Week 2 and meet #3 are now in the books, and — FINALLY — some cooler temperatures are around the corner…and ** maybe ** some rain! The team is working hard and doing well, and we have another big meet coming up this week. Thank you for all your support during a very busy time! That said, let’s jump into it!
I. Week 2 Recap
We started off this week with the first official day of school on Monday, August 18, 2025, with the start of practice moved to 3:15 PM in Coach Hutchinson’s room (C-242). This is where we will be meeting prior to practice from now on.
Monday was an easy run and some strides, as we wanted to keep things light for our athletes on their first day back to class.
Tuesday was scheduled as a workout, and with temperatures in the upper 90s, the heat became one of the main stories of this past week. Worried about the wisdom of working the athletes really hard in the unrelenting sun and wind of the Northridge track, after discussions as a coaching staff and with Layton High’s coaches, we determined to move the workout to Layton Commons Park (which is more shaded) on Tuesday afternoon.
This proved to be a good decision, as it provided our athletes with some respite from the bright sun and also a fun time interacting with some of the Layton High athletes. We plan on doing more with them this season, so stay tuned! Our athletes did great in the workout, and it was a relief not cancelling a workout, which are hard to schedule and important not to miss with all our early season races.
Wednesday was a recovery run at Northridge, and I was very pleased to see our athletes feeling good despite a difficult workout the day before. This gave us the optimism to assign a light workout for Thursday’s practice to help and try to keep our athletes feeling sharp prior to the Saturday meet. After Wednesday’s practice our runners did a lower body strength routine.
Thursday’s workout was shorter and involved a few components that will become regular training pieces for our athletes this fall…including the infamous NRXC grass hill circuit. We assigned these to our athletes for the first time last fall, and, at the end of the season, when the athletes were given the opportunity to assign a workout back to Coach Bentley, hill circuits were the one they chose. Coach Bentley just about died during the effort. These are not easy, but pay big dividends when we encounter hills at the state meet (more on this type of preparation later!). After practice on Thursday a handful of runners went and did an upper body workout in the Northridge weight room..
Friday we met in Coach Hutchinson’s classroom to go over pre-race information, do a light pre-race workout routine, and then we headed to the Cowan’s home in Uintah for our pre-race team dinner!
Saturday began ** very ** early for NRXC athletes (and parents….THANK YOU!) as our meet (Wahsatch Rendezvous) started in Millcreek at 7:30 AM. We caught the bus at 5:15 AM and had left Northridge by 5:30 AM. The bus was unusually quiet that morning as athletes slept their way down to Salt Lake.
As mentioned in last week’s post, the Wahsatch Rendezvous, put on by Scott Stucki at Hillcrest High at Big Cottonwood Regional Park in Millcreek/Holladay, has a unique format. The meet began with boys and girls JV races, which followed the standard XC formula with all eligible runners competing in a single race, the top 5 runners scoring for each team. The varsity races were divided into seven separate boys and girls races (so 14 races total), in which teams designated their varsity runners from 1 to 7, with the designated runners then competing against each other in a race with others of the same designation (so our 7 ran against all the other 7s, our 6 ran against all the other 6s, etc.). The races started every 15 minutes, with girls starting 2 minutes after the boys race for every designated classification.
This was a fun format that our kids were looking forward to. I thought it went well, even though I think it would have been better if there were 5-10 more schools competing in each race, since some of the races only had 8 competitors. I think this made it stressful for all of the athletes, since it’s hard to be lost in a crowd when the field is so small. Furthermore, there were some of the top teams in the state present at this meet. I was very proud of all our runners for being willing to compete in these small groups. They ran hard and without fear, and, by and large, we held our own!
The course that our athletes ran was not conducive to fast times. It was hilly and temperatures (as the day went on) got HOT. But it was a really pretty course with true cross-country terrain. It will be a great preparation for this year’s state meet!
Jeffrey Hazard (Jr.) finished 3rd overall in the boys #1 varsity race and Evelyn Cook (So.) finished 5th overall in the girls #1 varsity race. Zachary Carnett (So.) finished 4th overall in the #7 varsity race, and Jane Jeffrey (Jr.) finished #4 overall in the #5 varsity race. Michael Griffith (Jr.) was our top JV boys finisher. Also, Harper Schramm (Fr.) finished as our top JV girls runner in her first ever XC race for Northridge! Peyton Trussell (Fr.) and Lauren Lopez (So.) also ran their first races this week! We also had five of our middle school athletes run in the youth race — Brennan Pierce (8th), Keenan Pierce (8th), Hannah Cook (7th), Ryanne Burris (7th), and Kenzie Smidt (7th)! Results are summarized in the table below (with full results available on SportTrax), followed by some photos/videos — thank you to parents who send their photos and videos each week!!
