By Raymundo Frasquillo
RIO RICO – Thatcher’s girls repeated as the Division IV – Section II team champion with 39 points or almost twice fewer than runner-up Bisbee (76) at Rio Rico Oct. 28. The Eagles beat a field of 62 runners by placing five in the top 19. The 2017 Division IV state cross country meet is Saturday, Nov. 4. The starts are 12:40 p.m. for girls and 1:30 p.m. for boys on the Phoenix Cave Creek Golf Course, 15202 North 19th Avenue.
San Carlos was third with 93 points, Pusch Ridge Christian fourth (106), Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic fifth (118), Willcox sixth (146), Baboquivari seventh (148), and San Manuel eighth (167).
Benson and Tombstone both had four entrants, Morenci three, Tucson Immaculate Heart two, and Tucson’s The Gregory School one. Fort Thomas, Patagonia, and Tucson Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind had no entrants.
Thatcher senior Lily Richardson repeated as section champion with 21:10.37 (personal best 19:26.6, Oct. 31, 2015), Bisbee freshman Kierra Lumpkin second with 21:44.23 (20:09.0, Sept. 29), Pusch Ridge freshman Emma Garnand third with 22:45.38 (21:43.0, Sept. 16), Morenci senior Paige Morales fourth with 22:49.57 (19:51.9, Oct. 31, 2015), and Tombstone junior Angel Valencia fifth with 23:06.54 (21:36.9, Oct. 17).
Photo By Raymundo Frasquillo: San Carlos junior Anthony Hopkins Jr., left, and Tombstone senior David Perry ran neck-and-neck in Morenci, but placed fifth and 12th, respectively, during the Division IV – Section II meet at Rio Rico on Oct. 28. Morenci runners, junior Vincent Cruz ended 13th, sophomore Jordan Mares 14th, and sophomore Cameron Bailey-Garcia 15th.
Thatcher sophomore Elliana Windsor was sixth with 23:14.65 (21:14.1, Oct. 12, 2016), San Carlos freshman Shanaya Victor seventh with 23:64.65 (23:05.0, Oct. 20), Saint Augustine freshman Brenda Torres eighth with 23:30.04 (21:07.0, Sept. 29), San Manuel freshman Victoria Zazueta ninth with 23:54.49 (23:43.6, Oct. 14), and Willcox senior Wren Klump 10th with 23:59.53 (21:43.7, Oct. 31, 2015).
Thatcher sophomore Hailey Udall was 11th with 24:03.69 (22:24.8, Oct. 12, 2016), senior Corinne Bryce 12th with 24:09.61 (22:40.0, Sept. 19), Bisbee freshman Brynn Lumpkin 13th with 24:19.16 (21:01.0, Oct. 17), Tombstone senior Anastasia Graham 14th with 24:21.58 (22:43.7, Oct. 11), and Baboquivari sophomore Autumn Nelson 15th with 24:22.52 (22:41.0, Sept. 29).
Sophomore Pasley Layton was the fifth Thatcher placer, coming in 19th with 24:47.75 (23:03.0, Oct. 17). Senior Liesl Griffin finished 22nd with 24:58.0 (22:53.3, Oct. 31, 2015) and sophomore Briley Minor 27th with 26:05.41 (24:25.0, Oct. 17).
Morenci sophomore Desiree Babb was 26th with 25:48.65 (23:35.0, Oct. 18, 2016) and senior Alex Chee 36th with 27:03.35 (23:52.9, Sept. 6, 2014).
San Carlos senior Britney Nosie was 23rd with 24:58.34 (22:57.5, Oct. 11), sophomore Alyssa Martin 24th with 25:34.72 (25:19.0, Oct. 20), sophomore Heaven Cosen 29th with 26:16.10 (25:30.9, Oct. 21, 2016), and junior Celeste Casa 39th with 27:15.84 (24:01.1, Oct. 11). Sophomore Aaliyah Haozous and sophomore Nicole Allen were 40th with 27:34.77 (26:17.0, Oct. 20) and 52nd with 31:33.19 (26:38.6, Sept. 6), respectively.
