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SPORTS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | MAY 22, 2022
TheMesaTribune.com @EVTNow /EVTNow
Red Mountain, Mtn View shines at state track meet BY JAKE BROWN Tribune Contributing Writer
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fter a long week of preliminaries, the track and field state championships concluded on Saturday with 19 track events across four divisions. Desert Vista’s boys ended up winning the 2022 Division I title with 107 points. Perry’s girls won the Division I title with 87 points, edging five-time defending champion Chandler in the process. There were several standout performances from athletes in Mesa, most notably with Red Mountain’s boys placing third overall in the state. “I was really excited that my gameplan paid off,” Red Mountain sophomore Tyler Matthews said. “My plan was to go out a little bit slower than (South Mountain’s) Brian (Fair Jr who) got ahead of ahead of the rest of everybody and then to slowly catch him on the second lap.” Matthews got things started early for the Mountain Lions with a win in the Division I boys’ 800-meter run on Saturday, the final day of the meet at Mesa Community College. It was the first-ever state title for the sophomore, who also competes on Red Mountain’s highly competitive cross country team in the fall. A short time later, Red Mountain senior Yan Vazquez fell just short of the all-time state record in the 300 hurdles, a mark he had been aiming for all year. “I was just trying to get my steps right and get the state record,” said Vazquez, who also won the Division I 110 hurdles. His time of 36.86 seconds in the 300 hurdles is good for third all-time in the state, but it was just .64 seconds off of the record set by Brophy’s Robert Grant in 2014. Temperatures were into the 100s on Saturday for the meet, making the conditions difficult for any athlete to complete a state record. But even then, other Mesa athletes shined. Noah Czajkowski, Greyson Akers, Matthew Hamilton and Tyler Mathews placed
a 3A title in the fall. Other notable performances from across the East Valley included Chandler freshman phenom S’Niyah Cade, who burst onto the scene at the Nike Chandler Rotary meet when she ran right past the competition in the 100. Cade takes after her mother, Keri Suell, who was a track star herself at Chandler and ran an 11.69 in the 100 Red Mountain sophomore Tyler Matthews gave the Mountain Lions a back in 2002. Suell boost in points with his win in the 800-meter run on Saturday, May 14, said earlier in the the final day of the state track and field meet. Yan Vazquez, a senior hurdler, also won gold in the 110 and 300 hurdles for Red Mountain. season she believes Cade can be just as (Jack Beasley/Tribune Contributor) good, if not better second for Red Mountain in the boys’ Divi- than she was in high school. sion I 4x800 relay She nearly made that happen Saturday Mountain View’s Connor Wilson and as she won gold in the 100 with a time of Easton Hatch took first and third, respec- 11.84 seconds. tively, in the Division I boys’ pole vault. “I wasn’t expecting to win state, so it was The Toros also saw a first-place finish exciting,” Cade said. “My mentality is just from Mitch Noble in the shot put after a to focus on what I have to do for the next throw of 53-feet, 9 inches. Malaki Ta’ase, a three years.” senior at Mountain View, placed fourth in North Canyon once again captured the the shot put. Desert Ridge’s Kaylee Landa, only a sophomore, took gold in discus with a throw of 129-feet, 5 inches. On Saturday, May 7, the first official day of the week-long meet, Eastmark’s Mack Molander won his second straight javelin state title. A standout quarterback for the Firebirds’ football team, Mountain View senior Connor Wilson, “left,” and Easton Hatch, Molander should play “middle,” took first and third, respectively, in the Division I boys’ a pivotal role in their pole vault. The Toros also saw a first-place finish from Mitch Noble ability to compete for in the shot put. (Courtesy Mountain View Track and Field)
girls’ Division II crown, while McClintock narrowly edged Gilbert for the championship on the boys’ side. In Division III, Salpointe Catholic’s girls took the crown, beating second-place American Leadership Academy – Queen Creek while Snowflake edged the Patriots on the boys’ side. Valley Christian once again proved to be a dominant force on the track in Division IV as the boys captured their fourth state title in a row and 15th in program history. St. John’s won the Division IV title for girls. In Gilbert, Campo Verde, Williams Field and Perry excelled in Division II, especially on the girls’ side. Williams Field junior Saira Prince and Campo Verde sophomore Lea Spindell won the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash, respectively. Perry’s Taylor Loveall excelled in the distance events, winning the 3200 and placing second in the 1600. ALA-Queen Creek’s Logan Hubler played a key role in the Patriots’ second place finish as he swept the hurdles competition for the second year in a row. “I went back-to-back this year,” Hubler said. “So, it feels good that all the hard work we put in this off-season is paying off.” Both Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe found success at the meet coming out of Ahwatukee. Led by senior Noah Jodon’s two first place finishes in distance events, the Thunder cruised to the Division I boys’ title. Former Chandler sprinter Trinity Henderson placed second in the 100 and 200-meter races, the latter of which widely considered to be an upset by Pinnacle’s Mckenna Watson. Henderson was also part of the Pride’s 4x100 team that took second. She was joined by Ianna Goode, Brilyance Miller and Alexis Emerson-Berryhill. Mountain Pointe’s boys were led by junior Jayden Davis, a transfer from Casteel. Davis placed third in the 200-meter dash and was part of the fourth place 4x400 team along with Jhaylin Palmer, Isaiah Brown and Jacques Jones. He also took part in the solo 400 where he won gold. “I knew my spirit is gonna get me across that finish line,” Davis said. ■
