By Raymundo Frasquillo
MESA—The 2025 State Track and Field Meet had champions from all Divisions at Mesa Community College, beginning on May 16. The qualifying criteria were that they had to be in the top 24 in the event entered, based on the quickest times and farthest or highest distances. The individual division meets were held the prior week, Division III-IV at Glendale Deer Valley and Division I-II-V at Mesa Red Mountain.
A total of 103 schools were represented, 31 from Division I, 28 from Division II, 19 from Division III, 16 from Division IV, and nine from Division V, with 61 scoring team points.
Graham County entrant, Pima sophomore Joel Mattice came in 15th (6-0) on the heels of a 6-foot, 2-inch personal record the previous week; Safford sophomore Drew McBride finished 20th in the pole vault (13-7); Thatcher senior Wyatt Nicholas did not start in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump;
Greenlee entrant, Morenci senior Marcus Lucero qualified with a 172-foot, 2-inch Division V effort, but had a 12 feet, 7-inch (158-5) shorter outing for 16th.
State Champions
Chandler Basha edged Mesa Red Mountain 38-37 for the 2025 title. Gilbert Williams Field was third with 35 points, Chandler Hamilton fourth (34), Mesa Mountain View fifth (30), Snowflake and Phoenix South Mountain tied for sixth (24), Gilbert Highland and Tucson Mica Mountain tied for eighth (23), and Goodyear Desert Edge 10th (22).
Sierra Vista Buena was 11th (20), Tucson Pueblo 12th (19), Mesa Eastmark 13th (17), Mesa Westwood 14th (16), Glendale Mountain Ridge 15th (14.5), Queen Creek 16th (14), Chandler valley Christian and Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge tied for 17th (13), and Phoenix Mountain Pointe and Page tied for 19th (12).
Phoenix Brophy College Prep was 21st (11.5), Phoenix Pinnacle, Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills, and Buckeye Verrado tied for 22nd (11), Queen Creek ALA, Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep, Tucson Salpointe Catholic, Florence American Leadership Anthem South, and Gilbert Higley tied for 25th (10), and Queen Creek Casteel 30th (9.5).
Gilbert American Leadership — Gilbert North and Glendale Deer Valley tied for 31st (9), Waddell Canyon View, Surprise Shadow Ridge, Flagstaff, Peoria Centennial, and Surprise Highland Prep tied for 33rd (8), Phoenix Shadow Mountain 38th (7.5), Tucson Canyon del Oro 39th (7), and Gilbert Perry, Tucson Empire, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe McClintock tied for 40th (6).
Phoenix Country Day School was 45th (5.5), Goodyear Estrella Foothills, Glendale Copper Canyon, Yuma Cibola, Tolleson tied for 46th (5), Tempe Corona del Sol, El Mirage Dysart, anfd Peoria Liberty tied for 50th (4), Peoria Sunrise Mountain and Surprise Valley Vista tied for 53rd (3), Queen Creek Crismon 55th (2.5), Anthem Boulder Creek and Tuba City Greyhills tied for 56th (2), and Phoenix Desert Vista, Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, Tucson Sabino, and Goodyear Millennium tied for 58th (1).
Individual state champions in the running events were South Mountain senior De’Mar Coleman in the 100 (10.59a) and 200 (21.17a), Pueblo senior Nevaeh Anderson in the 400 (47.36a), Eastmark senior Bryson Nielsen in the 800 (1:48.91a), Mesa Mountain View senior Daniel Judd in the 1600 (4:13.23a PR) and 3200 (8:59.32a PR), and Desert Edge senior Bellemy Amina-Harris in the 110 hurdles (13.98a) and 300 hurdles (37.17a).
The field event champions were Red Mountain junior Joshua Lee in the shot put (56-1.50 PR), Basha junior Mason Aughe in the discus (162-7), Salpointe junior Isaac Moyle in the javelin (208-4 PR), Notre Dame Prep senior William Feagles in the high jump (6-8 SR); Queen Creek junior Dash Wasson in the pole vault (16-9 PR), Snowflake junior Ryder Hall in the long jump (23-10.5 PR), and ALA – Anthem South senior Trace White in the triple jump (49-4.5).
