Skyridge junior Pepper Smith sits four points behind the Region 5 Varsity Girls leader with two races left in the season.

Smith has 896 points in the Utah High School Cycling League's Division 1 standings, trailing only Lehi senior Brielle Adams at 900. Lone Peak's Brynn Lloyd is third with 895. The gap between first and third is five points, and Lehi Free Press reported that race times have sometimes been separated by seconds.

Adams has won all three Region 5 Varsity Girls races this season, extending her streak to 11 consecutive victories. Smith has closed the distance, finishing third at Beaver Mountain on Aug. 22 in 1:15:11.14, then moving up to second at Richfield on Sept. 5 (1:04:26.25) and Panguitch on Sept. 26 (1:07:13.46).

The team race has been tight, too. Skyridge finished third behind Lone Peak and Wasatch at Beaver Mountain, then edged Wasatch by four points at Richfield, 4,611 to 4,607. Wasatch reclaimed second at Panguitch, leaving the Falcons third overall in Division 1.

Richfield was the Falcons' strongest outing. On the girls' side, Samara Smith scored 289 points, Evelynn Rasmussen 287, Hayden Brown 285, Emeree Gale 284 and Emma Walton 283 in Varsity. Charley Price added 281 from JV A and Nora Tippetts 279 from JV B.

Senior Easton Day leads Skyridge's Varsity Boys effort. He placed third at Richfield in 1:14:39.55, fifth at Beaver Mountain and ninth at Panguitch. Day has 884 points and ranks sixth overall.

At Richfield, Dallin Butterfield (295), Milo Peterson (291), Cutler Reschke (290), Zach Stirling (289), Grant Cooper (288) and Jonah Lloyd (287) rounded out the Varsity boys scoring.

Region 5 Race 4 is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, in Herriman. The state championships follow Oct. 23-24 in St. George, where all three area programs are entered.