Several Community Students on Fremont's Nationally Ranked Girls Cross Country Team August 26, 2003 Nationally ranked Fremont, Davis lead the pack By JUSTIN JOHNSON_ Standard-Examiner correspondent If The Harrier magazine's final poll of the 2002 boys and girls cross country season is any indication, the state of Utah is well on its way to becoming a national power in high school cross country. Four girls teams and two boys teams from the Beehive State finished in the magazine's Top 25 national ranking. In the Top of Utah, most of the focus falls squarely on the battle between the Fremont and Davis girls teams. The Silver Wolves -the three-time defending state champions - were No. 21 in last season's final poll, while the Darts were No. 22. "Both Davis and us were ranked nationally at the end of the year last year and both of us have returned a large core of our players," Fremont coach Art Hansen said. "We've got a few injuries right now, but once we get healthy we've got great depth. "We returned six of our seven state finishers from last year and we've got 10 girls that are solid," Hansen said. Hansen pointed to sophomore's Lexie Meyer and Katie Chugg as key newcomers. Cassie Ricks, Jerrica Hall, Annie Larsen, Lindsey Slater, Sunnie Hansen and Danielle Retallic were all runners on the 'Wolves' state championship squad last season. The Fremont boys team should also have a good season, led by senior Tyler Douglass. "We've been in the top five at state the past couple of years and I hope that we can do that again," Hansen said. "Davis is always a very good program and they finished in the top 20 in the nation last year. Weber is probably the team to beat on the boys side from our region." Weber's boys should be led by senior Nick Fisher and sophomore Jason Gubler; on the girls side look for Jordan Green to be a top runner. "It's my philosophy that you are a champion until someone beats you," Weber coach Alan Rawlins said. "I think Davis is definitely the front runner on the boys side and on the girls side Davis and Fremont should battle ROBERT JOHNSON Standard-Examiner each other. I'm hoping to see our girls get somewhere in the top four in region." Davis is the two-time defending 5-A champion on the boys side and was the runner-up to Fremont in the girls last year. The Darts graduated several key runners from their two state title teams, but have a solid group of runners coming up. Watch for Aaron Nye, Thomas Lingard, Josh Adams and Jake Thompson on the boys side. "There is a lot of potential on the boys side, but there are a lot of question marks," Davis coach Roger Buhrley said. Corrine Smith, Lynette Purdy, Wendy Wilson, Shaylee Marler, Rebecca Shepard and Allison Payne will be top runners on the girls side. "The girls should have a pretty good battle with Fremont," Buhrley said. "It Davis High's Brad Phippen (left) and Jace Nye (right) take the lead in last year's 5-A cross country championship. should be a fun and interesting year." The Darts lost long-time girls coach Craig Fletcher to retirement during the summer after Fletcher suffered a back injury. The Ogden girls are widely considered the top 3-A team in the state and return their top runners from last season, including Katie Adams, Katie Nelson, Shaylee Stegen, Megan Stephenson, McKenzie Cook, Paige Naisbitt and Kalena Wright. Tigers coach Don Hall feels that this is the best team that he's had at Ogden. "We could place four girls in the top 10 at state," Hall said. Ogden's boys squad has won seven straight league titles and finished fourth in last season's state 3-A meet. Victor Rodriguez, Brett Hales and Davis Lamb should be Ogden's top runners this year. "We're not looking past Ben Lomond this year," Hall said. "They have two top 10 state finishers in James Parker and Chad Stamps." Look for St. Joseph, which swept the boys and girls titles in 1-A last year, to again be among the top programs in their classification. Watch for Katie McEntee and Brittney DeHaan on the girls side, while David Borgeson and Chris Tenka should be solid on the boys side.