CEDAR CITY - Moments after Hurricane's Karl Wilcock and Cedar's Aubrey Bryson crossed first to take individual honors in their respective races at Tuesday's Region 9 3A cross country championship, their focus shifted from their accomplishments.

I was looking for my teammates after the race," said Wilcock, who easily outdistanced the pack to take the three-mile boys race and the individual region title in 15 minutes, 30 seconds. He then waited at the finish to urge his teammates to the line. "I was thinking we could all do good at this race and we'll do good at state."

Bryson, who churned across in a winning time of 18:34, added her voice minutes earlier to others who encouraged runners to the line.

Cedar's Brakel Yardley (second, 18:55), Ashley Gray (third, 18:56), Hannah Grover (fifth, 19:21) and Hannah Ellsworth (sixth, 19:29) sandwiched Desert Hills freshman Dorian Sharp, who finished fourth in 19:03.

"I think we did awesome," Bryson said of her team's successful run to the region cross country title. "We all wanted to get under 19 (minutes). We had good team unity like we always do."

Cedar girls coach Bob Corry, whose teams have won nine state cross country championships, called this group of runners among the best he's coached, and lauded the strength of the region as a whole.

"(Bryson's) a talented runner," he said. "I'm really pleased with the way the whole team stayed with her. The top three were very close to her. We've only done that once or twice in the history of Cedar High. I'm pleased with how the other teams ran. We've got some good teams in this region."

While Wilcock's run helped the Tigers finish third and qualify for state with 52 points, Canyon View's tightly packed runners took four of the next five spots to claim the region team title (31 points) ahead of second-place Cedar (45 points).

Falcons' sophomore Matt Wright (15:44) finished 14 seconds behind Wilcock. Canyon View harrier Kyle Winward (15:49) took third. Canyon View's Ben Jarvis and Hurricane's Ryan Chandler battling across the line together in 15:50 while CV's Mike Haligard hit the line sixth at 15:52.

"We're strong as a group," Wright said. "We compete with ourselves and try to beat others on our team. That motivates us. (Running behind Wilcock) makes us race a whole lot faster. It motivates us because he's so fast."

Added Canyon View coach Greg Harris: "(The region championship) has been our goal all year. Everybody in the top seven (hit personal records). Running in a pack definitely helps. Our goal was to have the top four runners in the top six and our fifth runner close to the top 15. He was 16th. It feels great to be able to peak at region. We finally broke through. We're excited. We definitely met our goals today.

"(Wilcock's) been tough his whole high school career. It's great having him up there pushing us. It made us better. Having Cedar there has really helped, too. (Jon) Hermansen really pushed us."

Cedar runners filled the next five slots, led by Hermansen (16:02), Danny Stevenson (16:18), Glenn Rice (16:23), Devin Weber (16:33) and Matt Bryson (16:36).

Dawson Flake (12th, 16:37) was Desert Hills' top finisher.

For Wilcock, running away from the pack - as he's accustomed to - takes strategy.

"When you're running with competition you can make your moves to break away," Wilcock said. "On hills and turns; you pick good strategic points to break away from someone. I've had a lot of experience in races. I've gotten used to pacing myself."

Determination factored heavily for Bryson.

"I just wanted to break the course record which is 18 (minutes) flat," said Bryson, who used deep breathing in her stomach to conquer a side ache, then other runners, during the race. "Since the first of the season I always wanted to beat 19 minutes. I just go my hardest and stay with the leaders. Just go with a goal and stick with it."