Desert Vista, Flagstaff win crowns
The 2021 Arizona Interscholastic Association Cross Country State Championship was held at Cave Creek Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 13, and the course welcomed runners, family, and fans from across the entire state.
Here is a breakdown of the winners in each boys division.
Division I:
Desert Vista was the big winner of D-I, taking home the team and individual trophies, respectively.
The Thunder finished with an overall score of 62, clocking in a team time of 1:23:15. Just behind Desert Vista was Highland with a score of 95, and Mesa Mountain View, with a score of 133.
"We've had a year that's challenged us a little bit, in many different facets, but we stayed focused, grounded, and performed," said Desert Vista Head Coach Chris Hanson.
Five of the top 21 finishers were from the Thunder. The leader of Desert Vista was senior Noah Judon, who finished first out of 147 runners.
"I just tried to focus on what I did during my training. During the race I'll sit back and run a conservative first mile, and just grind the rest," said Judon.
Judon couldn't help but smile after the race, saying, "It's unbelievable, it hasn't really sunk in yet, but it's crazy to think that this is what we've been training for, and it happened."
Just behind Judon, who finished with a time of 16:09.4, was Trevor Querciagrossa of Sunnyslope, finishing with a 16:10.8, and Bennett Meyer-wills of Cibola, who clocked in at 16:15.9 Division II:
The Flagstaff Eagles were the top overall team in Division 2, with a score of 85, clocking in a total time of 1:23.47. The Eagles average runner time was 16:46.
"The team performed great, we were waiting for this day to come, said Flagstaff senior Lance Harris. "We came prepared, we came ready and ended up taking state, that's what we've been wanting, so we went out and got it."
Just behind the Eagles, in second and third place were Ironwood Ridge, with a total score of 90, and Gilbert, that totaled a score of 102.
Although Gilbert couldn't claim the state championship for the second year in a row, after winning the 2020 title, they did boast the individual champion, after senior Terrence Keyes was the first runner to cross the finish line.
Keyes moved up two spots from last years championship, where he placed third. Keyes finished Saturday's race with a time of 15:43.9.
"I felt really good after the first mile, even after the second mile I was like 'I got this,' and I just kept that mentality," said Keyes. "I've worked four years for this, coming from nowhere, so I really fell I've improved them most."
Just behind Keyes in second place was Logan Marek out of Ironwood Ridge, and third place went to Noah Plaza from Williams Field.
Division III:
Tucson Salpointe Catholic left Cave Creek Golf Course with the Division 3 state championship trophy, after beating out Page and Shadow Mountain.
The Lancers finished miles ahead of the competition, scoring a 46, while Page, the next closest team, finished with a score of 127.
"I'm really proud of them, they've worked so hard for this, but this is a team of five seniors, two juniors, so they've worked together so hard all year and ran as a pack," said Salpointe Catholic Head Coach Mike Urbanski.
Urbanski had three of his runners finish in the top 10, including Diego Delgado, Diego Veliz, and his grandson, Michael Urbanski.
The individual winner of D-III was Cesar Diaz of Mingus Union, who timed in at 16:20.0.
Diaz improved 18 spots from the 2020 state championship, where he finished in 19th place.
Coming in behind Diaz was Jorge Trujillo of Rio Rico, who ran a 16:25.2, and Nate Pestka of Shadow Mountain, who finished with a time of 16:07.3. Division IV:
The Northwest Christian Crusaders finished as the top team of D-IV with a time of 1:30:01, taking home their first boys cross country state championship in school history.
Last year, the Crusaders finished in fourth place. Northwest Christian Head Coach Brandon Southall credited the jump to the work put in by his runners.
"It was the guys just putting in more work, being fully committed during the year, and be willing to do that work all year long, not just during the season," said Southall.
Behind Southall's Crusaders was Flagstaff Northland Prep with a score of 122, and Chandler Prep with a score of 129.
The individual winner was Jon Barney of Veritas Prep Academy, who clocked in at 16:20.0. Second place went to Shota Yabuuchi of Sedona Red Rock, who ran a 16:31.8, and third went to Micah Slivers of Ganado, who timed a 16:34.2.
Finishing ninth, out of 183 runners was Thomas Koska, North Phoenix Prep senior, who is currently battling through leukemia.