Page High School boys cross country team brought home the state championship trophy Saturday afternoon, capping what has been an outstanding running season. The boys cross country team also took the championship last year and in 2019. The team was state championship runner-up in 2020 and 2021.

Symond Martin, a Page High School sophomore, was the runner-up at this year’s state championships. He was edged out by the winner by just 3 seconds. Martin was also awarded Division III North Runner of the Year for his accomplishments over a very impressive season that also included first place finishes at the Peaks Invitational, the Chinle Invitational and the Casteel Invitational.

Prior to the championship race, Symond and cross country head coach Tim Martin (who is also Symond’s father) discussed different race scenarios, which included getting in front of a certain segment of the runners before the end of the race so he wouldn’t be caught in the scrum at the end of the race when they all made the final push to the end.

The runner who ended up coming in first, Zach Albanese, made a big move about halfway through the 5K course that placed a 10-meter gap between him and the runners behind him.

“Symond was running him down but ran out of field before he could do it,” said Coach Martin.

Maximus Reid placed 15th, Nyall Prather placed 25th, Elijah Reed placed 41st, Jaiden Jordan placed 50th, Alek Scott placed 80th and Bryce Williams placed 224th.

The boys cross country team is poised to remain a powerhouse in the years to come. This year’s varsity team will lose just two runners: Bryce Williams and Elijah Reed, who are both seniors. The rest of the boys varsity team are sophomores and freshmen this year.

Page High School’s girls team placed 19th overall. Jade Reid took 10th place in the girl’s race.