The cast of runners at the 5A state cross country meet was strong, and two of the best performances came from Olympus runners. 

JoJo Jourdon was first among all runners on the boys’ side, while Adria Favero posted the second-best girls’ time. Jourdon, a senior, ran the race in an impressive time of 14:58.3. His sub-15-minute time was the second best among all runners in the state, just behind Class 6A’s Daniel Simmons of American Fork, who beat Jourdon’s time by 14 seconds. Meanwhile, Favero, just a freshman, ran her race in 17:29.8, 15 seconds behind the winner. 

The Titans came in fifth on the boys’ side, while the Lady Titans were 11th in 5A. The boys team’s top four runners are all seniors, with Kyle Berkson placing second on the team and 14th at the 5A championships with a race time of 16:00.9. Dillon Elliot was 44th with aa time of 16:32.7. For the girls, junior Sophia Jourdon finished in 18th place overall with a time of 19:16.2. 

As for JoJo Jourdon, he’s just getting started doing huge things on the cross country course. 

Next year, he’ll be running in North Carolina at Wake Forest University, where he’ll also run track. He’ll be part of a program that is improving and has been nationally ranked. 

“I'm excited to watch his progress as he competes against the best runners in the country week in and week out,” Olympus head coach Christophe Humbert said. “JoJo will be studying engineering there, which I'm happy about, as I've been lucky enough to have JoJo in my computer science, engineering and architecture classes at Olympus High School.” 

During his career at Olympus, Jourdon has excelled—not just because of his abilities and talent but because of his dedication. Humbert said he has done everything a successful cross country athlete should do, from the little things on up. 

“JoJo has a natural talent, which he discovered before he started running with Olympus High School,” Humbert said. “But what truly makes him exceptional is his work ethic and his focus. JoJo is willing to work very hard and push himself very hard, then rest and recover so his body can rebuild and get stronger. He has a very good attention to detail, is very coachable and tries to do everything right: training, diet, sleep, rest.”

Humbert believes Jourdon will transition well to the collegiate level because he has already gone through college-level training programs and workouts. Humbert said Jourdon should only continue to get better and faster. He’s a runner who has worked as hard or harder than anyone on the high school level. 

Obviously, the Olympus team has benefit from Jourdon’s running prowess. He has also been a leader and set the pace—literally and figuratively—for others on the team.

“JoJo is one of our team captains, and more than anything, leads by example,” Humbert said. “He is a very strong student as well as a great athlete. As both his teacher and one of his coaches, I love this, as his leadership among his team is noticeable both at practice and in the classroom. JoJo is showing his younger teammates that one can be a successful, driven athlete while also prioritizing academics.”

Jourdon will graduate and leave a big hole on the cross country team at Olympus. Five other boys who ran at state for the Titans are seniors. However, the girls team has multiple state qualifiers coming back. Five of the seven Lady Titans who ran at state will be coming back in 2024. λ