Girls JV Results (6th Overall Team, Full Results on SportTrax)
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Harper Schramm | 23:54 |
| 38 | Sadie Wiser | 24:51 |
| 39 | Lucy Johnson | 24:52 |
| 42 | Lauren Terrando | 27:44 |
| 44 | Chloe Poff | 27:59 |
| 49 | Bella Corlett | 30:29 |
| 50 | Brielle Allman | 31:21 |
Boys JV Results (7th Overall Team, Full Results Available on SportTrax)
| Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Michael Griffith | 19:31 |
| 43 | Michael Rich | 19:44 |
| 51 | Peyton Trussell | 20:30 |
| 52 | Reyse DeArce | 20:31 |
| 54 | Dax Nesbit | 20:35 |
| 63 | Jacob Hazard | 21:22 |
| 64 | Evan Corlett | 21:34 |
Boys Varsity Results (Official Results Available on SportTrax)
| Race | Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys Varsity 7s | 5 | Zachary Carnett | 18:16 |
| Boys Varsity 6s | 7* | Mason Smith | 18:26 |
| Boys Varsity 5s | 6 | Landon Strong | 18:04 |
| Boys Varsity 4s | 8 | Parker Ewell | 18:15 |
| Boys Varsity 3s | 8 | Stephen Bentley | 18:04 |
| Boys Varsity 2s | 8 | Addison Waite | 17:36 |
| Boys Varsity 1s | 3 | Jeffrey Hazard | 15:55 |
* Score under review to determine if Mason finished as the number 6 or number 7 runner.
Girls Varsity Results (Official Results Available on SportTrax)
| Race | Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Girls Varsity 7s | 8 | Amri Hazard | 26:53 |
| Girls Varsity 6s | 7 | Natalie Agren | 23:24 |
| Girls Varsity 5s | 4 | Jane Jeffrey | 22:27 |
| Girls Varsity 4s | 6 | Lyla Wiser | 23:18 |
| Girls Varsity 3s | 6 | Abbi Frost | 21:40 |
| Girls Varsity 2s | 7 | Sarah Hammond | 23:06 |
| Girls Varsity 1s | 5 | Evelyn Cook | 19:54 |
Youth Results (There were problems with the route and timing system, the below is a summary based on what information I have…our middle school athletes did GREAT in very tough conditions!)
| Race | Place | Athlete | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Girls Youth | 1 | Hannah Cook | No official time |
| Girls Youth | 2 | Ryanne Burris | 24:33 |
| Girls Youth | 3 | Kenzie Smidt | 26:54 |
| Boys Youth | 1 | Brennan Pierce | No official time |
| Boys Youth | 2 | Keenan Pierce | No official time |
II. News & Announcements
A. Register My Athlete and Team Fees
I think almost everyone has this taken care of this at this point. There are some athletes who were cleared based on a physical that expired during our first week of practice (i.e., their physical was still good for the first meet but has since expired). I have reached out to the athletes individually, but if your athlete is in this situation, please have a new physical uploaded ASAP! I will also reach out to the school secretary to see who has still not paid team fees, and will contact athletes and parents directly. Thank you for your help in getting this done!
B. Orem XC Tragedy
This past week I was made aware that Andy Jacobs, the Orem High XC Coach passed away unexpectedly at the age of 50. I’m new to the group of Utah XC coaches, and did not know Andy personally, but it’s a small group of dedicated men and women who give a lot to the kids they teach and coach. I’m sure his family could use thoughts and prayers at this time.
In addition, there is a link to donate for the benefit of his wife and children. We have already donated on behalf of NRXC, but I thought I would put the information out there in case any of you knew or had a connection to Andy or Orem High XC. Don’t feel obligated to donate, I’m just making the information available.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16yw9USUZe
C. Homecoming Relay
Homecoming is September 19, 2025, and we will be playing Fremont High. We have traditionally done a homecoming relay where our team runs (in multiple leg relay format) carrying the Northridge High School flag, from the opposing school to our Football stadium. Jared Jeffrey has coordinated this during past years, and, I believe, if planning to again. He identifies a route that is safe to run and follows the kids in his truck as he carries the flag. We will need drivers to help carpool and support the team as we run.