Boys
Photo By Raymundo Frasquillo: Thatcher junior Hunter Stailey ended second in the sectional meet at Rio Rico on Oct. 28. He was also the 2016 section runner-up and has a personal best 16:33.0 turned in Oct. 17.
Bisbee outdistanced a boys’ field of 77 Division IV – Section II runners for the team title. Four seniors plus a sophomore all crossed the finish line in the top 11 for 29 points, or nearly 2 ½ times fewer than runner-up Thatcher (71). The Pumas ended third while the Eagles were first in 2016.
Morenci placed third (75), Saint Augustine fourth (94), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian fifth (95), Tombstone sixth (151), and Benson seventh (158).
San Manuel, Sells Baboquivari, The Gregory School, and Willcox had four entrants apiece, Fort Thomas and Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind both three, San Carlos and Immaculate Heart two each, and Patagonia one.
Pusch Ridge senior Ben Black with 17:41:53 (personal best 16:11.0) was the section individual champion, Thatcher junior Hunter Stailey second with 17:54.10 (16:33.0, Oct. 17), third place Bisbee senior Erick Estrada third with 18:06.65 (16:32.2, Oct. 12, 2016), Bisbee junior Alexander Gribble fourth with 18:24.37 (16:45.0, Oct. 18, 2016), and San Carlos junior Anthony Hopkins Jr. fifth with 18:24.64 (17:32.4, Oct. 11),
Thatcher senior Garret Hunt was sixth with 18:34.71 (16:34.7, Oct. 12, 2016), Bisbee senior Dante Lumpkin seventh with 18:35.98 (16:57.0, Oct. 17), Bisbee senior Uriel Hernandez eighth with 18:40.83 (19:04.5, Oct. 17), Sells Baboquivari freshman Stephen Hendricks ninth with 19:49.90 (17:45.9, Oct. 17), and Saint Augustine sophomore Seth Watson 10th with 18:51.86 (18:11.0, Sept. 29).
Bisbee sophomore Brandon Olivares was 11th with 18:57.06 (16:57.0, Oct 17), Tombstone senior David Perry with 18:58.32 (17:16.0, Oct. 17), Morenci junior Vincent Cruz 13th with 19:00.25 (17:46.0 (Oct. 17), Morenci sophomore Jordan Mares 14th with 19:02.33 (18:02.5, Oct. 11), and Morenci sophomore Cameron Bailey-Garcia 15th with 19:10.28 (17:26.5, Oct. 11).
The other Bisbee entrants, junior Joel Enriquez and senior Steven Puzzi, ended 35th with 20:23.92 (19:04.5, Sept. 29) and 55th with 21:53.59 (19:57.3, Sept. 29), respectively.
Last season’s sectional times were 18:30.60 for Estrada, 18:24.37 for Gribble, 19:54.13 for Lumpkin, and 21:50.04 for Enriquez. Hernandez, Olivares, and Puzzi did not participate in the 2016 meet.
The Thatcher quintet also included sophomore Talon Brown with 19:43.76 (18:46.0, Oct. 17) for 22nd, sophomore Tyler Bierman with 19:55.08 (18:56.0, Oct. 17) for 24th and junior Jaiden Stailey with 19:59.61 (18:04.0, Oct. 12, 2016). Sophomore Wesley Pena ended 33rd with 20:19.20 (18:58.1, Oct. 17).
Morenci’s top other two scorers were sophomore Dante DeAnda with 19:31.58 (18:22.2, Oct. 11) for 20th and junior Anthony Chanez with 19:56.31 (18:35.0, Oct. 20, 2015) for 25th. Junior Matthew Silvester was 28th with 20:01.09 (18:41.0, Oct. 18, 2016) and junior Gabriel Baca 37th with 20:28.31 (19:02.0, Sept. 29).
San Carlos’ sophomore Keshaun Noline ended 17th with 19:16.01 (17:41.3, Oct. 11) and Fort Thomas freshmen Nikolas Thompson, Eliceo Bond, and Traymond Titla came in 69th with 23:53.45 (23:19.2, Oct. 11), 76th with 1:03:09.24, and 77th with 1:09:34.09 (22.27.0, Oct. 5, 2016), respectively.
