MHS boys place 14th in state meet; girls finish 19th

While the MHS boys reduced their times markedly compared to those that the team posted during last year’s eighth-place finish in Class 4A-II, the improvement against the clock did not translate to a corresponding climb up Saturday’s Division III leaderboard.

With all seven competitors finishing in 18:49 or under, and with all five scoring runners beating the 18:35 mark, the Rams placed 14^th among the field of Division III powerhouses.

“With the rearrangement of the divisions, this is a lot tougher now,” Maricopa assistant boys coach Ronnie Buchanan said, referring to the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s statewide cross country realignment that took effect this season. “Overall, it was a good showing.”

During last year’s state meet, three of the Rams’ seven runners registered times of under 19 minutes. On Saturday, all seven achieved the feat.

“They’re making progress,” Buchanan said.

Meanwhile, the Maricopa girls cross country team gained valuable experience competing on the state’s biggest stage. The Rams’ lineup of one senior, two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen placed 19^th in the state in Division III, establishing a foundation for future potential.

“I think it helps our school realize how hard our team works, and I think it might bring some more people out next year,” Maricopa junior runner Cara O’Neal said.

“With every meet, the girls are getting better and better,” said Buchanan, who is the head coach of the MHS girls team. “I think they are getting an idea of what it takes, what to do in terms of warming up, cooling down, getting mentally focused before the race. They ran well. I told them to go out there and have a fun experience and compete the best you can and then learn from this experience.”

Senior captain Sandiin Mitchell led the Maricopa girls with a time of 21:48.77, good for 46^th in the state in Division III.

Jessica Beach, a freshman, finished 91^st at 23:26.27, while her twin sister Beth Beach posted a time of 24:12.91. The Rams also got times of 25:07.05 from junior Rachel Beach, 25:14.82 from O’Neal, and 25:53.26 from Rachel Hall.

The Maricopa boys were led by senior captain Travis Moore, who placed 50^th in Division III in 17:35.59. Moore’s time was more than 34 seconds better than the mark of 18:10.204 he posted at last year’s state meet in finishing 28^th in Class 4A-II.

“He ran 30 seconds faster than last year, but it’s a much tougher state meet,” Maricopa boys cross country coach Duane Anderson said. “He went out hard. He never quit. He fights all the way to the end.”

Maricopa junior Gibran Aguilar improved his time by 1:52 from last year’s state meet. In 2009, Aguilar placed 74^th in Class 4A-II in 19:42.541. He finished Saturday’s race in 17:50.42 to place 65^th.

Additionally for the Rams, sophomore Matt Taylor placed 81^st in 18:11.89, junior John Newman finished 94^th in 18:29.57 and junior Juan Acero was 97^th in 18:34.29. Maricopa sophomore Jonah Skousen finished 107^th in 18:45.45, while freshman Jonathan Den placed 112^th in 18:48.72.

The Rams competed Saturday without top runner Chris Lessard, who has missed the past several weeks with a foot injury.