Can Salpointe, CatFoot, And Thatcher Sweep Their Sections?

Tomorrow, the first two Sectional meets will decide the contenders for the AIA State Championships. Rio Rico High School will play host to the races between the teams in Section 1 of Division 3, Section 1 of Division 2, and Section 2 of Division 4.

The D3 Section 1 boys' race will kick off the meet at 2:00 pm followed by the girls' race. Like we saw a few weeks ago at the Eye of the Tiger Invite, the boys' race will likely come down to juniors Roshan Tinoco-Miranda and Jonathan Lane. With a faster PR from Desert Twilight and a home course advantage, Roshan Miranda has the overwhelming edge. Lane won't make it easy on him, but could we see them push the boundaries toward a sub-16 performance along the R.I.B.S. course.

On paper, Brynna McQuillen (Vista Grande) is the favorite in the girls' race, but we shouldn't write off Zoey Delgado as a contender for the individual title. Delgado's teammates Kylie Wild, Laurel Froehlich have also run under 19-minutes this season.

While Salpointe Catholic are projected to sweep the Team Titles tomorrow, the girls look like they could dominate with a score close to 20 points.

The meet will continue next with the D2 Section 1 Boys' race. Logan Marek (Ironwood Ridge), Luis Sotelo (Catalina Foothills), Chalen Lozano (Marana) are ranked as the top three boys in the section, all within a second of each other.

Furthermore, Ayden Schib (Cienega) is the returning Section and Division 2 State Champion. Schilb hasn't run under 16-minutes for 5km all season but he's steadily made his return to form and he even won his race at the Mt. SAC Invitational. He could very well play a factor in the D2 Section 1 Boys' race tomorrow.

Grace Driskill and Lauren Jorgensen are both ranked among the top five girls in their division and they're set to go head to head in the D2 Section 1 Girls' race. We could see it come down to wire between the two.

The boys and girls of Catalina Foothills each have four of their own ranked among the top ten in the section and a clean sweep of the meet with Sotelo and Jorgenen taking home individual titles is certainly within the realm of possibilities.

Jordan Mares and Kayla O'Connell of the Morenci Wildcats are ranked as the top boy and girl in their section. Last year, Emmanuel Corral (Pusch Ridge) got the better of Mares at Sectionals but we'll see how the race plays out tomorrow afternoon.

Based on her performances this season, Kayla O'Connell will be the fastest girl toeing the line in the final race of the afternoon, with a lifetime-best just five seconds outside of 20-minutes. Her toughest challenge will likely come from Kierra Lumpkin of the Bisbee Pumas.

Meanwhile, from a team standpoint, the Thatcher Eagles will return looking extremely formidable with their eyes on securing the boys and girls team titles.