Arizona girls HS cross country finals: Highland, Flagstaff, Chinle, Phoenix Country Day win
The 2022 Arizona Interscholastic Association Cross Country State Championship were held at Cave Creek Golf Course on Saturday. Here is a breakdown of the winners in each girls Division.
Division 1
Highland was a repeat winner at state championships in D-I, going back to back under Head coach Monty Montgomery. The Hawks finished with a team time 1:35:24 and had six girls finish in the top 10.
Emma Baugh from Highland won her first state individual championship at 18:46.8. Finishing second was sister Cloe Baugh at 18:52.8. Taylor Drewry, freshman, from Basha finished third at 19:01.8.
“It felt really good,” said Emma Baugh. “We trained so we can peak at the right moment. I woke up this morning and told my sister I feel as if it’s just any other race today.”
Division 2
Flagstaff took the top spot in D-II with a team time of 1:39:06. The Eagles, one of the top state programs over the past decades, were able to reclaim the state title after finishing second last season. The girls team has now won 10 of the past 11 state titles behind head coach Trina Painter. The Eagles were able to get contributions from multiple freshmen to take the title.
Mia Hall of Flagstaff, one of the top runners in the state over the past few years, repeated as state champion in D-II with a time of 18:50.7. Clara Jones of Campo Verde was second at 19:24.4 and Taylor Biggambler of Flagstaff was third at 19:29.3.
“It was exciting,” said Hall. “I was so happy to be out here and get another title. Overall to get another title for my team was special.”
Division 3
Chinle followed up last year's third place finish coming out as the top team for Division III with a team time of 1:42:23. The Wildcats had four girls finish in the top 20. Chinle defeated second-place Tucson Salpointe Catholic by 30 points.
Kylie Wild, the defending state champion out of Salpointe Catholic, defended her title and became a three-time state champion, finishing first with at 18:40.0. Temyra Bia from Chinle finished second at 19:14.5. Lucy Turkey from Greenway rounded up the top three with a time of 19:40.0.
Division 4
Phoenix Country Day finished as the top team of D-IV a with a team time of 1:44.28. The Eagles picked up their first state team title beating out Glendale Preparatory by 24 points, the runner up at the state championships last year.
Lauren Ping from Valley Christian became a four-time state champion after finishing first with a time of 17:53.2. Ping had won her three previous titles for Desert Vista before transferring to Valley Christian this year.
Kimi Cahoon of Phoenix Country Day finished second at 19:28.5. While freshman Ellie Phillips of Valley Christian rounded up the top three at 19:43.1.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona girls cross country championships:
