(photo by John Hays)
Honorable Mentions
Heading into the preseason, Hunter Stailey (Thatcher, Sr.) is ranked 7th among returners with his PR of 16:33 which he ran at the Justin Prevatte Classic last year. He also won the Safford and Benson Invitationals, and placed 2nd in the Division 4 Section 2 boys' race at Rio Rico. Stailey would move on to place 11th in the D4 boys' race at the State Championships. This past spring, he ran PRs in all three individual distance events including 2:05 for 800m which earned him 12th at State.
Dewayne Laban (Hopi, Sr.) was a solid no. 2 man for the Hopi boys last season, and will be essential to closing the gap for the Bruins. Geoffrey Grossthal (Valley Christian, Sr.) is another boy who can have a possible breakout season. This past spring, he was the only boy in Division 4 to break 2-minutes for 800-meter run. Division IV is probably the most fluid and unpredictable in Arizona with respect to athlete turnover and year-round consistency and so we could see other boys break into these rankings and shake things up.