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(Garrett Hunt finished 21st in the D4 Boys race at the last year's State Championship.-photo by John Hays)
4. Thatcher High School - 5th in 2016
The Thatcher Boys team return with four from their seven-man squad of last year's State Meet. They'll be led by Hunter Stailey (Jr.) who placed 14th in the D4 race at State Champs, and Garrett Hunt who finished 21st for the Eagles too. Hunter and Garrett also ran PRs of 16:50 and 16:58 for 5k at the Tombstone Justin Prevatte Classic, as two out of a total of 11 boys in Division IV who dipped under the 17-minute barrier last season. On the track this past spring, Garrett broke five minutes for 1600m, and is also an accomplished hurdler. At the Track and Field State Champs in May, he finished 7th in the finals of the D4 Boys 300m Hurdles. Hunter and his brother Jaiden also fared well for 1600 meters with PRs of 5:09.18 and 5:08.65. The Thatcher Eagles have a strong lead nucleus for their returning boys and if they can marshal the rest of their team into shape by late October, they've got a pretty good chance of improving from last year's finish at Cave Creek.