Run to daylight
Meyer-Wills places second at state in back-to-back years
Cibola High School senior Bennett Meyer-Wills capped off his high school career by becoming one of the most accomplished runners in Arizona.
This past Saturday, Meyer-Wills finished as the runner up in the 3200 meters at the AIA Track and Field State Championships in Mesa. It marked the second straight year he placed this high at state.
Meyer-Wills clocked in with a personal best time of 9:11.72, just shy of first place runner Noah Jodon of Desert Vista who ran a time of 9:09.88. As it turned out, Jodon was also the first place runner who defeated Meyer-Wills in the same event last year at state.
According to Meyer-Wills, he was happy with the outcome.
“I was definitely nervous, but my mentality was to just run until it hurts,” Meyer-Wills tells The Yuma Sun. “I set my personal record by about seven seconds, so even though I didn’t win, I’m proud of my performance. I knew it was going to be a tough race.”
Also at state this year, the Cibola upperclassman medaled in the 1600 with a time of 4:17.93, good for fourth place. Meyer-Wills also qualified to compete at the state 800 meet but declined the invitation in an effort to focus on the 1600 and 3200.
As it turns out, Meyer-Wills is not only a talented track and field runner, but a standout cross country runner as well. This past fall, he helped Cibola to a sixthplace finish at state and ran a 5K individual time of 16:15.9, good for third overall. Between track and cross country, Meyer-Wills admits it is hard to choose a favorite.
“Cross country comes before track on the school calendar, so I get geared up for cross country first. But it is hard to pick which one I like more. Overall,
I’d say I’m better in track,”
Cibola’s top runner states.
If that weren’t enough physical activity for one school year, Meyer-Wills also participated on Cibola’s varsity basketball team as a senior. An avid hooper, Meyer-Wills says he loves getting on the court to compete and his favorite player is Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets.
With his high school running days now behind him, Meyer-Wills has his eyes set on Prairie View A&M, a Division 1 program in Houston, Texas. Having signed with the school a few weeks ago, Meyer-Wills intends to run for both the cross country and track team at the collegiate level. From an academic standpoint, Meyer-Wills
states he plans to major in criminal justice.
As he looks to strive for excellence at the collegiate level, Meyer-Wills reveals he is a man of Christian faith. During his junior year at Cibola, he became more in-tune with his beliefs and began the custom of praying before each meet. In addition to relieving nerves before a big event, Meyer-Wills says that the power of prayer reinforces that he is serving a higher purpose other than himself.
“I was experiencing some dark moments
earlier in my life and that was when my faith grew. I got more into reading the Bible and it made me very happy and thankful to be here,” he added. “It let me know that I am suppose to be here and I’m here for a reason.”