State cross country preview: Ogden runners ride region highs into final meet
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- The Ogden High girls cross country team pictured with the region trophy on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Harrisville.
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- The Ogden High boys cross country team pictured with the region trophy on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, at the Weber County Fairgrounds in Harrisville.
OGDEN — The Tigers are rounding the corner, hungry for more.
Ogden’s cross country team captured the Region 12 boys and girls titles at the annual region meet Tuesday at the Weber County Fairgrounds, claiming both for the first time since 2022.
Later this month, they’ll send two talented rosters of young runners to the 3A state championships.
Northern Utah standout Avery Barton won the girls 3-mile by 1 minute and 15 seconds, adding to her list of wins this fall that includes last month’s City-County Classic at the fairgrounds. Senior Clara Geddes (2nd), freshman Lucia Bute (7th), junior Ally Stark (8th), and senior Georgia Smith (9th) all recorded strong times, locking down Ogden medalists across the top 10.
Likewise, fellow senior Daniel Ekstrom led Ogden’s boys squad with a first-place finish, edging out Cooper Clark of Grantsville by roughly 11 seconds. Junior Ryker Nicholas (16:29.2) wasn’t far behind in third. Josh Nielsen claimed fifth, Boone Burton finished eighth and senior Andrew Francis slotted in at 10th individually, bolstering Ogden’s team finish.
Missy Allred, returning to Ogden this fall after some time away, is understandably confident about her team’s odds at Sugar House for the state race later this month. Allred, a longtime outdoor coach at Ogden before leaving town, replaced fellow veteran coach Merrilee Blackham, who moved to Washington State with her family following Ogden’s latest run at the state track championships in Provo.
“I think they both have a pretty good chance of bringing home a state trophy, whether that’s first or second place,” Allred said. “… At first I thought it’d just be the girls, but the boys have really dug in. They’ve had a really good buy-in, keeping each other accountable; they’re doing the work and making sure they’re doing the extra things they know can help. … The boys have just collectively risen as a group. It’s been really fun to watch.”
Working with a young group of girls, Allred has Barton and Geddes as two key seniors cleaning up on the course and working overtime inside the program to get the cubs up to speed. Ogden sent three freshmen — Bute, Shay Ekstrom and Molly Ekstrom — to its region meet on Tuesday.
“Seniors are always very valuable with their experience, and I definitely feel they’re helping the team understand what’s possible,” Allred said. “Being able to follow Avery and Clara in workouts, those young girls are just digging in, and they’re taking on the huge responsibility of running on the varsity team at such a young age.”
Following a runner-up finish in 3A last year, Barton is chasing her first career state title as a senior and for the last time sporting Ogden orange. Since transferring to Ogden from Bonneville, Barton has participated in national competitions around the country, particularly along the West Coast.
Daniel Ekstrom has helped raise expectations team-wide after he qualified for Nike Nationals in Oregon this past summer, Allred said.
She pointed to Roger Bannister, the English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile in 1954, as an example of how her top talent can help everyone shoot for shorter times in the long days perfecting their craft.
“Once (Bannister) did it, then, nine more people did it in that same year. And, you know, doctors were thinking that hearts would explode, and people would die if they ran, you know, faster than a 4-minute mile, and once (Bannister) taught everyone (it) was possible, then everybody else was like, ‘I can do it, too.’ I think Avery has … done that for our team.”
Her team has adapted to a technical coaching style, Allred said, and it’s upon those insights she trusts that this year’s Ogden squad could shake up the conversation at state in Salt Lake.
“Their workouts are strongly, and importantly, based on their own progression,” Allred said. “… It’s all very individualized, and we try to keep our routine just the same going into any race. They have the same plyometric exercises that they do and stretching routines and other things that they do to keep everyone in a nice routine that their bodies are used to, so that their nervous systems are as calm as they can be going into a big race.”
Davis crowned Region 1 king
On Monday, Davis High won the Region 1 cross country titles for boys and girls at Layton Commons Park.
The Darts fit four girls into the top 10, including Isabella Cram (17:33.76) — the runner-up to Farmington’s Ellie Dorius, the meet’s individual champion — by roughly 16 seconds. Not far behind were Erin Christensen (4th), Addy Loveland (5th), and Eliza Knechtel (8th).
In the boys race, Layton’s Parker Harris (14:54.05) bested Davis senior Harrison Skousen by 5 seconds. The Darts managed six boys in Monday’s top 10, including senior Jonas Clay (4th), Parker Olsen (5th), junior Luke Baughman (6th), Noah Hauck (7th), and Devin Black (9th).
The state-wide cross country championships are slated for Oct. 27-28 at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
