TUCSON, AZ. -- Catalina Foothills' Brandon Martz had a breakthrough performance at the Willie Williams Classic Invitational 2022, where he ran 4:16.51 in the 1600m. Martz shaved off 12 seconds from his personal best of 4:28.59 at the AIA State Division II Track & Field Championships. The junior finished in between two top runners from Texas, El Paso Eastlake senior Israel David (4:16.03) and El Paso Coronado junior Luis Pastor (4:17.41).
VARSITY BOYS 1600 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |||
1 | Israel David | 12 | El Paso Eastlake | 4:16.03 | 1 | |||
2 | Brandon Martz | 11 | Catalina Foothills High School | 4:16.51 | 1 | |||
3 | Luis Pastor | 11 | El Paso Coronado | 4:17.41 | 1 | |||
4 | Jorge Trujillo | 12 | Rio Rico High School | 4:33.46 | 1 | |||
5 | Max Irey | 10 | Catalina Foothills High School | 4:33.86 | 1 | |||
6 | Connor Grusendorf | 10 | Mica Mountain High School | 4:34.88 | 2 | |||
7 | Sean Jacobsen | 12 | Canyon Del Oro High School | 4:37.15 | 1 | |||
8 | Adrian Ureta | 11 | Flowing Wells High School | 4:38.55 | 1 |
With his new time of 4:16.51, Martz has vaulted himself up the leaderboards in Arizona. Before last week, Martz wasn't in the top 10 -- now he's No. 1 in the state. Martz's time currently sits ahead of key names like Desert Vista's Noah Jodon and Gabe Parham, as well as Ironwood Ridge's Logan Marek. But that will be put to the test next week as all four runners will be competing at the Nike Chandler Rotary Invite.
RANK | TIME | ATHLETE/TEAM | GRADE | MEET DATEPLACE |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4:16.51 | 2023 | ||
2 | 4:17.68 | 2022 | Aztec Invite1st | |
3 | 4:18.26 | 2022 | Aztec Invite2nd | |
4 | 4:20.92 | 2022 | ||
5 | 4:21.45 | 2022 | ||
6 | 4:21.49 | 2022 | ||
7 | 4:22.59 | 2023 | ||
8 | 4:22.62 | 2022 | ||
9 | 4:22.81 | 2022 | ||
10 | 4:23.71 | 2022 | Aztec Invite4th |
Here is the post-race interview with Martz.