Olympus cross country head coach Chris Humbert has an interesting situation this season. The Titans lost a lot of firepower from their successful 2023 team. Yet, many excellent athletes are back—and some intriguing newcomers have joined the squad. 

Last season, the Titans finished fifth in Class 5A on the boys’ side, while the girls team was 11th. Humbert believes a big season is in store for both teams, even though there are lots of new faces. The Titans graduated eight of the team’s 14 varsity athletes, with four of those team members now competing at the next level. Sensation JoJo Jourdon, who was the individual champion in the boys’ ranks, is now at Wake Forest University. 

“We expect to have a great season,” Humbert said. “We have many new team members and also have some of our fastest individuals who have returned for another year. Losing athletes makes it hard, but that is the nature of high school sports.”

At the beginning of the season, Humbert and the Titans set some objectives and established expectations for the year. He was also pleased to see that the boys and girls teams had depth, which will help them be more competitive at every meet. 

“We have individual and team goals for this season,” Humbert said. “We hope to build on last year’s success by growing the team. A bigger team will allow us to develop more athletes, which leads to team success down the road. We also hope to enjoy individual success with several top athletes returning.”

Returning seniors Finn Rutledge and Sofia Jourdon are the top performers on the squad. Finn consistently finished among the top four on the varsity boys team last season. Humbert said Finn “looks to be faster this year with a great summer of training.” Meanwhile, Humbert has nothing but praise for Sofia Jourdon on the girls’ side. 

“[Sofia Jourdon] was on our third-place 4x400 relay this past spring at the Utah State track and field championships,” he said. “She is always a top competitor.” 

Sophomores Adria Favero and Will Towers have been impressive so far. They are among a stellar group of underclassmen who give the Titans high hopes this season and beyond. Favero won most of her meets last season as a freshman, including the Bob Firman Meet in Boise, Idaho. In last season’s state cross country championships, she finished second. Favero didn’t compete in track and field this past spring, due to an injury. Humbert said she is “very hungry for success again.” Meanwhile, Towers is new to the program, having moved from Texas to Utah this past summer. He has already worked his way up to the No. 2 slot on the boys team. 

“[Towers] is excited to be here in Utah with Olympus,” Humbert said. 

Success doesn’t come in any sport without hard work, commitment and determination. This is especially true in the grueling sport of cross country. But the Titans are doing whatever they can to prepare themselves for the rigors of the season and the challenging competition they will face. Humbert also said staying healthy is critical. 

“Our team needs to be consistently putting in the training, and you’ll see them out on the roads, trails and on our track six days a week,” Humbert said. “We have been training since early June and are only now starting to really increase the intensity and speed of our workouts. We need to avoid injury and illness, and we should be successful.”

In the early stages of the season, Olympus has performed well. The team opened the year Aug. 10 at the Cottonwood Complex, an event that attracted hundreds of runners across the Wasatch Front and beyond. At the opening meet, Favero placed first in the girls’ race. Rutledge finished fifth in the boys’ race, completing the course with his fastest per-mile run ever. 

“This is super encouraging because he [hadn’t] yet started to train hard,” Humbert said. “First impressions are really exciting. Alex Lyons, our conditioning coach, is nationally renowned, and we are incredibly blessed to have him working with our athletes. He knows how to prepare high school athletes to be their best when it counts, and I’m very excited for this season.”

Humbert likes the runners’ consistency as well as their leadership qualities. And though replacing last year’s graduating class isn’t easy, the younger athletes have done well acclimating themselves into the program. Plus, having talented, capable freshmen and sophomores bodes well for the future of the Olympus cross country team. 

“We also have a large number of young athletes, which is a strength because they are the athletes who develop into our fast varsity athletes over a couple of years,” Humbert said. “It takes several years to develop into a great cross country athlete. There are no shortcuts, so having a large number of athletes for the four years of high school allows those athletes to develop into strong, fast runners.”

Humbert would like to see even more athletes from Olympus join the team. 

Olympus boasts excellent athletes across all sports, and Humbert encourages them to give cross country a try. This year, he does have some multi-sport athletes on the team—including swimmers, lacrosse players, mountain bikers and volleyball players—and they are developing into great runners. 

“Believe it or not, one of the biggest challenges at Olympus High School is that we have so many great athletes,” he said. “The challenge is recruiting them to the cross country team. These student-athletes are already fully committed in their chosen sports of soccer, lacrosse, swimming, mountain biking, etc., by the time they enter the halls of Olympus High. If these student-athletes were to discover cross country, they would probably surprise themselves with how fun, exciting and competitive the sport is, and both the athlete and the team would benefit. We have been working to welcome more multi-sport athletes into the program.”

The Titans will compete against Region 6 schools and other teams during the next few months. The Class 5A state cross country championships will be Oct. 30 at Sugar House Park. 

“I love working with these student-athletes,” Humbert said. “They are so dedicated and yet are so fun. Coaching connects me to my days as an athlete, and I hope to keep doing this for a long time.” λ