Utah State distance runners perform well in Logan Marathon 5K and 10K events

Utah State University distance runner Camren Todd performed well at the 2020 Logan Marathon on Sept. 19, 2020. Image courtesy of Utah State University

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State’s Katie Haviland cherishes every moment she has to compete.

Such was the case this past Saturday morning when the senior distance runner paced a handful of Aggies to top-10 finishes in the 5K Fun Run at the second-annual Logan Marathon. Besides the marathon and 5K, a 20K and 10K were also held on Saturday.

“Being able to compete has become an absolute privilege that I treasure,” Haviland said. “Of course, it wasn’t quite the same as a collegiate meet, but I’ve really missed being able to push myself like that with my teammates around, so Saturday was a real treat.”

Haviland was the top finisher regardless of gender as the native of Lehi, Utah, crossed the finish line in 16 minutes, 22.1 seconds.

“Overall, I’m real happy with how my race went,” she said. “I was definitely relaxed the first two miles and being able to give a good, hard effort the last mile was great. The Logan Marathon staff and the volunteers from Anderson’s all made my first real race in about six months a great experience.”

A trio of Haviland’s Utah State teammates crossed the finish line right after her in freshman Mattie Geddes (16:22.7), sophomore Reagan Hoopes (17:01.1) and sophomore Megan Terry (17:05.2).

Geddes finished first in her division (girls 15-19).

“With the staggered start, our race plan was to put three girls in front that would take us out in 5:50 for the first mile, while the rest of us would ease our way up to them and get a good pack going,” Haviland said. “The first mile went beautifully and we were all able to be together by about a half-mile in. From there, the plan was simply to maintain a 5:50 pace the second mile, then give the last mile a good push with anything we had left.”

Three more Aggies rounded out the top-10 overall finishers as sophomore Clair Mantz placed sixth with a time of 17:23.2, sophomore Paytin Drollinger finished seventh with a time of 17:43.4 and sophomore Madi Hess placed eighth with a time of 17:54.2.

“Having the ladies sweep the meet like that makes me so proud of them and proud to be an Aggie,” Haviland said. “We did a great job staying together as a pack while pushing each other, and that really paid off. I was especially grateful for our new and talented freshman, Mattie Geddes, who was able to push me all the way to the finish line.”

It was also a solid day for the Aggie men that competed in the 10K Trail Race. Sophomore Camren Todd was the top finisher overall regardless of gender as he placed first with a time of 29:03.3.

“It has been a long time since I’ve raced, so this was a great opportunity to see the results of the last few months of training,” Todd said. “It was nice to just run hard, and it is good motivation to keep training hard to improve.”

USU sophomore mid-distancer Josh Wintch placed third overall with a time of 31:28.7, while freshman Justin Harthshorn was fourth (31:36.3) and sophomore Thomas Heaps was fifth (33.18.0).

“Overall, the race went well,” Todd said. “The start was very smooth and the finish was hard, like it should be. There was a headwind during the second half of the race that added a challenge, but other than that, the temperature was great and the cool rain felt good.”

Haviland also didn’t mind running in the less-than-ideal conditions.

“I was definitely cold and soaked by the end, but I was really just happy to be able to compete, no matter what the weather was,” she said. “The entire women’s team did a great job of making the best of it, and some of us even thought it was kind of fun.”

Sarah Griggs, who is in her sixth year as an assistant cross country and track & field coach at Utah State, placed 19th overall in the 10K – she was the third female to cross the finish line – and second in her division with a time of 46:09.6.

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