DVCC opened the season impressively, with eight boys covering 3.1 miles in less than 17 minutes on a hot, humid morning, on Saturday, Aug. 25. Assistant coach Bernie McDonnell said he could not recall that many boys with sub-17 minute 5K runs in an Arizona meet, let alone in the opening annual Black and Blue Intra-Squad meet.
Senior Carter Macey, one of the top distance runners in the state, led the way in 16:18, a full 18 seconds better than last year’s meet. But Macey, ever the perfectionist, wasn’t excited, pointing out he was 27 seconds behind his personal record.
Senior Ryan Smith (16:28) and junior Jacob Walimaa (16:42) finished 2-3. Alec Hoyt, Kyle Havriliak, Xavier Esparza, Tyler Bonebright and Mitchell Bogushefsky swarmed to the finish line just under the 17-minute mark, and Zach Smith hit it at 17:00.
Coach Chris Hanson said this might be his best senior class ever, so he was very impressed to see a pair of freshmen contending for a spot on the seven-man varsity team.
The huge roster of 72 boys officially kicks off the season against outside competition in the Sole Sports Running Zone Cross Country Festival Saturday, Sept. 1, in Scottsdale.