The Miners have posted several strong times in the most recent weeks, making them seem like a serious contender for the 5-A title. At the BYU Autumn Classic, Bingham's boys took third place, and the Miners' five scoring runners finished with a spread of 58 seconds.

Then, at the Murray Invitational, Bingham took third place again. The only 5-A team to beat the Miners was Davis.

"We're coming on better and better every week," coach Jeff Arbogast said.

Most recently, at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula, Mont., the Miners took 8th place at a meet attended by schools from Idaho, Washington and Montana. It was a result the Miners were not too happy with, but they believe they can recover.

"We just had one bad race, and you can't let it get to you," senior Devan Antczak said. "You just have to do better next time."

Seniors Alex Weber and Antczak are the standout runners for Bingham. Weber ran the 5K route at Cascade Golf Course in 16 minutes, 50.3 seconds for the BYU Classic, and finished the Murray Invite with a 16:15.4. He took 35th place in Missoula and ran 16:24 on the 3-mile course.

"He is one of the most dynamically talented kids we've seen since the early '90s," Arbogast said. Weber was Bingham's No. 2 runner last year, and only recently discovered how good he could be.

"When I first started running, I wasn't really committed," Weber said. "But this is my last year, and I'm committed and I want to do well."

Of course, it helps having Antczak on the team to compete against. He ran a 17:05.4 at BYU and a 16:16.7 at Murray.

"Both of them really complement each other," Arbogast said.

The Miners' girls' team, however, is a work in progress. Most of the best runners are inexperienced, but junior Kim Quinn is not about to let that slow her down. She is the No. 1 runner on the team, a spot that she had to fight for.

"Ever since I started, that was my goal," Quinn said. "I knew that if I wanted to get anywhere, I had to start by being first on my team."

"She is maybe the most dynamic hard-worker I've seen in 26 years," Arbogast said. Her work ethic helped her record a fifth-place finish at BYU of 19:43.9 and a fourth-place finish at Murray of 19:09.4.

Riverton

Riverton's girls already have had a memorable year. All they needed to do was beat Bingham.

At the BYU Classic, Riverton took 18th place while Bingham finished 19th. It was the first time the Silverwolves had beaten a Bingham girls' team. Senior Tiane Rosenlund has been the strongest runner.

"She's just doing a remarkable job, having been in long-distance running just since this spring," coach Hugh Evans said. "She has really worked hard."

The Silverwolves, however, took a hit at the Wahsatch Rendezvous last Saturday when Rosenlund collapsed midway through the race and was unable to finish. Rosenlund has struggled with a knee injury most of the season.

For the boys, Trevor Sharp is the best runner. A sophomore, Sharp has a lot of potential in the next couple years.

"We think he is the second-best sophomore in the entire state," Sharp said. "We're very encouraged by our upcoming team in the future."