Arizona Republic's 2021 All-Arizona boys cross country team, Coach of the Year
Here is The Arizona Republic's All-Arizona boys cross country team for fall 2021. The 12 selections also are nominees for our Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award. Also listed are honorable mentions and Coach of the Year for the 2021 Arizona Interscholastic Association high school fall sports season. The runner of the year will be announced after the school year as part of the Arizona High School Sports Awards presented by The Republic and azcentral.com. .
Jon Barney, Sr., Phoenix Veritas Prep
Veritas Prep may only have 333 students and compete in the state’s lowest cross country division, but Barney is a true star. His 15:16.5 at AIA sectionals made him the fourth-fastest runner in the state this year. To little surprise, he stormed to an 11-second win at the Division IV state championships.
Elijh Davis, Sr., Mesa Red Mountain
Davis had the sixth-best time in the state this year with a 15:21.4 at AIA sectionals. He struggled at Division I state championships but won three meets and graduates Red Mountain with the school’s 5K record.
Cesar Diaz, Jr., Cottonwood Mingus Union
Using Cottonwood’s 3,000-foot elevation to his advantage, Diaz was the state’s fastest runner outside of the Valley. He took home the Division III crown, running a 16:20.0. His 15:28.9 at the Fountain Hills Invitational, meanwhile, was the ninth-fastest time in the state and the fastest of any junior this season.
Brady Eagar, Sr., Mesa Mountain View
Eagar posted his best time of the year at the Garmin National Cross Country Championships, where he ran a 15:17.7. That was the fifth-best time in the state and helped him bounce back from an uncharacteristic fifth-place finish at the Division I state championships.
Lance Harris, Sr., Flagstaff (photo unavailable)
With a personal record of 15:42.4, Harris is the only member of the All-Arizona team to not have a time inside the state’s top 20. But what Harris lacked in top-end speed this season, he made up for in clutchness. At the Division II state championships, he ran a fourth-place 16:10.5, vaulting Flagstaff to a five-point win for its sixth state title in seven years.
Noah Jodon, Sr., Phoenix Desert Vista
As a junior, Jodon came excruciatingly close to a state championship, both individually and for Desert Vista as a team. He finished three seconds off of first place as Desert Vista won the silver medal. This season, he avenged that defeat, running a 16:09.4 to defeat Trevor Querciagrossa by 1.4 seconds for the Division I individual title and lift Desert Vista to its 11th crown.
Terrence Keyes, Sr., Gilbert
Keyes ran the second-fastest time in the state this season with a 15:09.0 at the Desert Twilight XC Festival in September. That was also the only event Keyes competed in that he didn’t win. He punctuated a season that included five gold medals with a first-place finish at the Division II state championships.
Thomas Koska, Sr., North Phoenix Prep
Koska was the seventh-fastest runner in the state this year thanks to his 15:23.3 at AIA sectionals. That time also makes him the second fastest runner in North Phoenix Prep history. Koska competed in the state finals in November while still undergoing chemotherapy treatments for leukemia.
Logan Marek, Sr., Tucson Ironwood Ridge
Marek closed his cross country career at Ironwood Ridge with the fastest time in the state this year and the fastest of any Arizona runner since Leo Daschbach in 2019. With a 14:44.0 at the Garmin National Championships, he finished 38th in the country. That was after a 15:05.8 at the Desert Twilight XC Festival that was previously the best time in the state. However, he came up 12 seconds short at the Division II state championships, finishing in second place after a fourth-place finish a year ago.
Bennett Meyer-Wills, Sr., Yuma Cibola
Meyer-Wills makes the All-Arizona team on the back of a 15:30.7 at the Desert Twilight XC Festival. That time puts him inside the state’s top 10 fastest runners this season. He closed his career by claiming the bronze medal at the Division I state championships.
Noah Plaza, Sr., Gilbert Williams Field
Plaza, who holds the all-time 5K record at Williams Field, finished on the podium at five of his eight races this year. His 16:07.3 at the Division II state championships was good for third place.
Trevor Querciagrossa, Sr., Phoenix Sunnyslope
Querciagrossa was the state’s eighth-fastest runner this year thanks to his 15:24.4 at the Desert Twilight XC Festival. He only competed in four meets but took home two first-place finishes along with a silver medal at the Division I state championships.
Honorable mentions: Samuel Johnson, North Phoenix Prep; Gabe Parham, Desert Vista; Cole Troxler, Flagstaff; Jorge Trujillo-Lira, Rio Rico; Nate Pestka, Phoenix Shadow Mountain; Michael Urbanski, Tucson Salpointe Catholic; Shota Yabuuchi, Sedona Red Rock; Micah Slivers, Ganado; Jonah Archer, Phoenix Northwest Christian; Crewe Resendez, Gilbert Highland; Jason Lundgren, Cave Creek Cactus Shadows
Coach of the Year
Chris Hanson, Desert Vista
Hanson won his and Desert Vista’s 11th state championship this season behind Noah Jodon, one of the state’s best runners. Desert Vista, though, didn’t win the Division I title solely because of Jodon. It won because Hanson cultivated a deep team, with six boys finishing inside the top 25.
How they were selected
The players and coaches were chosen by the azcentral sports high school sports reporters, using personal observations and interviews with players and coaches as well as statistics and rankings.
Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and Phoenix Rising FC. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2021 All-Arizona boys cross country team, Coach of the Year
