We haven’t been shy about criticizing the AIA in these pages, so it’s only fair that we defend the organization when it is warranted.
The state track meet began on Wednesday (until the weather turned nasty, but that’s another story), and several deserving athletes from around the state were left out through no fault of their own.
Since before the track season even began, track coaches and athletic directors in Arizona were informed, instructed and reminded about the entry process for the state meet. They also knew that there was a deadline.
So, …

Chandler’s Tumbleweed Park was packed with runners and spectators on Saturday for the Chandler Invitational cross country meet.
Of the 37 teams competing, the Desert Vista girls and Highland boys emerged as winners in the unique meet that features races for each grade and gender.
Desert Vista had two runners win their respective class race, with Dani Jones running away with the freshman race, winning in 19 minutes, 44 seconds, and Brittany Tretbar winning the junior race in 19:47. Jones was 55 seconds ahead of the next finisher, while Tretbar was followed …

A small contingent of Arizona athletes were in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week for the World Youth Track & Field Trials and the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The World Youth Trials were used to determine the United States team that is currently in Lille, France for the IAAF World Youth Championships. Athletes ages 16 and 17 were eligible to compete. The USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships were for athletes ages 7 to 19.
To be selected to make the World Youth team, athletes had to finish …

The Chandler girls did it again.
The Wolves, winners of six straight state championships in Arizona, won the Nike Track National title for the second year in a row on Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Chandler scored 8,096.71 points in the meet, which uses a decathlon-style scoring system. Long Beach Poly was second with 7,881.48 and Clovis (Calif.) West was third was 7,759.62. Loyola (Calif.) was the boys champion with 8,173.24, followed by defending Nike champion Vista Murrieta (Calif.) with 7,870.79. Brophy Prep finished 12th in the boys competition.
Just like …

In a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, Arizona State’s Jasmine Chaney earned a spot on the United States team that will compete in the IAAF World Track Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
The McClintock High graduate made the team by virtue of her third place finish in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.
Chaney finished in 55.22 seconds, behind winner Lashinda Demus (54.21) and runner-up Queen Harrison (54.78).
Former Sun Devil Kyle Alcorn placed third in …

Aaron Hill, who competed at Williams Field and is currently at Grand Canyon University, fell just a 1/2-inch shy of earning a spot on the U.S. team for the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, placing third on Friday at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
In a tightly-packed competition, Hill had a top jump of 24-7 ¾. The event winner, Devin Field of the Texas Faces Track Club, jumped 24-8 ½ and the runner-up, Terrance Williams of North Texas University, jumped 24-8 …

At the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday in Eugene, Ore., former Mountain Pointe star Will Claye earned a spot on the U.S. team for the upcoming IAAF World Championships with his second-place finish in the triple jump.
Claye jumped 17.09 meters (56-feet, 1-inch) to finish behind University of Florida teammate Christian Taylor, who won with a leap of 17.49 (57-4 ¾). Both Claye and Taylor are assured of a spot in the world championships at Daegu, South Korea by virtue of their finish on Thursday and the …

Defending girls champion Chandler was no surprise as one of the 12 girls teams invited to attend the second Nike Track Nationals, scheduled for June 25 in Eugene, Ore. The official invites went out on Friday.
Chandler was the top team from Arizona and the Southwest Region and No. 2 in the nation in the ranking system Nike uses to pick the 12 girls and 12 boys teams that take part in the meet. The top girls team is Long Beach Poly and No. 3 is another California school, Clovis West …

Arizona athletes were very busy over the weekend at track meets far and farther.
Traveling the longest distance was Chandler junior Jasmine Todd, who went to Puerto Rico to compete in the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational. Todd made the trip memorable by winning the 18-19-year old long jump competition with a leap of 6.01 meters (19-8 ½). Todd also placed second in the triple jump at 11.81 meters (38-10).
Closer to home, East Valley athletes played a big part in helping the Arizona boys and girls squads finish second at the Great Southwest …

If you sat through Saturday’s 11-hour session at the state track and field meet, you probably left a little earlier than 12:20 a.m. (Sunday morning) when they handed out the final team trophy to the Brophy boys.
Like me, you probably enjoyed seeing all of the schools in one place, but just wish things didn’t drag out as long as they did. I don’t know how they could move things along any faster than they did without doing away with announcing each athlete in the finals and the medal ceremonies, something …