Thatcher boys 11th of 39 in Mesa-held meet
By Raymundo Frasquillo
BISBEE – The Morenci Wildcats, the Pima Roughriders, the Safford Bulldogs, the Thatcher Eagles, and the Willcox Cowboys will be among the dozen teams running in historic Warren Ball Park on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
On Sept. 29, or the day before, the Fort Thomas Apaches and the San Carlos Braves both competed in a different part of the state during the Dischii’Bikoh Invitational.
The state qualifying Rio Rico-held sectional is a month away on Nov. 4.
Remaining Meets
Fort Thomas has the Thatcher Invitational on Oct. 7 and the Benson Invitational on Oct. 14 remaining on its regular season schedule, while Morenci is slated to attend the Thatcher meet on Oct. 7, the Marana-held Eye of the Tiger Invitational on Oct. 10, the Benson Invitational on Oct. 14, and the Tucson-held John Gleeson Lancer Invitational on Oct. 17, before hosting its Copper Hills Classic at the Greenlee County Golf Course on Oct. 21.
Safford has the Gilbert-held Crossroads District Park Invitational on Oct. 9, the Tucson-held John Gleeson Lancer Invitational on Oct. 17, and the Morenci-held Copper Hills Invitational on Oct. 21, and San Carlos has the Tucson-held Saint Augustine Invitational on Oct. 3, the Thatcher Invitational on Oct. 7, the Gilbert-held Crossroads District Park Invitational on Oct. 9, the Benson Invitational on Oct. 14, and the Verde Valley Invitational on Oct. 29.
Thatcher lists four more meets prior to the Nov. 4 sectional. The Eagles host the Thatcher Invitational at the Mount Graham Golf Course on Oct. 7, travel to the Benson Invitational on Oct. 14 and to the Morenci-held Copper Hills Classic on Oct. 21; and Willcox also travels to the Thatcher meet on Oct. 7, to the Benson meet on Oct. 14, and to the Morenci meet on Oct. 21.
2026 Desert Twilight Festival (Sept. 25) – Boys
Over 250 schools from different states were represented in the 2026 Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival on Sept. 25. Morenci, Pima, Safford, San Carlos, and Thatcher were among the participating teams running on the Mesa Toka Sticks Golf Course.
5K Run #24 Championship
Thatcher 11th of 39 with 401 points; junior Nathan Retana was 16th/15 points (16:07.0) of 295; sophomore Brysen Kartchner 42nd/38 pts. (16:32.5), junior Weston DeMent 80th/71 pts. (17:06.8), freshman Theodore Haller 104th/94 pts. (17:21.2), and sophomore Easton Baker 200th/183 pts. (18:26.1). The sixth and seventh Eagles were freshman Weston Welker, 203rd/185 pts. (18:29.1) and junior Blake Bingham 254th/231 pts. (19:27.0), respectively. Junior Ryan Griffin was 263rd (19:34.4).
5K Run #18 Small School Varsity 1
Morenci junior Ryder Nelson was 98th (19:03.2) of 286,
5K Run #19 Small Schools Varsity 2
San Carlos junior Davin Antonio 36th (17:49.0) of 277, Pima sophomore Tell Richardson 133rd (19:38.1), Pima senior Oliver McCray 146th (19:56.9), Safford junior Karlos Enrico 174th (20:40.4), San Carlos senior Dakota Edwards 185th (21:02.7), San Carlos junior Kevin Church 186th (21:04.2), Pima junior Brigden England 228th (22:27.08), San Carlos senior Talen Pechuli 229th (22:27.6), and Pima sophomore Seth Perkins 238th (22:58.3).
5K Run #1 Small Schools Freshmen
Drew Bryce of Pima was eighth (19:35.3) of 114, Keydin Kenton of San Carlos 25th (21:35.3), Marcos Cosen of San Carlos 78th (24:50.2), Eli Bergener of Pima 84th (25:10.3), Chance Kindelay of San Carlos 92nd (26:47.3), Ridge Bryce of Pima 96th (27:04.3), and Cater Thompson of Pima 104th (29:19.9),
5K Run #7 Small Schools Open 1
Thatcher was 15th with 506 points out of 46 teams.
Morenci had juniors Ezra Gros 231st (22:52.3) of 485, Morgan Petross 309th (24:10.2), and Isiah Schenk 354th (25:10.5).
5K Run #8 Small Schools Open 2
Morenci had juniors Joaquin Ma 137th (23:22.2) of 242, Isiah Schenk 182nd (25:10.5),
45th Willcox Invitational (Sept. 16) – Boys
Thatcher placed first with 31 points on the 3.1-mile Diablo Mountain course, Tombstone second (64), Vail Empire third (101), Douglas fourth (117), Bisbee fifth (134), Pima sixth (148), Willcox seventh (174) by virtue of the sixth-place entrant placement of 47 to 49, Fort Thomas eighth (174), and Sierra Vista American Leadership ninth (205).
