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Carbon's Rozlyn Stowe, left, and Ogden's Avery Barton greet each other on the champion's podium during the 3A state cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Ogden's Avery Barton charges on during the 3A state cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Layton's Eliza Thornley closes her eyes following the 6A state cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's Isabella Cram powers to the finish line during the 6A state cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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Carbon's Rozlyn Stowe, left, and Ogden's Avery Barton greet each other on the champion's podium during the 3A state cross country championships on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

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SALT LAKE CITY — The physical and mental exhaustion after a race isn’t foreign to Ogden High’s Avery Barton, and both were waiting for her at the finish line Wednesday during the state cross country championships at Sugar House Park.

Barton (17:57.31) finished state runner-up to the 3A champion, Carbon senior Rozlyn Stowe (17:12.67), in her third time running the same course — and the first time for another school since transferring from Bonneville to Ogden this fall.

Barton reunited with her old teammates during her second career City-County victory earlier this fall.

The back stretch of Wednesday’s course brought back memories from last December, when Barton ran what she considers the most physically demanding race of her career during the Foot Locker Championships, a series of regional high school-level races hosted around the country.

“I just shut down and my brain couldn’t keep up with my legs, but I finished,” Barton said. “I think that every year the hills are supposed to be the most challenging, but for me, I feel like they are not as hard because I go to Ogden and we have hills. We run hills every day, and so it’s been a lot easier for us.”

Barton’s time led fourth-place Ogden, led by coach Merrilee Blackham, in a lineup that featured juniors Clara Geddes (16th, 20:13.41) and Georgia Smith (22nd, 21:14.22) in the top 25.

Sophomore Ally Stark (31st), sophomore Olivia Geddes (39th), senior Eliza Bohne (45th), and senior Julia Draper (55) rounded out Ogden’s team score of 110, the program’s best performance since winning the title outright in 2023. Last year, the Tigers finished just seventh overall.

Barton’s junior season now includes four top-three finishes, which includes the Region 12 championship earlier this month.

Another cross country season through, Barton can’t get much closer to the throne.

“Every year, I feel like I’m closer and closer to that first place,” Barton said. “I think that this, getting second, is really going to motivate me next year, help my fury and really help me that last mile.”

Cook, Box Elder represent Region 5

Northridge sophomore Evelyn Cook, finishing third individually, and the entire Box Elder squad, featuring top-10 finishes by senior sisters Maya Lee (fifth) and Macie Lee (sixth), flew Region 5’s flag during the Class 5A girls race Wednesday.

Cook put herself in the company of 5A champion Lily Alder (Timpview) and runner-up Bridget Smit (Brighton) with her region’s top time of 18:25.74.

Three Region 1 runners finish top 10

Layton sophomore Eliza Thornley, finishing sixth individually, Weber senior Catherine Wald, finishing seventh, and Davis junior Isabella Cram, finishing 10th, kept Region 1 on par with their Region 5 counterparts with three top-10 finishes in the 6A girls race Wednesday.

Weber finished fifth as a team (118) with two more runners – freshman Adelaide Hale (32nd) and senior Kate Lang (43) – fitting inside the top 50. Biting their neighbor’s heels, Davis (189) narrowly finished sixth behind Cram and top-40 finishes by sophomores Erin Christensen (20th) and Addison Loveland (38th).

Thornley led eighth-place Layton, followed by senior Elizabeth Tolman (29th), sophomore Alice Wilhelm (39th), and freshman Elsie Thacker (49th) in the top 50.

Cox leads Morgan with top-15 finish

Morgan junior Alexis Cox led the Trojans, finishing 10th overall, with a final time of 20:04.53 and 14th-place individual finish in the 3A girls race Wednesday.

Six more Trojans were featured in the 3A race: sophomore Allison Farnsworth, sophomore Kate Hiatt, senior Joesi Kelly, freshman River Allen, junior Ameri Anderton, and senior Reese Richardson all finished outside the top 50.

Freshman Liege Ferrier led Ben Lomond in 68th and senior Makayla Johnson finished 73rd. The Scots did not qualify for a team score.

Complete results from all state cross country action is available online at www.uhsaa.org.

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