Desert Vista senior Noah Jodon in the Division I 3200m at The 2022 AIA State Track & Field Championships at Mesa Community College.
Photo credit: David McBee/MileSplit Arizona
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MESA, AZ. -- Desert Vista senior Noah Jodon, one of the state's top distance runners, never thought he would reach the heights he has now. As a freshman, he watched one of his senior teammates, Lee Nasewytewa, run 9:08.34 in the 3200m.
"I could have never imagined myself running that fast," Jodon said reminiscing on his early days at Desert Vista. "Like wow, those guys are leaps and bounds ahead of me."
Well, now Jodon has swapped roles as he finished off his prep career in impressive fashion at The 2022 AIA State Track & Field Championships with two individual titles.
Jodon won the Division I 1600m in 4:13.57 before following up that performance with a 9:09:88 in the 3200m.
Division I Boys 1600m Final
It was Jodon's third overall title of the meet as he also ran in the 4x800m relay, which Desert Vista won in a time of 7:43.79 -- No. 2 on the all-time list.
Overall, three races for Jodon each resulted in a first-place medal. That's a pretty good return rate.
Jodon finishes his senior year with three individual state titles -- 2021 Division I Cross Country and 2022 Division I 1600m and 3200m -- and one relay title -- the 4x800m. Add in the team title for the cross country season and the outdoor track and field season, and that means Jodon -- who will be competing at the University of Arizona next year -- walks away from Desert Vista with six total state championships to his name.
He also leaves the school with his name etched into the record books -- he is the new school record holder in the both 1600m and 3200m. Just like how Jodon used to look up to his senior teammates and used them as inspiration, a new crop of runners at Desert Vista will get to do the same with him.
You can watch Jodon discuss his state title wins, his time at Desert Vista and more in a post-race interview right here: