Catalina Foothills senior Brandon Martz winning the Division II individual title at The 2022 AIA State Cross Country Championships at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix.
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EXCLUSIVE: Brandon Martz announces college decision
The overall top distance runner in the state for the 2022 cross country season, Catalina Foothills senior Brandon Martz, revealed his college decision to MileSplit in an exclusive interview.
Martz, who won the Division II individual title at The AIA State Cross Country Championships this past November, announced that he has committed to Rice University to continue his athletic and academic career. Martz will suit up on the cross country and track and field teams for the next four years with the Owls and will major in Chemistry.
This past fall, Martz ran 15:10.10 in the 5,000-meters at The Desert Twilight to lead all Arizona athletes at the meet. Hamilton senior Andrew Gibby did run 15:04.40 at the City of Chandler Championships in late October, but the course length has not been verified yet by MileSplit.
Martz also won the prestigious Mt. Carmel/ASICS XC Invitational in San Diego in September, covering the notoriously tough 3-mile course in a time of 15:12.80.
Since last March, Martz has rapidly ascended to the top of the ranks of distance runners in the state. Martz shaved off 13 seconds in the 1600m to drop down to 4:16.51 at the Willie Williams Classic on March 18 and has consistently been one of the fastest athletes in Arizona from then on out. As well as his 4:16, Martz owns personal bests of 1:54.31 in the 800m and 9:20.15 in the 3200m.
You can watch this interview with state editor Logan Stanley, where Martz breaks down his decision to sign with Rice as well reflects on this past cross country season, talks about the mental pressures of running and discusses his pursuit of the state record in the 1600m in the spring.