Chandler Rotary: Quick Thoughts

Dani Jones gapped the field in the girls 1600m en route to victory. She also re-set her own state record in the event. Arizona Milesplit Photo.

The Chandler Rotary year in and year out is one of the best track events in the state of Arizona. It provides athletes with the chance to see the best of the best from across the state. It also provides them with a chance to compete with the best from other state. There was maybe no event were this was more true than the girls mile.

In the mile, Dani Jones was facing McKenna Morley (Montana), Lucy Biles (Utah), and Katie Rainsberger (Colorado). All four athletes had been named Gatorade athlete of the year. The race started off slow, at least by the standards distance runners have come to expect from these three. Then a phenom freshman from Montana, Annie Hill, made a move to break the race open after seeing a the first half wasn't as fast as she wanted. This allowed the box of runner to break up.

At 500 to local favorite Dani Jones went. Having races Rainsberger many times she knew that Katie has a very good kick and didn't want to leave it up to a sprint on the home stretch. She didn't have to as she separated herself from the rest of the field by several seconds en route to a 4:44.46 state record. Later that evening she followed her performance up with another strong victory in the 800m over Rainsberger. State will go through her in both of those events.

Speaking of state going through athletes, state will go through Paul Lucas in the sprinting events. Having been focused on football until the past month or so, Paul see lots of room for improvement in his races. What is scary is he is already among the best in not only the state, but the entire country. Having won the 100m, 200 and 4x100m on Saturday Paul is well on his way to leaving a legacy for Arizona track and field. Paul is not the only runner looking to leave a legacy on Arizona track and field before joining a Pac-12 football team. Isaiah Oliver is arguably the nation's most dominant hurdler. While he did run race he considers ideal he won the 110H and 300H.

Another athlete that pulled out a victory in a loaded field without having an all-time best performance was Nikki Baker of Highland High School. She won the girls pole vault at 12-03 after both her and Vanessa Davis missed their attempts at 12-06. While it was an unconventional way to win, it was a win.

Look for more detailed coverage articles later on today az.milesplit.com! More athletes will be mentioned and more events will be addressed. It was a fantastic day at the races!