Three different schools placed first in the relays, Highland in the 4×100 (40.77a) of 15 with junior Anthony Martin, junior Brody Heussner, junior Maxwell Max Menden, and sophomore Gage Scheurn; Buena in the 4×400 (3:17.64a PR) with junior Ricardo Brooks, senior Armani Ramirez-Sperle, junior Jayden Thomas, and junior Vijay Carrier; and Hamilton the 4×800 (7:49.28a) of 18 with senior Ryan Estrada, junior Adam Slater, junior Zarian Rodriguez, and senior Chase Markunas.
Division IV Meet (May 10)
The Division IV team champion was Snowflake with nearly 32 points (110-78) more than runner-up Chandler Valley Christian. Thatcher was third with 59 points, Safford fourth (50), Waddell American Leadership – West Foothills fifth (47), Page sixth (46), Tucson Empire seventh (41), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian eighth (32), Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood ninth (31), and Tucson Catalina 10th (26).
Tucson Sabino was 11th with 25 points, Show Low was 12th (24), Surprise Highland Prep was 13th (21), Gilbert Christian, Tucson Tanque Verde, and San Tan Valley San Tan Foothills tied for 14th (16), Payson was 17th (15), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet was 18th (9), and Lakeside Blue Ridge and Chandler Seton Catholic tied for 19th (8).
Tonopah Valley was 21st with seven points, Chino Valley 22nd (5), Fort Defiance Window Rock 23rd (4), Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin 24th (3), Globe and Holbrook tied for 25th (2), and Coolidge 27th (1).
5th – Thatcher (59)
Ten Eagles contributed to the team scoring, with senior Wyatt Nicholas netting 32 points, senior Brigham Rasmussen 10, senior Cade Winkler eight, senior Nathan Schnebly four, seniors Tristun Brown and Callum Winkler two apiece, and senior Gavin Reed one.
Individual placements were 1st: Rasmussen in the discus (142-4), Nicholas in the high jump (6-8), long jump (22-0.5), and triple jump (46-9.5); 2nd: the 4×400 relay (3:21.93a PR) with seniors Brown, Nicholas, Callum Winkler, and Cade Winkler; 5th: Schnebly in the 110 hurdles (15.67a PR), Cade Winkler in the triple jump (42-6.5a); 7th: Cade Winkler in the 400 (51.42a); and 8th: Reed in the 800 (2:01.32a).
22nd – Safford (50)
Five Bulldogs contributed to the team scoring, with senior Bryan Villegas 18, junior Matthew Madrid 12.25, sophomore Drew McBride eight, junior Tristan Flores 5.25, junior Sawyer Layton four, and juniors Noah Gonzales and Grady Lackner 1.25 apiece.
Safford individual placements were 1st: Villegas in the shot put (49-9.75); 2nd: Villegas in the discus (138-3), McBride in the pole vault (14-0); 4th: Madrid in the 200 (22.75a), the 4×400 relay (3:22.97a) with juniors Flores, Madrid, Noah Gonzales, and Grady Lackner; 5th: Flores in the 400 (51.24), Madrid in the 300 hurdles (40.29a), Layton in the discus (132-7 PR); and 7th: Madrid in the triple jump (41-9.5).
Individual Event Champions
Individual running events Division IV champions were Snowflake sophomore Jacob LaDuke in the 100 (11.07a), Empire senior Donovan Davidson in the 200 (22.01a) and 400 (48.23a), ALA – West Foothills senior Jack Kemling in the 800 (1:55.94a), Page junior Symond Martin in the 1600 (4:17.32a) and 3200 (9:24.05a); Valley Christian junior Ethan Hodgson in the 110 hurdles (14.92a), and Highland Prep senior Marcel Pratt in the 300 hurdles (38.06a).
The field event champions were Safford senior Bryan Villegas in the shot put (49-9.75), Thatcher senior Brigham Rasmussen in the discus (142-4), Valley Christian senior Ethan Gomez in the javelin (165-3), Thatcher senior Wyatt Nicholas in the high jump (6-8), long jump (22-0.5), and triple jump (46-9.5), and Valley Christian junior Finnley Roth in the pole vault (15-6).
Three different schools won the relays, Snowflake the 4×100 (42.45a PR) with senior Karter Raban, junior Gionn Jones, junior Christian Smith, and LaDuke; Empire the 4×400 (3:20.36a PR) with senior Khari Gurley-Yi, senior Jacob Stark, junior Tyler Chamlee, and Davidson; and ALA – West Foothills the 4×800 (7:58.55a PR) with Kemling, junior Jermaine Jolly, junior Ted Hanchett, and senior Ryland Levander.
