Records fall, athletes shine at first Open Division track meet

May 15—The first Open Division track meet, which pinned the best of the best from divisional meets the week prior, offered the opportunity to crown true individual and team champions.

The two-day event went off without a hitch, as state records fell, school records were broken and athletes battling through injury all season, made a comeback.

In the end, Red Mountain boys' hoisted the first state championship trophy, while Highland won it on the girls' side.

"What an amazing couple of weeks for the entire group," Red Mountain coach Josh Barge said. "We did exactly what we needed to do in every facet."

Red Mountain's success came from its distance runners. The team of Tyler Mathews, Williams Bergman, Roman Smith and Matthew Hamilton kicked off the two-day event by winning the 4x800 relay.

On day two of the meet, Red Mountain shined yet again.

Mathews set a new state record in the 1600 with a time of 4:12.11. He followed up that performance a couple of hours later by running the 800 in 1:48.72, the fastest time in the nation this season.

He was also part of Red Mountain's 4x400 team that needed one point to secure the title. The Mountain Lions finished eighth to do just that.

"I just ran my guts out and gave it everything I had," Mathews said. "It feels good to now be number one. I couldn't believe it."

It was a banner day for many other athletes from Mesa schools.

Mountain View's Zack Gaumont believes he shocked the field in the boys' 100 with a time of 10.8. That allowed him to place second behind Valley Vista's Blaise Nelson, who also won the 200.

Gaumont said he came into the race with a chip on his shoulder ready to prove he could compete with the best.

"I know everyone has been running a little slower because they had to run yesterday," Gaumont said. "I'm just happy that when it came down to it, I got second."

In March, the Arcadia Invitational in California saw four Arizona state records fall within an hour of each other. Mathews broke the 800 while Mountain Pointe's Jayden Davis broke the 400.

Davis broke the record again in the Division II meet. But on Saturday at state, he did it for the third time.

Davis said he simply wanted to put on a show in the 400, even electing not to run the 200 to prepare. His time of 46.25 is top 10 in the nation.

"It still feels as amazing as the first time," Davis said. "It's something I wanted and each time it just gets better and better."

The other two records broken at Arcadia were in the girls' hurdles by Williams Field's Saira Prince. She aimed to break both heading into the two-day state meet.

However, she false started during prelims on Friday in the 110 hurdles, disqualifying her from the final.

But Prince used her mistake as motivation for the 300, where she broke her own state record Friday during prelims. On Saturday, she broke it again by running a 40.9.

It's a mark she never imagined she would be able to get to.

"I was not going to let that finish me," Prince said of her disqualification in the 100. "It's just unbelievable right now. I'm so excited I was able to accomplish it. Reaching 40 was definitely an accomplishment."

Campo Verde's Lea Spindell was disappointed with her performance at the Division II meet a week before state.

She aimed to focus and train hard in the days leading up to it but felt burnt out from the two days of competing. But she rallied Saturday to set a new PR and top 10 in-state time in the 400 at 55.07.

"The fattest chip ever," Spindell said. "Losing that race was probably the best thing that could've happened to me. Coming into the race this week, it pushed me."

Highland's girls' team brought just seven athletes to the state meet to compete for the title. Though, first-year coach Abraham Johnson admittedly said he thought it may be a long shot for Highland to win compared to other schools with more athletes.

But his girls got it done.

Cloe Baugh, Emma Baugh, Kayla Case and Camryn Delancey broke a school record in the 4x800 with a time of 9:02.31.

All year long the girls aimed to put their names on the big board sitting on the wall near Highland's track. They accomplished that goal.

"It was a lot easier to give it my all," said Cloe Baugh, who ran a 2:11 split at anchor. "When I turned and saw the time was left, I thought, 'Oh my gosh. I need to kick it.'"

Along with the relay team, Lainey Jones contributed with a second-place finish in the 400. Emma Baugh and Case also scored in the 3200.

Highland trailed Queen Creek by just four points heading into the 4x400 relay. The Hawks needed to place fifth or better to beat the Bulldogs.

Jones, Delancey, Cloe Baugh and Jane Peterson delivered with a third-place finish for the title.

"Very exciting, especially with my first year being at the helm as head coach," Johnson said. "I've been a part of the program for a total of four years so I see how hard these girls work and put in the effort to excel at the sport. Coming in our girls were locked in."

Queen Creek's emergence on the girls' side was due in large part to a new state record long jump set by Catherine Littlewood at 20-feet, 7 inches.

Littlewood was sidelined all year with a Jones fracture to her hand. Doctors initially said it would heal on its own, but nine weeks ago she sought a second opinion that surgically repaired the injury the next day.

It took nearly seven weeks for the injury to heal and her to be cleared, giving her just over two weeks to prepare for the Division I meet and state.

