By Greg James | [email protected]

The Taylorsville Warriors are the boys Region 2 cross country champions for the second straight year. This time it was done with a perfect score.

“These kids run to run, and then race to race,” Warriors head cross country coach Guy Mackay said. “It is weird to like to run and these kids have made it fun.”

Cross country is scored similarly to golf, with the lowest team score winnning. Runners score points in accordance with the position they finish the race, first place gets one point, second two, and so on. A perfect team score would be 15 points. The Warriors boys finished one through five, earning 15 points at the region championships.

“It was a perfect score. I am not sure I had ever seen that before,” Mackay said.

They did it twice this season.

Sophomore Cole Jameson led the way, capturing first place overall. Juniors Preston Gledhill and Noah Tucker placed second and third, followed by sophomores Kai Makowski in fourth and Jonah Andrew in fifth.  Joseph White and Liamm Passey finished ninth and 20th in non-scoring positions.

“It was a team effort. We cannot just send out one runner and ride his success. They all must learn to stay together and push each other to succeed. Our team is only as good as the slowest runner. Finishing all in the top 20 is an accomplishment.”

It was the second straight Region championship for the team. They had not won for seventeen years before this streak.

The girls team finished fourth at its region meet. The scoring runners were Reagan Vanderlinden, Wivine Barbieux, Peyton Burnett, Emma Buhler, and Grace Seaman.

“The girls did well. We have had some depth on our team the last few years and it is showing,” Mackay said.

At the UHSAA divisional meet Oct. 11, the boys placed sixth in their division.

This season the boys also scored a perfect score in the pre-region race to start the season. They finished second at the Digger Invitational hosted by Jordan High School at the end of August. Several of the team's runners plan to participate in the Footlocker Nationals Dec. 3 in Walnut, California.

“Our state has several of the top ten cross country teams in the country. We get to compete against some of the best runners on a regular basis,” Mackay said.

Jameson is a four-time All-American. He finished seventh last year at the USATF National Junior Olympics. He is part of a family that loves to run. His younger sister Lily took second at this year’s Granite School District junior high championships. Brother Myles attends Vista Elementary and helped his age group team finish eighth overall at the finals. Teren Jameson (Cole’s father) is an assistant coach with the team and his mother, Emily, was a member of BYU’s national championship team in 1997.

“It sure helps us to have supportive families. Cole is a great runner and his dad has helped our team really improve,” Mackay said.

The state cross country meet is scheduled to be held Oct. 25 (after press deadline) at the Regional Athletic Complex in North Salt Lake.