Lindsey Slater Stars in Fremont's State Championship October 24, 2002 ROBERT JOHNSON/Standard-Examiner Fremont teammates (from left) Sunnie Hansen, Jamie Stubbs and Jerrica Hall celebrate after winning the state 5-A cross country title Wednesday. Stubbs also won the individual championship. Stubbs sparks 'Wolves to another state 5-A title INSIDE: Davis repeats as champs in boys race/2C By JUSTIN JOHNSON Standard-Examiner correspondent SALT LAKE CITY - Winning a state championship brings with it the pressure of being a target the following season. Such was the position that the Fremont girls cross country team found itself in this year. The Silver Wolves started the season ranked as high as No. 20 nationally by The Harrier magazine before sliding out after several tough showings against top Utah squads. During the three weeks leading up to the 2002 state 5-A meet at Sugarhouse Park and Highland High School, Fremont quietly regained both the confidence and momentum that it had at the end of last season. The Silver Wolves finished second to Davis at the Region 1 meet on Oct. 9, but snatched their third consecutive state 5-A championship with a dramatic 62-67 victory over the Darts. "We wanted to win the state meet," said Fremont's Jamie Stubbs, who carted home the individual medal with a time of 18 minutes, 40.9 seconds. "We had the desire for it this time and we showed it. I was so excited and proud of my team that we were able to pull through and win it again." Stubbs' time was almost 25 seconds better than second-place Monica Starkweather of Brighton. The Darts' Lisa Frischknecht finished third at 19:07.5, and Northridge's Stacie Lifferth was fifth at 19:22.1. Fremont's Cassie Ricks (19:40.0) and Jerrica Hall (19:40.8) were ninth and 10th, respectively. "Davis had beaten us all year long, so I think they had a little more pressure on them than we did," Fremont coach Art Hansen said. "The girls were ready to race today. I thought the biggest thing today was freshman Lindsey Slater, our No. 5 runner today, moving from 44th up to 29th with only a mile left in the race. We would not have beaten Davis if she hadn't made that huge move right there." With four of their five placing runners returning next season, the Silver Wolves likely will be the favorites again. "I wouldn't call this an upset," Davis coach Craig Fletcher said. "Fremont is a good team. They've been a good team all year long." Weber, Northridge and Layton finished ninth, 10th and 12th, respectively. 133