Virtual Meet Preview
This Saturday will be the 44th Annual Running of the Doug Conley Invitational and the 2nd year that it will be held at the Shalimar Country Club in Tempe, Arizona. The field assembled for this meet appears to be very evenly matched and this year in particular, it's difficult to single out one runner as a favorite.
The boys Elite race has a variety of stories and athletes each about as likely as the next, to be the best team this weekend. Thomas Leitner (Fr.) and William Hewings (So.) lead a strong team for Rincon University. They ran 15:44 and 15:47 respectively, at the Desert Solstice Invite and led their team to victory. This past weekend they earned 2nd place at the Ojo Rojo Lions Invitational.
Liam Kovatch and Slade Sumners have both come into their own as Seniors for the Corona Del Sol Aztecs. They finished 2nd and 4th at the Ojo Rojo Lions Invitational and led their squad to a team victory at Tumbleweed Park that day.
Perry High School's Pumas just had four guys race under 16 minutes for three miles at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in California. Their top runner, junior Anthony Haren even managed to run under 15 minutes in the Sweepstakes race.
The Brophy College Prep team opened their season at Ray Wherley, where they finished 1-2-3-4 and 8. Bronco Luke Mason (Sr.) then followed up with a sub 16-minute victory for 5k at Ojo Rojo. Spectators should definitely look forward to seeing Mason return with teammates Hociel Landa (Sr.) and Drew Burns (Jr.) both of who have run under 16 minutes for 5k.
Finally, there's Page High School coming off a victory at the Four Corners Invitational this past week. Bowen Martin (So.) ran 16:16.3 in that 5k Varsity race at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff. Who knows what he and his team will do, when they come down from altitude?
Other Individual runners who should be major power players are Vaughn Jackson (Tuba City, Sr.) and Santiago Hardy (Chinle, Sr.). Jackson recently said he was looking forward to racing Hardy at this meet. Phoenix Central's Aron Orar (Jr.) will also be vying for another win after a victory at Desert Solstice. Though he's run the fastest time in the State this season, his hold on the number 1 spot is far from secure.
On the girl's side, Highland High School will easily be a favorite. They are coming off a win at the King of the Mountain Co-ed Invitational. Sydney Rhodes won the Varsity race in 18:25.79, matching her teammate and superfrosh Caroline McLesky. Alena Ellsworth (Sr.) also broke 19 minutes last week, establishing a very dense nucleus for the Lady Hawks.
Chaparral High School are also not to be underestimated as challengers, as they're currently ranked 5th on the Arizona Team Scores Rankings. Their top runner, Abi Archer is 3rd in the State only to Allie Schadler (Rio Rico, Sr.) and Sarah Carter (Xavier, Sr.). Their no. 2, Rachel Turner has already run 18:35 this year as a sophomore, and there's no telling what Grace Tully (So.) can do as a newcomer to Cross Country.
The Chandler High School girls have returned this season with most of their State Championship racers and four of them will race at Doug Conley tomorrow. Morgan Foster (So.) finished 2nd at Doug Conley last year and she just won the Ojo Rojo Lions Invitational and led the Wolves to a team victory this past weekend.
The Doug Conley Invitational has always sought to bring together the best runners in the State so that they could get the most out of each other. This weekend, it will continue to deliver just that.