She showed resiliency in all the events she competed in. Along with her state record long jump, she finished fourth in the 100 hurdles and third in the 400.

"I don't think I've ever been that motivated in my life," Littlewood said. "The entire rehab process, I just wanted to be with my team. I definitely grew in my spirituality and faith. It produced the results I had today."

Queen Creek schools, most notably the Bulldogs and American Leadership Academy Queen Creek, were well represented at state.

Along with Littlewood, ALA's Kawai King shined by winning the 110 hurdles in 14.11.

"I'm happy I won," King said. "I had to bring my 'A' game every single race. Running fast times, running fast marks to get the good lane and show everyone I'm the best out here."

King edged Gilbert's Vance Nilsson for the title.

Nilsson won the 300 hurdles for Gilbert and also ran relays, most notably the 4x400 where he caught Basha from behind in the final lap to secure the win for the Tigers.

"It's awesome," Nilsson said. "I was pushing so hard. I didn't want to let anyone catch me."

In one of the wildest and closest finishes ever in Arizona, the boys' 4x100 came down to frame-by-frame video and still photos to try to determine a winner between Chandler and West Point.

Even then, officials ruled it a tie with both teams running a 40.93.

Chandler's team of Geremiah Flunder, Sammie Hunter, Ca'lil Valentine and Andereya Nsubuga could only laugh at the result, especially as officials analyzed film for 10 minutes. Despite tying for first, they all agreed they were pleased with their performance.

"It was nerve wrecking," Valentine said. "Our team worked real hard day in and day out in practices. We're just thankful for our coaches and our teammates. But it was real nerve wrecking waiting."

On the girls' side for Chandler, the relay team featuring Kya Kisler, Amiyanee Harris, Drycaea Berry and S'Niyah Cade held off North Canyon for the title.

Cade, who battled through injury all year, held off the Rattlers in the final 100 meters at anchor.

"It feels good," Cade said. "I was just happy to be back."

After finishing second the night before in the 1600, Valley Christian's Lauren Ping placed first in the 3200 after Millennium's Landen LeBlond took a spill on the track. She and Ping were neck and neck in the race prior to her falling.

The girls' 100 hurdles were won by Hamilton's Kori Martin in 13.61 seconds. It was a relief for Martin to win gold in the event, even without Prince there to challenge her.

Martin suffered a torn ACL last year and was unable to compete. So, to come back and win gold and medal in other events for Hamilton was special.

"It was a lot of work mentally and physically to push my body to those limits," Martin said. "I'm really grateful I'm here today but it was a lot of work."

Along with Davis' record-breaking 400, Mountain Pointe was well represented at state after winning the Division II championship the week prior.

Jhaylin Palmer, finished fourth in the 200, a race that featured some of the top times in the state.

He ran in multiple relays for the Pride, including the 4x400 and 4x100. He was also part of the 100-meter dash earlier in the day on Saturday and the weekend prior when he took gold in Divison II.

"It felt good," Palmer said. "I feel like it's history. I can go back and say I'm a champion in the 100."

Desert Vista, which placed second overall, dealt with illness among its athletes in the week leading up to the state meet.

Roan Martinez, one of the team's top sprinters, was in bed for six days with an illness, according to Mattoon. Yet, he was able to bounce back days before the meet and deliver in exciting fashion.

"It's great," Martinez said. "Being able to say I'm with the top of the state is exciting. You push yourself and you get a chance to feel what it's like with the top athletes of the year."

Martinez, Ben Sklodowski, Jacob Gonzalez and Dallas Starke were part of Desert Vista's third place 4x100 relay team. Martinez also finished second in the 200, a race he was seeded near the bottom.

One of those affected by illness in the week leading up to the meet was Desert Vista junior Hayden Gorovitz. Yet, that didn't stop him from taking the first-ever Open Division javelin title. Even if he wasn't looking to peak with his summer season now underway.

Gorovitz only took two throws in his heat before the finals. He threw over 170-feet with his first and unleashed for a throw of 198-2 in his second.

He elected not to take his third throw before the final round, where he worked his way up with two throws in the 190s before his final, state-championship mark of 203-feet, 5 inches. It was over 20-feet more than the second-place finisher, Travis Mbuya from American Leadership Academy Ironwood.

Gorovitz was the favorite heading into the state final after throwing his qualifying mark of 209-6 and the state record 221-8 at the Willie Williams Classic, a college meet in Tucson where he had to compete unattached to a school.

Despite having what he referred to as an average day, it was a good tune up for the national competitions he plans to compete in this summer.

"I wasn't the most prepared," Gorovitz said. "Especially with the heat and being sick earlier in the week. I wasn't motivated to do my stuff. But came out here, got points for my team."

Have an interesting story? Contact Zach Alvira at (480)898-5630 or zalvira@timespublications.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZachAlvira.