The Miners girls cross country program is one of the most successful in Utah. Park City has 13 titles, second only behind Mountain View with 21.
The Miners last title came in 2014, the last of seven in a row.
Tuesday at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City, Park City will look to return to the mountaintop on the girls side. The Miners are some of the title favorites. Sophomore Tatum Flach is one of the favorites to win the individual title.
The Park City boys team will also compete Tuesday, yet expectations aren’t as high for a less experienced group.
Both Miners teams qualified by finishing top 10 in their divisionals meets Oct. 14 at Lakeside Park in Orem. The girls won their meet, and the boys finished eighth.
“I think we knew we’d make it to state,” said Park City Head Coach Steve Cuttitta. “But winning regionals and divisionals is kind of nice. Add some trophies.”
The Miners girls team also won their regional title Oct. 7 at The Cottonwood Complex in Millcreek, where the boys team finished in second.
Cuttitta said he believes the recent success will empower both teams at state. Even the girls team hadn’t been the fastest all season, but both teams kept working hard to improve their times.
“These are the same teams we’ll see in two weeks,” Cuttitta said. “Especially on the girls’ side, they’re in a great spot.”
Park City used the layoff between divisionals and state to rest and do just enough to maintain their speed. They want everything left in the tank come Tuesday.
The Miners have trained at Sugar House Park numerous times this season. They’re familiar with the 3-mile long, hilly course, which was the host of the state meet last season as well.
“We’ve definitely been working all year and building toward that goal,” Cuttitta said about a possible girls state title. “It’s the closest we’ve been.”
Cuttitta said that keys to success will be having Flach and Samuel LaBrin, the star of the boys team, run great races and those behind them stick together and earn as many points as possible. The boys program won their third of three state titles in 2008.
This year should be a springboard for future success for the boys team. The girls team finished in ninth last year, yet they are now contenders for the title. Cuttitta said experience in the state meet, despite it being the same 3-mile distance as every other meet, could prove beneficial in coming years.
“They’re happy to go,” Cuttitta said about the boys team. “Hopefully we’ll have a good finish to this year.”
Cuttitta, who was absent from the team last season, said he credits his runners and support staff for helping him create a contending girls team this season. He said he’s loved being back running with the teams.
The current Park City runners are hopefully setting the stage for future competitive teams. Cuttitta said the cat is out of the bag as far as the town’s benefits to distance runners with its altitude, and he hopes professional success from runners like Conner Mantz and Grant Fisher inspires others to join up the Miners program in the years to come.
“Grant Fisher and those guys are out on our track all the time. It’s really cool,” Cuttitta said. “To see that success definitely can’t be anything but helpful for us.”