The first thing we need to decide is whether we will do this the afternoon/evening of the game (Friday, September 19, 2025) or the afternoon before (Thursday, September 18, 2025). Once we determine the date, we will let everyone know and send out requests for volunteers. This is one of our team’s very favorite activities during the season. It will be a long run this year, but should be fun…so stay tuned for more information!
D. Meet on Friday (School Dismissal)
Our meet this week is on Friday morning in Orem, Utah. It is the Timpanogos XC Invitational, which is the biggest invitational meet that takes place in Utah during the season. It is also located at the site of the state divisional race (Lakeside Sports Park in Orem, Utah), and is good preparation for qualifying for state.
Races begin at 9 AM, and awards are at 12:15. This means our runners will miss all or all but their last period of school on Friday. I apologize for this inconvenience, but this is an essential race for our team. I will emphasize to our athletes the importance of preparing academically for this meet. Athletes may also bring schoolwork to the meet to do on the bus ride down and up and during some downtime during the meet.
Please contact us if you have specific concerns. Thanks as always for your support!
E. Weather
We are finally getting a change in the weather! There is a good chance for rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. Athletes should come prepared to run/workout in the rain. We run and race in all weather!
F. Saturday Long Run
We will have a Saturday team long run this week. I know it is Labor Day weekend, and many may be out of town or have Saturday plans. But long runs are an ** essential ** component of cross-country training, and, once meets start in the fall, can be hard to schedule. So, it is imperative that our runners are doing their long runs when we have the ability to schedule them. I would like all athletes to attend if possible. We will be running on roads around Morgan Valley. There will be options ranging from 3 to 13 miles. The effort will be easy, and we will have snacks afterwards.
I know that some of our runners will be out of town and unavailable to join the team. But I want to be crystal clear with my expectations (since this is so important). Regardless of where you are, I want you to fit in your run. You can be camping, or visiting family…but you can wake up early and get your long run in. This is an expected part of training. Our athletes are training at a high level, and this is part of what’s required.
If you have questions or concerns, please let me know. I’ will’ll provide some additional information later in the week. Thank you!!
III. Weekly Training
This week’s training is summarized in the table below.
| Date | Location | Time | Type of Practice Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, August 25, 2025 | Northridge High School | 3:15 PM | Easy day + strides |
| Tuesday, August 26, 2025 | Northridge High School | 3:15 PM | Workout + weights |
| Wednesday, August 27, 2025 | Northridge High School | 3:15 PM | Recovery day |
| Thursday, August 28, 2025 | Northridge High School | 3:15 PM | Pre-Race |
| Friday, August 29, 2025 | Lakeside Sports Park (Orem Utah) — Meet at Northridge to ride bus | Races start at 9:00 AM (Meet at Northridge for bus at 6:30 AM) | Race day! (Timpanogos Invitational) |
| Saturday, August 30, 2025 | Peterson, Utah (Morgan Valley Long Run Location) | 7:00 AM | Team Long Run (Easy!) (Morgan Valley) |
| Sunday, August 31, 2025 | N/A | N/A | Rest |
IV. NRXC/NRTF Alumni Update
This is a new segment, and we’re just getting started this week, so it will get better as the season progresses. I wanted to highlight some of our alumni runners. It’s fun for our athletes to know where they are and what they’re doing. This will be brief, and I apologize if I’ve forgotten anyone! Please don’t hesitate to message and remind me!
- Lily Griffith (2025) is beginning her first season running for Janae Richardson at the College of Southern Idaho. She will be running in a meet at UVU (I believe) that is the same time as our Timpanogos Invitational, otherwise we’d be there for sure!
- Charlotte Wilkinson (2024) ran track and field for Northridge and is Sofia’s older sister. I believe she is running XC for Weber State this fall.
- Will Luoma (2023) is running XC for Weber State this fall.
- Owen Pollard (2022) is attending Utah State but may be training for and running some races unattached this fall.
- Anna Behmer (2022) is running cross-country at the University of Alabama Birmingham this fall.
- Hyrum Johnson (2020) is attending the University of Utah and is training for and will be running some races unattached this fall. He is the older brother of Lucy Johnson!
- Carter Frost (2023) is starting running cross-country and track and field at Utah Tech this fall! Carter is Abbi’s and Owen’s older brother!
As I said, in the future this will get better. I’ll add people that I’m sure I’ve forgotten, and I’ll try and update race results as well. We love our NRXC/NRTF alumni, and they are inspirations to our current athletes!!
V. Other/Points of Emphasis
None again this week. It’s hard enough just to get this out! Thanks for the patience!