Regardless of the sport, coaches love having experienced upperclassmen leading the way. But this doesn’t mean younger players have to take a backseat when it comes to importance and roles on the team. 

At West Jordan, the girls cross country team is young, but many of those youthful athletes will be among the top runners on the squad. 

“This is an interesting season for me,” head coach Taylor Hatch said. “With it being my ninth cross country season here at West Jordan, I would say we are at a rebuilding year on the girls’ side. We lost a lot of senior girls, but we have gained a lot of ninth graders and sophomores. So just building up their mileage and teaching them how to push to their limits has been the main focus.”

Moving up from the junior varsity squad on the girls’ side, junior Sadie Kevan and Abby DeMass are the team’s leaders. The fastest girl on the team is Sadie Adams. Hatch said despite being a young team, the Lady Jags are confident and eager to prove themselves. 

However, the boys team has much more experience. The core of the team is made up of 11th and 12th graders. Only one of the top seven runners from the 2023 group graduated. 

“The boys, on the other hand, are the opposite,” Hatch said. “We have a very strong squad of juniors and seniors. So I expect them to really close that gap between our 1–7 guy and fight for a region title.”

Many returning athletes are strengthening the boys team this season. Tyndale Curtis is the fastest runner on the boys squad. However, over the summer, Devin Butterfield developed and improved his time to become another threat for the Jaguars. 

Hatch said his goal is always to win region and make it to the state meet. The Jaguars will once again be in Class 5A’s Region 4, the same place the team competed in last season. To reach their goals, the Jaguars need to keep a focused, consistent effort. Individual runners will need to get better throughout the year, Hatch said. 

“What needs to happen for this season to be a success would just be seeing these athletes individually improve from last year—hitting the goals they have set,” he said. “I think if this happens, our team overall will be better, and that is when winning certain races will happen.”

Early on, Hatch was encouraged by the boys’ and girls’ performances. 

“The season is very promising,” he said. “A lot of younger kids from last year have really improved and are going to make some of those varsity athletes have to fight for their spot.”

Hatch loves the devotion his athletes have shown, particularly how hard they worked during the summer. Perhaps more importantly, he said the Jaguar cross country athletes conduct themselves well and are easy to coach. 

“What I have enjoyed this summer is how dedicated a lot of these kids have been, really making an effort to hit the mileage they are expected to hit,” he said. “They also are very nice to everyone and make an effort for others to feel included. They are just a really good group of kids.”