Just when you thought it was safe to go back outside, the Arizona heat came blazing back with temperatures over 90 degrees.
Runners looked worried while warming up and looking out at the shadeless course at Tumbleweed Park.
"It is really hot," said Cade Burks before the meet.
But that did not deter the Perry sophomore as he stepped to line with a new strategy.
"Usually I have been going way too fast," said Burks. "This meet I tried to take it out a little bit easier. I wanted to go 5:15 - 5:15 and as hard as I can go the last mile but the race shook up a little differently and it went 5:21 - 5:21 and then I finished in 5:16."
Burks, Seamus White (Jr., Hamilton) and Gunther Albrecht (Sr., Perry) separated from the pack by the time the group hit the half mile mark.
It was kind of a tactical race at the start," said Seamus after the race. "We didn't really try to push it so hard. I think Cade had the upper hand at the end. He always seems to have a kick - I respect that."
Burks pulled away from White and Albrecht just past the 2 mile point and held a strong lead until he crossed the finish line in 16:26.
White and Albrecht finished the race in 16:37 with White having the edge for 2nd place.
"My strategy was to keep up with Seamus and Cade and to see how far I could keep up with them and possibly pass them," said Albrecht about his race. "They were two good runners and they showed it out there."
Alexis Nichols (So., Chandler) ran a little different race by taking the lead right out of the gate.
"My strategy was to get ahead and just go for time more than anything - to get a good first mile in and try to maintain it - but I wasn't able to," said Nichols about her Chandler City win. "I got a good place but not so good of a time."
Nichols ran a very strong race with a solid lead finishing the race in 19:43.
Second place finisher, Xury Deputy (Sr., Hamilton) didn't have that much of a strategy. "I wanted to start out faster - that normally gets me a faster time," stated Deputy. "First place was actually way ahead the entire time."
Deputy moved into 2nd place around the first mile mark and ran alone for the rest of the race while Brianna Loff (So., Hamilton) started the race in 20th place and gradually passed runners until she landed in 3rd place.
"Once I got into the race I wanted to hold back so I wouldn't kill myself in the first mile, said Loff. "My ultimate goal was to keep passing girls, passing girls and to keep my eyes up and hang in there."
Deputy crossed the finish line in 20:34 followed by Loff in 20:45.
Perry boys won the team title with 30 points with Hamilton in 2nd with 38 points.
Just 3 points separated the girls with Basha taking home the trophy with 45 points. Hamilton finished 2nd with 48 points.
In the JV races the Perry boys earned a perfect score of 15 led by Ryan McQullan in 18:49 followed by Tanner Brown in 18:54 and Tyler Poates in 19:06.
Arielle Rosenblum (Perry) won the girls JV race in 22:36 followed by Kirsten Tucker (Basha) in 22:54 and Angelica Tucker (Basha) on 23:08.