Arizona Interscholastic Association State Championships Recap
Flagstaff High enjoyed a memorable sweep of Division 2 individual and team titles.
Highland extended its run of dominant performances in the Division 1 girls final.
Page produced the 20th boys championship in program history with another three-peat in Division 3.
But for all the exceptional efforts showcased Saturday at the Arizona Interscholastic Association state cross country meet, the spotlight belonged to Hamilton High at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix.
The Huskies captured their first Division 1 boys title in remarkable fashion, with junior Zarian Rodriguez winning the individual crown by covering the 5-kilometer layout in 15 minutes, 20.5 seconds, contributing to a pair of all-time championship marks.
Hamilton placed five scorers in the top nine to produce a 26-point performance, eclipsing the Division 1 record for lowest team score of 31 points achieved by Desert Vista in 2018.
Highland, which had won the past two Division 1 boys crowns, placed second with 101 points and Mountain View Mesa achieved third at 158 points.
Hopi High still holds the Arizona boys record for lowest team score in all classifications with a perfect 15-point effort in the 1999 Division 1A/2A championship race.
Dominick Muller finished fourth in 15:48.2, Ryan Estrada placed fifth in 15:52.3, Chase Markunas was seventh in 16:03.5 and Theo McDaid captured ninth in 16:06.8 for Hamilton, which also achieved the fastest team time in a state final in any division at Cave Creek Golf Course.
The Huskies clocked 79:12 to eclipse the 2013 performance of 79:50 by Corona del Sol in the Division 1 championship race.
Liberty’s Henry Dilworth placed runner-up for the second year in a row with a 15:30.1 effort and Mountain View Mesa’s Daniel Judd took third in 15:45.8.
Page opened the meet with a 101-105 victory against American Leadership (Queen Creek) in the Division 3 boys final, with American Leadership (West Foothills) taking third at 155 points.
Although Eastmark’s Bryson Nielsen edged Page’s Symond Martin by a 15:37.5 to 15:39.9 margin to capture the individual title, the Sand Devils had five scorers in the top 40 to secure a three-peat and win their 20th overall championship.
Hopi still boasts the boys state record with 27 cross country team titles and Tuba City has won 21 championships.
Window Rock’s Bearren Kee took third in 16:02.3, Valley Christian’s Micah Newkirk finished fourth in 16:03.1 and Dominic Hanson of American Leadership (Queen Creek) placed fifth in 16:08.8.
Martin was supported by Nyall Prather taking 20th in 16:34.4, Max Reid achieving 22nd in 16:38.9, Jaiden Jordan grabbing 24th in 16:39.0 and Desmond Goldtooth finishing 40th in 17:00.6 for Page.
Basha’s Taylor Drewry ran 18:09.6 to become the first female athlete to win back-to-back Division 1 championships since Desert Vista’s Lauren Ping captured three consecutive titles from 2019-21, with Amelia North of Rincon University placing second in 18:13.8 and Red Mountain’s Josephine Smeets finishing fourth in 18:26.7.
Highland demonstrated its depth once again, with six athletes finishing in the top 15 to set the record for largest margin of victory by a girls team in the top division in state championship history with a 32-138 triumph against Hamilton. Mountain View Mesa placed third at 157 points.
Mountain Pointe held the previous girls record with a 91-point victory against Xavier College Prep in the 5A championship race in 2001.
Stella Hall took third in 18:19.5, Cloe Baugh placed fifth in 18:35.0, Audra Huempfner achieved seventh in 18:57.9, Camryn Delancey captured ninth in 19:07.6, with Charlotte Greer (19:24.5) and Natalia Morris (19:27.0) earning 14th and 15th, respectively, for Highland.
The Hawks won their fourth consecutive crown, the longest streak of Division 1 titles by any girls program since Xavier College Prep secured six in a row from 2007-12.
For all the success Flagstaff has achieved in Division 2, the Eagles secured a sweep Saturday of individual and team championships in the same year for the first time in program history.
Alex Bland repeated in the boys final in 15:54.8, becoming the first male athlete in the division in more than 15 years to capture back-to-back crowns, with Desert Mountain’s Conor McGlynn placing second in 16:05.8 and Sunrise Mountain’s Andrew Fastrup taking third in 16:21.6.
Flagstaff had five scorers in the top 35 to prevail by an 84-105 margin against Mica Mountain, led by a fourth-place performance from Noah Macias in 16:29.8.
