A look ahead
Brayden is attending ASU next year, as his father did (Jason competed for one semester). His roommates will be all local: Chandler Seton Catholic’s Zach Albanese — the 2023 Division III cross country state champion — and Phoenix Northwest Christian’s Glenn Thomas — the 2022 Division IV cross country state champion — are all set to live together as freshmen next year.
Ryland has his eyes on BYU. The clock’s ticking on his recruitment, but he’s hoping for a big track season this spring. He is coming off a summer where he showed promise in the steeplechase.
But almost everybody agrees that Gwendolyn has the greatest potential. She’s trying to break the five-minute barrier this year in the mile and beat Brayden’s time at the same age. Looking at it from a national perspective, Gwendolyn is up there with the best in the United States. Her 5:20.32 personal best in the 1,600 meters is ranked 24th in the country for eighth graders, according to MileSplit. And it’s not just running she excels at — she’s also an elite triple jumper. Her mark of 35-0.75 would have earned 13th place at last year’s Arizona Interscholastic Association Open State Track and Field Championships.
Devin, who is in the Class of 2030, is just coming up. There are already signs though. He finished in sixth place in the 1,500-meter racewalk at the USATF Junior Olympic Championships this past July.
“Truth to be told, I look at it, some of these guys who are professionals, and some of these women who are, I think any one of them can be professional athletes,” Jason said. “I think there’s some of that in them. Two of them could do that. Which two it could be is a roll of a dice. It really depends on their own decisionmaking. I think they can be professional athletes and if the AIA would allow it, they could get NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals. I think Gwen could probably get an NIL deal now.”
But for Jason and Darah, that’s not what running is about. Far, far from it.
It’s about focusing on the family.
“I think I’ve chosen to do this because it will force me to be here with them,” Jason said. “A lot of my friends, people that are older than me, always said, ‘You never get this time back.’ And that’s always been my thing. This gives me the opportunity to be here for them and with them.”