Elder runners gather during the Region 5 cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Ogden.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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OGDEN — Three months ago, Box Elder senior Parker Lattin was starting from scratch.

An offseason injury threatened Lattin’s final season of cross country, which has only blossomed in the weeks since and bloomed again with a fourth victory at the Region 5 championships on Wednesday at the Weber County Fairgrounds.

Lattin, posting the best boys time of 15:40.93, out-pushed Northridge junior Jeff Hazard’s runner-up time of 15:44.76 for the region title. But the senior Bee wants to go faster.

“We hit the second mile mark and I was like, ‘This is — if I’m gonna go, I gotta go now,'” Lattin said. “I was with (Hazard) and I started using my arms and then slowly pulled away.”

Lattin’s own battle has been hard enough, but a team-wide uptick in injuries limited how many Box Elder runners lined up for Wednesday’s race. Fellow seniors Bryce Mecham (fourth, 16:14.34) and Jaron Miller (seventh, 16:28.40) still gutted out top-10 performances for the Bees.

Fremont ultimately claimed first in the team standings on the backs of four top-10 finishes: senior Graham Judkins in third (16:02.87), junior Beau Jenkins in fifth (16:18.86), senior Zack Steoger in sixth (16:25.64), and freshman Duncan Judkins in eighth (16:36.10).

Leading Box Elder to a runner-up team finish ahead of state, Lattin said his latest injury has been a growing pain, and a learning experience, as the Bees senior continues pursuing his dream of a distance career at the next level.

“That was a major setback, which was not fun,” Lattin said. “I’ve been injured like three times now, I think, in the last four years. I decided I’d do it smart this time, start from the beginning and not try and just hop back into it where I was but build it back up so I’d have a good base.”

West Field sophomore Braxton Aschliman represented the fifth-place Longhorns in the top 10 with a ninth-place time of 16:46.36. Northridge senior Stephen Bentley led the third-place Knights with a 10th-place finish at 16:51.56.

On the girls side, Northridge sophomore Evelyn Cook pulled away from Box Elder senior Macie Lee down the stretch for a final time of 18:48.82 and her first-career victory on Wednesday.

Cook broke through for her first win of the season, following a top-five finish at the Wasatch Rendezvous in August and a top-10 result at the Valhalla Invitational last week. It’s a big step in Year 2 after continuing her junior high running ambitions at Northridge last fall.

“I thought I wouldn’t be here but I’m glad that I am,” Cook said. “(Northridge)’s really helped me a lot. It’s a great team and I’m glad that I’m a part of it.”

Macie Lee claimed second individually with 18:58.24, and her sister, fellow Box Elder senior Maya Lee, rounded out the top three at 19:23.71. Bees filled three more top-10 spots between senior Elizabeth Rupper in fourth (19:33.78), sophomore Brynlee Cragun in fifth (19:38.59), and Leilanne Castillo-Rivera in seventh (19:43.85), shoring up a first-place team victory.

Bonneville senior Kestle Eames finished sixth individually with a final time of 19:39.53, and West Field senior Kaitlyn Yerka led the Longhorns in eighth at 19:45.84. Second as a team, Northridge fit two more top-10 finishes by senior Sarah Hammond (ninth, 19:57.13) and junior Abbi Frost (10th, 20:07.81) beside Cook’s region title.

Next up, the Region 1 and Region 12 championships are slated for Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Weber County Fairgrounds.

Region 5 runners now look ahead to the 5A state championships, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 29, at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City. Information and start times for all races are available at uhsaa.org.

BOYS INDIVIDUAL TOP 25

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL TOP 25

1. Evelyn Cook, Northridge, 18:48.82

2. Macie Lee, Box Elder, 18:58.24

3. Maya Lee, Box Elder, 19:23.71

4. Elizabeth Rupper, Box Elder, 19:33.78

5. Brynlee Cragun, Box Elder, 19:38.59

6. Kestle Eames, Bonneville, 19:39.53

7. Leilanne Castillo-Rivera, Box Elder, 19:43.85

8. Kaitlyn Yerka, West Field, 19:45.84

9. Sarah Hammond, Northridge, 19:57.13

10. Abbi Frost, Northridge, 20:07.81

11. Bailey Mann, Clearfield, 20:34.05

12. Kennedy Hansen, Fremont, 20:39.52

13. Chanlee Norton, Fremont, 21:01.95

14. Taylie Allen, West Field, 21:23.90

15. Jane Jeffrey, Northridge, 21:27.75

16. Claire Hall, Fremont, 21:28.25

17. Allie Nicol, Clearfield, 21:32.69

18. Maylin Lundell, Fremont, 21:33.03

19. Ruby Noorda, Roy, 21:35.11

20. Ruby Turpin, Roy, 21:37.86

21. Kelsey Braegger, Box Elder, 21:39.04

22. Lyla Wiser, Northridge, 21:50.21

23. Avery Lattin, Box Elder, 21:58.50

24. Sophia Miner, Clearfield, 22:07.82

25. Harriet Poulson, Fremont, 22:08.87

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1. Box Elder, 20.00

2. Northridge, 53.00

3. Fremont, 79.00

4. West Field, 106.00

5. Clearfield, 118.00

6. Roy, 127.00

Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.