Arizona's next generation of talent is already making noise. These middle school athletes are posting impressive marks early, showing the potential to become future high school standouts across distance, sprints, and field events.
At the Colts Classic Track and Field Invitational, Kyler Kee ran two personal records and two state leads in his first track meet of the season. He won both races by 10 seconds to run personal records of 4:48 in the 1600m and 2:14 in the 800m. This is an excellent start to the season that should grab the attention of every high school, with Kee moving to high school this fall.
Devin LeVander | ALA West Foothills | Class of 2030
Devin LeVander started his 8th-grade season with a massive victory in the Chandler Rotary Invitational Middle School 1600m, where he ran a personal record of 4:52. Compared to his 7th-grade performance at Chandler, he improved by an astonishing 1 minute and 5 seconds, finally getting the win. LeVander has used this momentum to clock a state-leading 10:35 in the 3200m at the Sharon Ellis Honors Invite, demonstrating his distance strength.
At the Sharon Ellis Honors Invite, Kort Otis competed in four events with double victories in the high jump and long jump. He was most impressive in the long jump, where he reached a personal record of 18-11.5 that currently leads the state by only 1 foot. Otis also cleared 5-4 in the high jump, which ranks him AZ #2 in middle school.
It looks like Brenna McFadden found her event after running an 800m personal record of 2:19 at the Stanford Middle School Track and Field meet. At this track meet, McFadden improved by 17 seconds to secure the victory and the middle school state lead. This season, she's also run an AZ #3 in the 1600m (5:40) and an AZ #11 in the 400m (1:04).
Brenner Lyons is the only 7th-grade girl to lead the event rankings this season after she leaped over 5 feet at the Soaring Eagles Invite. She's shown amazing growth this season by improving from her 6th-grade PR of 4-6.
The Sharon Ellis Honors Invite proved to be a breakthrough day for Peyton Yates as she secured 100m hurdles and 400m dash victories. Yates most impressive performance was in the 100m hurdles, where she ran a personal record of 14.91 to take the state lead. She currently holds a wide lead over the rest of the state, with a 2-second lead over the next athlete.
Samiya Curley | Tsehootsooi | Class of 2030
The highlight of Samiya Curley's eighth-grade season came at the Colts Track and Field Classic, where she won the 1600m and 800m double with two personal records. She ran an impressive personal record of 5:33 to secure the state lead in the 1600m, making her a girl to watch coming into high school.
Arizona's next generation of talent is already making noise. These middle school athletes are posting impressive marks early, showing the potential to become future high school standouts across distance, sprints, and field events.
At the Colts Classic Track and Field Invitational, Kyler Kee ran two personal records and two state leads in his first track meet of the season. He won both races by 10 seconds to run personal records of 4:48 in the 1600m and 2:14 in the 800m. This is an excellent start to the season that should grab the attention of every high school, with Kee moving to high school this fall.
Devin LeVander | ALA West Foothills | Class of 2030
Devin LeVander started his 8th-grade season with a massive victory in the Chandler Rotary Invitational Middle School 1600m, where he ran a personal record of 4:52. Compared to his 7th-grade performance at Chandler, he improved by an astonishing 1 minute and 5 seconds, finally getting the win. LeVander has used this momentum to clock a state-leading 10:35 in the 3200m at the Sharon Ellis Honors Invite, demonstrating his distance strength.
