[This article is courtesy of Senior Runner Nick Thatcher]
The kickoff of the DVCC Boys 2017 season began with an exciting start at the King of the Mountain meet in Mesa, Arizona. In this meet, held at Longbow Golf Club, the Thunder fielded a fresh and talented crop of Freshman, our veteran JV runners, and a strong group of the Varsity 2 team. Eight runners on the Varsity team sat this meet out to do a long run, but were able to make it to the course in time to cheer on the Varsity race.
The meet was organized into 3 different races: Freshman, Open, and Varsity. The morning began bright and early, with the gun firing to start the Freshman race at 6:30am. The open race started at 7:10am, and the meet was capped off with the Varsity race at 7:50am. The weather certainly wasn’t optimal, which, unfortunately is to be expected for these early season meets that still feel the lingering heat of summer; at 6:30 am, it was 84 °F, and got up to 90 °F by the awards ceremony at 10. However, these conditions didn’t stop our tough DVCC runners from yielding tremendous performances.
The Freshman Boys won their race with a score of 17 points, with only the first 3 runners being scored. For many of these boys, this was their very first competitive 5k race. This fantastic Freshman team was headed by Martin Fuller (18:43) placing 2nd overall, Chris Broze (19:29.6) in 7th, Luke Nagli (19:42) in 8th, Vade Pierce (19:55.4) in 11th, Justin Perillo (20:39.14) in 19th, Adam Vanderploeg (21:23.54) in 22nd, and Nik Tollefson (21:38.57) in 25th.
The Boys Open race saw impressive performances by the Thunder boys as well. The team came in 3rd with a point score of 52 with the top 5 runners being scored. Impressively, this top 5 squad came in with a spread of only 11.9 seconds! Leading the pack was Junior Marshall Smith (18:22.1) in 8th, followed by Sophomore Noah Werbelow (18:22.3) in 9th, Junior Ceth Reeves (18:26.6) in 10th, Junior Carter Sokolovich (18:27.5) in 11th, Junior Milan Patel (18:34.0) in 14th, Sophomore Nicolo Perciballi (18:34.3) in 15th, and Sophomore Mays Jones (18:35.5) in 16th.
Finally, in the Varsity race, the Thunder boys came in a very respectable 3rd place against the fastest of Hamilton and Highland High Schools. With a score of 63 points, the team was headed by Sophomore Sammy Van Alstine (16:36.9) in 2nd, followed by Senior Michael Tuli (17:21.9) in 10th, Junior Neal Saxena (17:39.0) in 14th, Senior Jack Willems (17:41.8) in 16th, and Junior David Syms (18:21.8) in 18th.
A profound thanks must be given to the tireless efforts of the parents and coaching staff, who each dedicate so much time and effort for the team. Thank you so much for all that you do! Unfortunately, Coach Hanson was unable to attend the meet (the first he has ever missed since becoming Head Coach!) as he was visiting his son, former DVCC runner Solo Hanson (class of 2017), at the United States Air Force Academy Parents Weekend.
The next meet will be the competitive and fast Desert Solstice Meet, held in Tucson on the 8th of September.
GO THUNDER!