Morenci (1), Safford (1), Eloy Santa Cruz (4), and Saint David (4) did not have full teams.
Thatcher junior Nathan Ratana (868) reset the meet record of 18:21.3 (Oct. 15, 2019) held by Safford senior Jacob Urea, with a 17:54.9 clocking.
The other Top 12 of 69 individuals were Tombstone junior Aiden Werkheiser (873) in second with 18:34.1, Thatcher sophomore Brysen Kartchner (867) third (18:38.1), Thatcher junior Weston DeMent (865) fourth (18:43.3), Sierra Vista American Leadership sophomore Tanner Lund (811) fifth (19:40.3), Tombstone senior Jason Whipple (874) sixth (19:49.0), Tombstone junior Jacob Rodriguez (872) seventh (19:51.0), Empire sophomore Logan Pratt (832) eighth (19:56.5), Empire sophomore Maddox Schmidt (833) ninth (20:04.1), Bisbee junior Spencer Linde (818) 10th (20:07.3), Morenci junior Ryder Nelson (843) 11th (20:13.9), and Thatcher junior Blake Bingham (864) 12th/11 pts. (20:15.5).
Meet champion Thatcher (31) also had sophomore Easton Baker (863) 13th/12 pts. (20:17.1). The sixth and seventh Eagles, freshmen Weston Walker (869) and Theodore Haller (866) were 15th/14 pts. (20:46.9) and 17th/16 pts. (20:56.0), respectively.
Runner-up Tombstone (64) also had sophomore Mark Bercume (871) 21st/20 pts. (21:13.7) and senior James Bercume (870) 30th/29 pts. (21:59.8). The sixth Yellow Jacket, sophomore Zepaniah Fuller (710), was 54th/50 pts. (24:57.68).
Third-place Empire (101) also had senior Jaidan Lopez (830) 27th/26 pts. (21:49.5), senior Rylan Nguyen (831) 29th/28 pts. (21:52.0), and senior Joshua Smith (834) 31st/30 pts. (22:00.3). The sixth and seventh Ravens, junior Adam Thornley (835) and junior Edward Gonzalez Guzman (829), were 32nd/31 pts. (22:05.6) and 42nd/40 pts. (23:44.6), respectively.
Fourth-place Douglas (117) had senior Ramon Chavez (823) 16th/15 pts. (20:50.3), sophomore Ivan Pequenino (826) 18th/17 pts. (20:57.2), junior Sebastian Avechuco (822) 24th/23 pts. (21:18.7), senior Elayan Gonzales (825) 27th/26 pts. (21:31.5), and freshman Juan Cruz 40th/38 pts. (23:07.2). The sixth Bulldog, Francisco Santana (828) was 57th/53pts. (26:00.75).
Fifth-place Bisbee (134) also had freshman Yomart Aguilura (816) 14th/13 pts. (20:25.0), junior Elijah Petrof (820) 24th/23 pts. (21:28.3), sophomore Noah Hernandez (817) 45th/42 pts. (24:06.74), and sophomore Travis Rojas (821) 49th/46 pts. (24:32.76). The sixth Puma, freshman Theo O’Dea (819), was 51st/48 pts. (24:44.36).
Sixth-place Pima (148) had sophomore Tell Richardson (880) 19th/18pts. (21:03.3), freshman Drew Bryce (875) 20th/19pts. (21:05.0), senior Oliver McCray (878) 25th/24pts. (21:29.5), junior Brigden England (881) 46th/43pts. (24:10.7), and sophomore Seth Perkins (876) 48th/44pts. (24:24.6). The sixth and seventh Roughriders, freshmen Eli Berger (879) and Ridge Bryce (877) were 55th/51 pts. (25:04.8) and 64th/57 pts. (28:25.2), respectively.
Seventh-place Willcox (174) had freshman Bryant Whetten (880) 22nd/21pts. (21:15.2), sophomore Cooper Allred (875) 36th/35pts. (22:57.3), senior Nathan Riggs (878) 38th/36pts. (23:00.6), junior Mark Wilson (881) 39th/37pts. (23:04.8), and junior Landon Hooper (876) 48th/45pts. (24:30.86). The sixth and seventh Cowboys, sophomore Ruben Sanchez (879) and junior Brigham Nolan (877) were 50th/47 pts. (24:34.84) and 62nd/55 pts. (26:39.99), respectively.
