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Dallin Taylor of Hunter was leading the 5A boys race for a stretch.
When he looked back to see how close American Fork was, he was surprised to see, not one or two, but four Cavemen grouped tightly right behind him.
"I knew AF was coming, but seeing so many of them caught me off-guard," said Taylor, who eventually finished third. "When you have a team like that, it makes you really hard to beat."
The American Fork cross country team put on another clinic of dominance in their 5A state title win Wednesday at Sugar House Park.
Junior Clayton Young won the meet, and the Cavemen had five runners in the top eight.
The team even smashed their own five-man course record they set last year by more than a minute. Davis finished a distant second, with 75 points to American Fork's 21.
"Going back-to-back is great — it's been one of our goals all year," Young said. "I'm just thinking how blessed I am to be on this team."
And American Fork wasn't just running well, they were overachieving.
Austin West came back from a foot injury to finish sixth. Ashenafe Richardson improved his 2009 state time by 50 seconds. Derek Day set a personal best and finished eighth.
"Without this team, I wouldn't be anywhere," Richardson said. "Austin told me to keep going in this race, so I did better. We work as a team, we run as a group, and we know we deserve this because we've worked so hard."
The road isn't nearly over for the Cavemen, who are ranked No. 2 nationally by ESPN and will compete in Southwest Regionals in a month and will then likely go to nationals.
5A girls
The Davis girls team did what their male counterparts couldn't: The Darts won the state title. Shea Martinez led the team with a first-place finish and Meghan Hedquist ended up third to push Davis past Skyline in the team standings.
4A boys
Pine View proved again that it can roll with the big-name teams in the state, working over its 4A competition. Trevor Thompson and Tyson
Boyer went 1-2 for the Panthers, who want to be thought of in the same terms as American Fork and Davis.
4A girls
Summer Harper of Orem clocked in the fastest girls' time for any classification —almost 18 minutes flat — becoming fourth among her siblings to win at least one state title. Sarah Feeny, Jamie Stokes and Avery Carlton all placed in the top 10 to give Ogden its first-ever state title.
3A boys
Sophomore Ben Saarel of Park City dominated, beating his next-closest competitor by nearly 40 seconds. But Bracken Rawlinson led a consistent Bear River team that placed five runners in the top 20 for first place among 3A teams.
3A girls
Desert Hills' Darian Sharp broke through a wall of Park City runners for the best individual time in the 3A race. The Miners' Alisse Walker helped lead Park City to the team title despite a Cedar City squad that placed four in the top eight.
2A boys
Ammon Blauer of Parowan notched the only sub 17-minute time of the race, which was more than enough to get past his competitors. Rowland Hall came through with its first state title led by the legs of twin brothers John and Andy Gilbert, who finished third and sixth, respectively.
2A girls
Erica Birk of North Summit was basically racing herself: The junior was more than a minute ahead of her next-closest competitor and got her second state title. Chennin Benson's fifth-place finish set the pace for state champ Parowan.
1A boys and girls
Macee Nielson came through with a big win for Monticello, and Vance Weston fulfilled a longtime dream of his own with a state title win.
But neither could do enough to topple strong St. Joseph's teams, which earned a 1A sweep with both girls and boys titles.
Results
At Sugar House Park Distance • 5K
5A boys' top finishers
1) Clayton Young, American Fork (15:23.9)
2) M. Morrison, American Fork (15:25.6)
3) Dallin Taylor, Hunter (15:31.7)
5A girls top finishers
1) Shea Martinez, Davis (18:45.0)
2) Caroline Weiler, Skyline (19:07.9)
3) Meghan Hedquist, Davis (19:08.2)
4A boys top finishers
1) Trevor Thompson, Pine View (15:56.6)
2) Tyson Boyer, Pine View (16:00.7)
3) Joseph Christensen, Springville (16:01.1)
4A girls top finishers
1) Summer Harper, Orem (18:00.4)
2) Sarah Feeny, Ogden (18:16.7)
3) Susannah Hurst, East (18:30.4)
3A boys top finishers
1) Ben Saarel, Park City (15: 56.9)
2) Danny Stevenson, Cedar (16:36.4)
3) Matt Wright, Canyon View (16:43.8)
3A girls top finishers
1) Darian Sharp, Desert Hills (19:15.1)
2) Alisse Walker, Park City (19:16.0)
3) Aimee Bryson, Cedar (19:24.6)
2A boys top finishers
1) Ammon Blauer, Parowan (16:57.5)
2) Zach Peterson, North Sevier (17:23.1)
3) John Gilbert, Rowland Hall (17:33.9)
2A girls top finishers
1) Erica Birk, North Summit (19:17.7)
2) Katie Hiatt, San Juan (20:26.6)
3) Mishaelle Sampson, North Sevier (20:48.9)
1A boys top finishers
1) Vance Weston, Rich (17:01.7)
2) Cordarelton Benn, Whitehorse (17:12.5)
3) Colby Spencer, Valley (17:19.0)
1A girls top finishers
1) Macee Nielson, Monticello (18:59.5)
2) Alex Shaw, St. Joseph (19:40.8)
3) Daisy Tuwei, Wasatch Academy (20:10.4)