By Kale Nelson, SUU Athletics
CEDAR CITY, Utah (May 31, 2025) – 80 athletes banded together to compete in the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games 5K/10K down Cedar Canyon, presented by Show Up Utah on May 31. The event raised funds and support for Special Olympics Utah’s southern Utah programming and concluded with the ‘State Bank of Southern Utah Pancake Breakfast,’ a community gathering hosted on the Southern Utah University J.L. Sorenson P.E. Building’s lawn.
While Utah Governor Spencer Cox participated in the race, Utah First Lady Abby Cox prepared the community to cheer athletes through the finish line and enjoy their pancake breakfast. The First Lady serves as both the founder of Show Up Utah and a member of Special Olympics Utah’s Board of Directors.
“This is incredible. It means so much because each one of our athletes deserves the chance to complete, feel included and participate in this community event,” Abby Cox explained. “We can’t do it without the funds to make this happen. This gives our athletes an opportunity to come here to SUU’s campus and have a college experience that most of them have never had before. This is a powerful example of what inclusion really means.”
Headlining the final results, Benjamin Finlinson and McKinley Bagley led the pack in the 5K, with Finlinson’s 15:04 making him the first overall male and Bagley’s 21:26 placing her as the first overall female. In the 10K, Max Jones ran an impressive 30:19 to take first overall for the male division and Diana Mitchell took first overall for the female division with a 34:07.
“The community brought me out to the race today,” Jones shared. “I love Cedar City and the mountains, the trails and everything about it. I love to get out and see everyone else run as well.”
Like Jones, State Bank of Southern Utah was excited to see the 5K and 10K athletes and the people of Cedar City gathered to race and eat.
“Being part of a community event like this is what State Bank is all about. We’re here to serve and we love giving back to our community and being involved,” State Bank of Southern Utah President and CEO Trevor Andersen shared. “That’s part of our nature as State Bank and where we want to belong.”
Up Next
Along with a variety of new and classic events, USG will hold its annual track and field competition from June 12-14, offering runners another opportunity to get on their feet.
Teams and individuals interested in registering for track and field or any other sport in the 2025 program year can sign up at utahsummergames.org.