| The fastest girls in the world? Right here in South Jordan? How is that possible? |
| The Bingham High School cross country team was recognized last month by Governor Mike Leavitt and the Utah Senate for its remarkable season. |
| That was just the grand finale in an event-filled year. |
| "It's been an amazing situation," said coach Jeff Arbogast. "A magical sort of year." |
| After becoming state champions last year, the girls were ranked No. 11 nationally. When they set goals for this year, nothing short of a national championship was going to satisfy them. And nobody has ever worked harder to acheive a goal. |
| Getting up at 4 a.m. to practice is enough to show their dedication, but they also come after school for more...and they do this year-round. Wait, they take off a week for Christmas. Oh, and in the summer they only work hard for three days and do "easy" running on the other days. |
| "To run at a national level, you don't take time off," said Arbogast. "The other 15,999 (high) schools are probably taking time off." |
| Imagine if high school athletes in other sports had this kind of dedication and intensity. |
| In September, the team went to North Carolina to compete in the Great American Cross Country Festival. Top teams from all over the nation were there. Bingham amazed them all by having five girls finish with times under 19 minutes. And the rest of the team was not far behind. They won that race, breaking the previous record by more than a minute. Cross country expert Doug Speck proclaimed them to be the "fastest ever". |
| With a stunning score of 19, Bingham won the state championship this year. |
| The team centers around the Zeigle twins, sophomores with speed. Laura Zeigle is the fastest, finishing first in state. Twin sister Jackie Zeigle took second, and seniors Jess Winters, Lisa Paxton, and Charity Catmull, took fourth, fifth, and seventh respectively. Sophomores Stacey Grover and Angie Campbell, and senior Lynette Mantz complete the varsity squad. All four seniors have earned scholarships. |
| "Our big goal is not state, not nationals, it's to prepare kids for running in college," said Arbogast. Since 1990, 56 boys and girls from Bingham have run in collegiate programs. |
| According to Coach Arbogast, the task from a coaching standpoint is to constantly make running fun. Gone are the days when the kids can be told to run down the road and come back later. Bingham runners travel to "exotic" running spots. They run through Dimple Dale looking for cougars, they run down river trails, where they occasionally spot a moose. Sometimes they play games where the object is to spot the coach. Frisbee biathalons and "coachcatch" can earn them chances to win prizes. |
| In addition, the team travels to out-of-state meets, helps to run local races, and hosts exchange students. Currently, team members are hosting the South African National 15-18 year-old team that has come to train and run with them. In the summer, students from programs around the nation come to work out with the team. |
| "Then we send them home and have to run against them later," Arbogast laughed. |
| Where does the coach get this kind of time? |
| "I don't have any kids of my own, said Arbogast. These are all my kids here." |
| His wife, Debra, is a great fan and supporter of the team and her husband. She maintains the team's web site, which he claims is the biggest one in the country for cross country. |
| Schools all over the country are trying to find out how to achieve the kind of success that Arbogast has had. And he's been generous in response. He sends out 15-20 packets per week to fill requests and is currently writing a book that should be done by the end of summer. |
| What kind of goal could a team like this set for next year? With four returning varsity runners, strong freshmen and arguably the best high school coach in the country? It's simple. Number one in the nation back-to-back. |
| To find out about future exploits, check out their web site, www.binghamxcountry-track.com. Catching them on the run is probably not an option. |