Eighth-place Fort Thomas (174) had senior Tristan Dia (838) 28th/27 pts. (21:50.1), sophomore Elijah Titla (841) 34th/33 pts. (22:39.4), senior Keon Williams (842) 35th/34 pts. (22:52.6), sophomore Demari Anderson (837) 41st/39 pts. (23:41.6), and junior Aaden Anderson (836) 43rd/41 pts. (23:49.3). The sixth and seventh Apaches, senior Terrell Harvey (839) and sophomore Michael Rogers, were 53rd/49 pts. (24:56.4) and 56th/52 pts. (25:29.6), respectively.
Ninth-place Sierra Vista ALA (205) also had sophomore Logan Daniell (810) 33rd/32 pts. (22:31.9), sophomore Colton Martensen (812) 61st/54 pts. (26:25.58), sophomore Mathew Parle (813) 63rd/56 pts. (26:40.31), and freshman Jesse Sullivan (815) 66th/58 pts. (29:28.89). The sixth Guardian, freshman Blake Pellechia (814), was 68th/59 points (30:37.51).
Non-placing (fewer than five entrants) teams, Morenci had junior Ryder Nelson (843) 11th (20:13.9); Safford had junior Karlos Enrico (852) 37th (22:59.2); Eloy Santa Cruz had freshman Adrian Ramirez (856) 44th (23:52.0), freshman Jose Quinonez (855) 52nd (24:46.59), junior Derek Jones (853) 58th (26:10.26), junior Christopher Montijo (854) 59th (26:18.61); and Saint David had freshman Ethan Lesiczka 60th (26:24.97), senior Ezra Fry (860) 65th (28:48.57), sophomore Mark Bryant (859) 67th (30:14.60), and senior Jaryn Brogan (858) 69th (36:00.57).
In the Boys Open Run, Thatcher junior Ryan Griffin finished first with 20:55.6.
Last season, Benson came in first with 32 points, Thatcher second (49), Tombstone third (58), Pima fourth (120), Bisbee fifth (130), Fort Thomas sixth (148), Saint David seventh (175), and Willcox eighth (183). Morenci or. Douglas, both with four entrants, did not field a full team.
The 2025 Top 12 individuals were Benson junior Jace Myatt first in 19:27.6, Thatcher freshman Brysen Kartchner second (19:31.7), Benson freshman Brody Upshaw third (19:37.7), Thatcher sophomore Weston DeMent fourth (20:05.1), Tombstone sophomore Aiden Werkheier fifth (20:22.3), Tombstone junior Colten Thursby sixth (20:47.1), Benson freshman Jacob Rubio seventh (20:53.4), Bisbee junior Pete Noperi eighth (20:54.1), Benson sophomore Orion Allred ninth (21:56.6), Douglas junior Elayan Gonzalez 10th (21:01.7), Douglas sophomore Antonio Rascon 11th (21:09.7), and Tombstone freshman Robert Smith 12th (21:13.7).
Thatcher sophomore Milan Miller finished first (22:37.3) in the boys open.
In 2024, Thatcher placed first with 54 points, Benson second (65), Sells Baboquivari third (73), Morenci fourth (81), Tombstone fifth (103), Saint David sixth (159), Fort Thomas seventh (180), and Douglas eighth (191).
Safford junior Grady Lackner set the pace with a 20:06.9 clocking, Morenci senior Anthony Heathman was second with 20:10.3, Morenci senior Trent Nelson third (20:16.8), Thatcher senior Callum Winkler fourth (20:17.7), Baboquivari sophomore Ezeliel Hendricks fifth (20:37.8), Benson sophomore Jace Myatt sixth (20:43.1), Thatcher freshman Weston DeMent seventh (20:47.8), Tombstone Landen Pease eighth (20:50.0), Thatcher junior Gavin Reed ninth (21:26.6), Benson senior Syric Ramirez 10th (21:38.7), Morenci freshman Ryder Nelson 11th (21:59.1), and Safford junior Noah Gonzales 12th (22:13.3).
Tombstone freshman Chase Davidson finished first (25:19.4) in the boys open.
The 2023 meet had Thatcher first with 21 points, Benson second (51), Tombstone third (84), Willcox fourth (84), and Bisbee fifth (141).
Safford senior Kody Gluyas was first in 18:57.5, Thatcher senior Max Baron second (19:09.2), Thatcher senior Gene Huish third (19:24.7), Benson senior Ezekiel Crowley fourth (19:29.6), Morenci senior Anthony Heathman fifth (19:41.3), Tombstone junior Landen Pease sixth (19:57.8), Safford sophomore Grady Lackner seventh (20:06.9), Thatcher junior Callum Winkler eighth (20:01.9), Thatcher sophomore Gavin Reed ninth (20:02.8), Thatcher junior Wallace Haller 10th (20:15.6), Thatcher junior Cade Winkler 11th (20:32.1), and Benson freshman Jace Myatt 12th (20:37.6).
Thatcher senior Brigham Nielson finished first (21:59.4) in the boys open.