Desert Mountain relied on McGlynn’s effort to take third at 120 points, with Deer Valley’s Daequan Tigue running 16:43.3 to finish fifth overall.
Uuts Masayumptewa earned 18th in 17:11.2, followed by Cole Troxler capturing 19th in 17:11.8, Elijah Talkalai secured 27th in 17:35.4 and Donny Dent ran 17:42.9 to achieve 33rd for Flagstaff, which won its seventh championship, including the program’s first since 2021.
The Eagles swept the top three spots and produced five scorers in the top 25 in the Division 2 girls final to secure a 47-94 victory against Ironwood Ridge, with Cactus Shadows taking third at 122 points.
Olivia Baker prevailed in 18:59.3, Taylor Biggambler ran 19:35.3 and freshman Kylyn Taylor took third in 19:45.3 for Flagstaff, which won its 19th team title, trailing only the girls state record of 22 championships achieved by Hopi.
Mica Mountain’s Hailey Burke placed fourth in 19:50.6, just ahead of Katherine McNulty of Catalina Foothills at 19:50.7.
American Leadership (Queen Creek) achieved back-to-back Division 3 girls crowns by placing five scorers in the top 30 to earn a 66-101 win against Valley Christian. Ganado took third at 183 points.
Chinle’s Janessa Segay elevated from seventh place in last year’s state final to emerge victorious in 18:49.2, with Gilbert Christian’s Addison Bisceglie securing runner-up in 19:16.7, Valley Christian’s Ellie Phillips finishing third in 19:22.3, Ganado’s Damira Allen capturing fourth in 19:29.7 and Hayley Floyd from Pusch Ridge Christian grabbing fifth in 19:35.4.
Tally Call led American Leadership (Queen Creek) with a seventh-place effort in 19:48.5, with support from Jada O’Leary (19:52.3) taking eighth, Brynlee Johnson (19:58.0) capturing 10th, Addison Johnson (20:24.9) finishing 20th and Evelyn Klomp (21:01.2) earning 28th.
The Patriots became the first Division 3 girls program to win consecutive titles since Page in 2014-15.
Northland Prep won its fifth Division 4 girls crown in 11 years, including the program’s first title since 2020, relying on five scorers in the top 30 to produce a 61-78 victory against Hopi.
North Phoenix Prep edged Veritas Prep for third on a sixth-runner tiebreaker after both lineups accumulated 100 points.
Glendale Prep’s Taryn Janssen improved from 12th place last season to win the individual crown in 19:29.3, the only athlete in the field to eclipse the 20-minute mark.
Phoenix Country Day’s Emerson Butler ran 20:20.0 to place second, Arizona Lutheran’s Ava Wadhwa took third in 20:24.0, Round Valley’s Callie Latham clocked 20:27.1 to secure fourth and Jasmine Hall from BASIS Flagstaff was fifth in 20:27.4.
McKenna Marino led Northland Prep by earning seventh in 21:01.3, Jaelyn Weiss achieved 12th in 21:39.9, Eva Madsen was 16th in 21:52.7, with senior twins Sarah Drexler (22:23.5) and Laura Drexler (23:04.8) finishing 23rd and 30th, respectively, for the Spartans.
Glendale Prep was one of two first-time winners among the eight team champions crowned at Cave Creek Golf Course, with the Griffins placing five scorers in the top 35 to hold off Northland Prep by a 68-71 margin in a thrilling Division 4 boys final.
Hopi, the most successful cross country program in Arizona prep history, was third at 144 points.
Valley Lutheran’s Benjamin Benally captured the individual championship in 16:22.8, Chandler Prep’s Josef Iker was runner-up in 16:32.1, Max Bruns from Arete Preparatory Academy achieved third in 16:43.3 and Northland Prep teammates Delani Hanson (16:44.2) and Aaron Nicol (17:00.9) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Tanner Janssen finished 11th in 17:17.8 to lead Glendale Prep, with Luke Webdale placing 15th in 17:22.5, Daniel Andersen right behind in 16th in 17:22.8, Logan Hartman clocking 17:38.2 for 22nd place and James Reamer running 18:04.4 to take 33rd overall.
The Griffins achieved their only previous podium appearance in program history in 2020 with a second-place finish in the Division 4 final.
Official Results:
By Erik Boal