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American Fork sophomore Zac Jacklin wanted to work on his endurance over the summer, so he went out and ran 868 miles from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

That figure was tops among the Cavemen's boys varsity cross-country runners, and a testament to just how competitive the program has become.

"I averaged about 10 to 11 miles a day," Jacklin said. "I'm proud of it. Last year, I ran about 530 miles. It's helped me build up endurance. That was my goal from last year."

The work is paying off for the Cavemen, who are ranked No. 8 in the nation this week by MileSplit.com and are on pace to again challenge for the Class 5A state title.

The three-time defending champions lost their top two runners to graduation a season ago, but they are hitting their stride before next month's state meet.

Led by seniors Brayden McLelland and Tyson Green, juniors Connor McMillan and Caleb Thompson, and Jacklin, the boys team won the varsity title at last week's BYU Autumn Classic.

Green said one of the keys to the team's success is its pack mentality.

"I think it's the hard work and dedication that our team gives," Green said. "We always try to focus on being our best and getting negative splits [each mile faster than the previous].

"We work together as a team in practice, and then in races, we just go all out."

McMillan, who was fourth at the BYU event and won the Pre-Region 4 meet in August, typically is the leader of the pack, but his teammates aren't far behind. AF has had three or four runners finish within 20 seconds of each other several times this season.

"A major thing we try to work on is trying to get as many people to finish together as we can," McLelland said. "We really push each other so that we can stay close by and stick together."

Still soaring

Alta's girls soccer team extended its win streak to 27 games last weekend and entered the week with wins in 40 of its past 43 outings.

The Hawks have won five state championships and have a combined record of 127-8-2 — a 92 percent clip — since the start of the 2006 season.

Senior goalkeeper Elyssa Hashimoto recorded her fourth shutout of the season Saturday against Jordan for Alta, which entered the week with five shutouts in its first 10 games. Hashimoto recorded 17 shutouts last season.