Division V Meet (May 10)
Chandler Prep was the Division V team champion with 71 points, three more than runner-up Eagar Round Valley (68). Arizona Lutheran was third with 54 points, Pima fourth (50), Gilbert Arete Prep fifth (46), Gilbert Classical and Florence American Leadership—Anthem South tied for sixth (32), Glendale Prep eighth (29), Morenci ninth (28), and Phoenix Christian 10th (23).
Tuba City Greyhills and Sedona Red Rock tied for 11th with 20 points, Miami 13th (19), Bisbee and Flagstaff Northland Prep tied for 14th (16), Kingman Academy and Tombstone tied for 16th (15), Glendale Trivium Prep 18th (14), Tucson Santa Rita, Scottsdale Christian, and Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic tied for 19th (13).
North Phoenix Prep and Saint Johns tied for 22nd with 11 points, Phoenix Country Day School 24th (10), Camp Verde and Heber Mogollon tied for 25th (9), Phoenix Mayvale Prep 27th (8), Benson 28th (7), Phoenix Valley Lutheran 29th (6), and Anthem Prep 30th (5).
Saint David and Scottsdale Prep tied for 31st (4), Avondale Highland Prep West and Laveen Heritage tied for 33rd (3), Phoenix Horizon Honors 35th (2), and Gilbert San Tan Charter 36th (1).
4th – Pima (50)
Five Roughriders contributed to the team scoring, as senior Brock Haws scored 16 points, sophomore Joel Mattice tallied 13, sophomore Adam Bryce seven, junior Charles Richardson five, and junior Dante McCray four.
Pima individual placements were 2nd: Haws in the shot put (47-8.25) and discus (144-7), Mattice in the high jump (6-2 PR); 4th: Richardson in the javelin (149-11), Mattice in the triple jump (40-11); 5th: McCray in the discus (127-11), Bryce in the 110 hurdles (15.93a); and 6th: Bryce in the triple jump (39-5.75 PR).
9th – Morenci (28)
Five Wildcats had their efforts score points, with seniors Yedidia Luputa Kanyinda and Marcus Lucero contributing 11 apiece, junior Derek Lytle four, and both sophomore Lyndale Waterhouse Jr. and freshman Sonny Gobert Jr. one each.
Individual placements were 1st: Kanyinda in the 110 hurdles (15.13a) and Lucero in the javelin (172-2); 5th: Lytle in the javelin (140-0); and the 4×100 relay (45.07a) with Gobert, Waterhouse, Lucero, and Kanyinda.
Individual Event Champions
Individual running event Division V champions were Arete Prep senior Michael Harambasic in the 100 (11.00a SR), ALA – Anthem South senior Trace White in the 200 (22.63a SR), Miami sophomore Ryder Guerrero in the 400 (50.67a), Arete Prep senior Max Bruns in the 800 (1:59.66a PR), Greyhills senior Benjamin Miera in the 1600 (4:26.35a) and 3200 (9:33.44a PR); Morenci senior Yeddidia Luputa Kanyinda in the 100 hurdles (15.13a), and Chandler Prep senior James Heisler in the 300 hurdles (40.06a).
The field event champions were Arizona Lutheran junior Liam Enter in the shot put (47-11.25), Kingman Academy senior Anthony Martinez in the discus (146-9 PR), Morenci senior Marcus Lucero in the javelin (172-2), Phoenix Christian junior Malakhai Moore Neal in the high jump (6-4), Phoenix Country Day senior Sam Novak in the pole vault (17-0), and ALA – Anthem South senior Trace White in the long jump (22-8) and triple jump (46-3).
Three different schools won the relays: Phoenix Christian, the 4×100 (44.35a) with juniors Zyeon Rondon, Neal, Cashis Grimwade, and Kai Carter; Glendale Prep, the 4×400 (3:29.52a) with sophomore Asher Beck, junior Kaden Bridges, junior Zack Rich, and sophomore Luke Webdale; and Gilbert Classical, the 4×800 (8:09.68a PR) with seniors Adam Dennis, Brandon Kooner, Jimmy Klauba, and Sotiris Katsanos.
