Balance takes Tempe Prep to top
Balance was the name of the game as Tempe Prep held off a late charge from Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian for the Division IV team title at the state meet held at Mesa Community College on Saturday.
Tempe Prep finished with 56.5 points while Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian had 52. Benson was third (48.5), Valley Christian fourth (47.5), while St. Johns (46) rounded out the top five.
“We didn’t have a lot of champions,” said eighth-year coach Melissa Brittain, whose squad finished runner-up to Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian last season. “Instead, we have such a balanced team. The girls get lots of points here and there and that balance has won us a lot of meets this year. Our younger athletes did well and we did great in the jumping events.”
Leading the balanced attack was junior Camille Zimmerman, who collected silver medals in the long jump (16 feet, 0.5 inches) and triple jump (35-0.5). Tempe Prep collected 18 points in the long jump and 13 in the triple jump.
Zimmerman also took part in the second-place 400-meter relay, where she teamed with Catherine Bryant, Sarah Casto, and Marie Bryant.
Tempe Prep won the title despite being without one of their star jumpers. Senior Claire Horvath had foot surgery and was forced to miss the season. According to Brittain, Horvath usually scored between 30 to 40 points in a meet.
St. John’s senior Savannah Brown used nervousness — not to mention a little bit of skill — in racing to a victory in the 400.
“That’s like only the fourth time I’ve run the 400, so I was pretty nervous,” said the BYU-bound Brown, who posted a time of 58.83 seconds. “But I’m elated to win. I’ve been working harder and just trying to enjoy the experience. I go through the race in my head beforehand, then just go hard and try and do whatever it takes to win.”
It was that exact formula Brown used earlier in the day as she also captured the gold medal in the 100 and the long jump.
Chandler Prep’s 400 relay team of Julia Chadwick, Sarah Strong, Megan Meyer, and Maddie Ryan, who cruised to a first-place medal with a time of 52.65 seconds for the school’s first state championship in any sport.
Tucson Pusch Ridge senior Sarah Macdonald won the 800 and 1,600.