Eastmark’s Molander repeats as champ
The Arizona high school boys and girls track and field championship began Saturday. It finishes next Saturday. Here are early some early details as we progress to the finals at Mesa Community College.
Day 1
May 7, 2022
Mesa Eastmark junior Mack Molander, on a windy day, won his second straight Division III boys javelin title, launching the spear 172 feet, 5 inches. Molander is the starting quarterback for his father Scooter Molander’s football team. Finishing behind Molander in the D.3 competition was Scottsdale Saguaro junior Devon Dampier, who is among the top-10 rated Arizona high school prospects by The Arizona Republic in the 2023 class, Big 150.
This is Molander’s third year even picking up a javelin. This is the first year Dampier competed in the javelin. He threw it 169 feet and 3 inches for second place.
Last year, Molander won with a throw of 188 feet, 2 inches, still his personal record.
“I’m just working on my technique,” Molander said. “Last year, I didn’t have the best form. For my future potential, I needed to work on my new technique. I didn’t increase my numbers too far, but just getting the muscle memory with the new form, in the long run, is worth it.”
Another junior football player, American Leadership Queen Creek running back Mitch Jensen, was third at 166-3.
Phoenix Desert Vista sophomore Hayden Gorovitz won the Division 1 boys javelin championship at 177-6, and Chandler Prep senior Joshua Van Ordt won the Division 4 javelin title at 163-6, two inches better than runnerup Ethan Heinrich of Chandler Valley Christian.
Porter Sweet of Scottsdale Desert Mountain won the D.2 title with the longest throw of the day at any level at 178 feet.
Chandler’s girls 4x100-meter relay team, expected to win state, was disqualified in a preliminary heat due to a dropped baton. That opens up the relay for Phoenix Mountain Pointe, led by former Chandler sprinter Trinity Henderson, to win the sprint relay title on Saturday at MCC.
Mountain Pointe and Chandler Hamilton are neck and neck coming into the final with top relay times of 47.54 and 47.58 seconds.
Queen Creek senior Payton Barlow won a gold medal in the Division 1 boys triple jump at 46 feet, 2 inches.
Desert Vista boys won the Division 1 4x800 relay in 7 minutes, 43.79 seconds, followed by Mesa Red Mountain (7:50.63) and Mesa Mountain View (7:58.61). Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge won D. 2 boys in the long relay at 8:00.17.
Gilbert Perry won the girls 4x800 relay D.1 title at 9:27.98. Peoria Sunrise Mountain girls took the championship in D. 2 at 9:44.30.
Viann Vanderwall, a sophomore at Queen Creek, captured the Division 1 girls high jump title at 5-6 with fewer misses than Perry’s Avery Clark, who also cleared 5-6.
Queen Creek Casteel teammates Annie Murphy and Olivia Dillon both cleared 12 feet in the D.2 girls pole vault, but Murphy was given the gold medal for fewer misses.
Chandler boys are in good position to win both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays after having the top preliminary times in D.1 at 41.82 seconds and 3:19.10.
Led by Avaunt Ortiz, Tempe McClintock posted the best 4x400 prelim time of any school in any division at 3:18.27. McClintock competes in D. 2.