Arizona High School Track & Field Division Championships, Top 10 girls' performances; vote

It was a weekend filled with top performances across the board as the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division State Track & Field Championships took place over three days at Mesa Red Mountain High School and Glendale Deer Valley High School.

Chandler swept the Division I team titles as girl’s coach Eric Richardson got back on top for the first time since 2021 and his son, Derrick, took home a trophy in his first season as the boy’s coach. Gilbert Williams Field, led by coach Kelvin Hunter, claimed its first boy’s state championship since 2013 while the Waddell Canyon View girls and coach Muhammad Oliver won the school’s first-ever title in Division II in an upset over Phoenix North Canyon. The Rattlers and coach Airabin Justin had won six consecutive division titles coming into this season.

Tucson Salpointe Catholic swept the Division III team titles as coach Mike Urbanski and the Lancers assert their dominance at that level; the girl’s team has now won three division championships in a row and the boys have won back-to-back. Snowflake and coach Alicia LaDuke pulled off a sweep as well in Division IV as the girl’s team scored the most total points out of any school across all the divisions and the boy’s team continued their streak of winning with their fourth straight title.

Phoenix Arizona Lutheran Academy broke a 26-year drought under coach Matt Heyn as the Coyotes won the girl’s Division V team title. And in the final race of the evening, Gilbert Arete Prep coach Greg Nickerson watched his star junior athlete chase down an opponent in the last 10 meters of the 4x400-meter relay to clinch the boy’s title, the first-ever in school history.

Here are the top individual girl’s performances from the AIA Division Championships. Vote in our poll below, which will stay open until Thursday at 6 p.m.

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Stacey Onyepunuka, Avondale Agua Fria, sprints, Sr.: One of the most accomplished sprinters in state history added more hardware to her trophy cabinet with a sweep of the 100 meters (11.92 seconds), 200 meters (24.34) and 400 meters (55.64) at the Division III state championships. Onyepunuka, who came into the weekend with six individual division state titles across Division II and Division III in the sprint events, now has nine to her name. The Kentucky commit is the new state leader in the 400.

Kori Martin, Chandler Hamilton, hurdles, Sr.: The Arizona state record-holder in the 100-meter hurdles continued her excellent spring by winning both the 100-meter hurdles (13.48) and 300-meter hurdles (42.36) at the Division I championships. That is now six times this spring that the Kentucky commit has run under 14 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Martin also finished second in the 100 meters, running 11.70 (+3.5 wind).

Rebekah-Jhade Garrett, Phoenix North Canyon, hurdles, So.: While Martin is the person to beat in Arizona for the 100-meter hurdles right now, Jhade Garrett is a rising superstar in the event. She ran 13.89 to win the Division II championship, the fastest time ever from a sophomore in state history in the MileSplit Arizona database. Jhade Garrett also finished fourth in the 100 meters (12.28) and 200 (25.22).

Rickaiya Whitman, Phoenix Desert Vista, sprints, Jr.: Had a career day at the Division I championships, winning both the 100 meters (11.63, +3.5 wind) and 200 (24.38). Whitman was also the anchor leg on the first-place 4x100-meter relay team, out-leaning Chandler at the finish line to get the win. Whitman moves up to No. 4 in Arizona for the 200.

Annaleise Taylor, Waddell Canyon View, hurdles, Sr.: The Oregon commit built on her excellent season by playing a key role in Canyon View snapping North Canyon’s streak of six consecutive division state titles. Taylor, already No. 2 in state history for the 300-meter hurdles, won the event at the Division II championships in 42.96. She was second in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.98, second in the long jump at 18 feet and sixth in the 100 meters at 12.41. Taylor scored a total of 29 points as Canyon View beat North Canyon 112-106.

Landen LeBlond, Goodyear Millennium, distance, Sr.: Became the first athlete in the state this season to run under 5 minutes in the 1,600 meters when she went 4:57.29 to win the Division II championship. That came the night after she won the 3,200 meters in 10:44.69. LeBlond, who is also committed to Oregon and is No. 2 all-time in state history for the 1,600, is back healthy and running fast after a hip injury limited her start to the season.

Sophia Noriega, Chandler, distance, Sr.: On a team filled with talented athletes, she was only one of two people to come away with two top-four finishes at the Division I championships (sophomore hurdler Imani Galera-Young was the other). Noriega, who is running track for the first time this spring since eighth grade after a string of devastating injuries , won the 3,200 meters in 11:00.31 and was fourth in the 800 meters at 2:17.71. Her 15 points were important to the Wolves winning the state title, who scored 90 overall as a team.

Madison Martinez, Tucson Salpointe Catholic, sprints/jumps, Sr.: She did it all for the Lancers at the Division III championships, scoring points in four different events to win the title. Martinez was second in the 200 meters (25.12) and won both the long jump (17-9) and triple jump (38-6). She was also part of the third-place 4x100-meter relay team (49.62). Martinez contributed to a total of 34 points as Salpointe Catholic scored 86 to win it.

Bryn Kupfer, Snowflake, jumps, Fr.: The freshman high jumper joined a loaded team and instantly made an impact at the Division IV championships. The Lobos scored 146.5 total points, the most for any team over the weekend, to win the title. There were many contributors, including all three relay teams, sophomore hurdler Jayci Ballard and junior sprinter/hurdler Kaytlin LaDuke, but Kupfer’s first-place finish in the high jump (5-5) was mighty impressive. She was also fifth in the long jump at 16-1.75.

Emma Ohm, Phoenix Arizona Lutheran Academy, sprints/jumps, Jr.: Played a versatile role for the Coyotes at the Divison V championships. Ohm won the triple jump at 36-11.75 and was second in the 200 meters (26.93). She was also a member of the first-place 4x100-meter relay team (51.25) and first-place 4x400-meter relay (4:15.97). Ohm contributed to 38 points as Arizona Lutheran won with 94.

(If having difficulty voting, click here) .

Other highlights

• Gilbert Highland’s 4x800-meter relay team took the state lead, running 9:21.89 at the Division I championships.
• Glendale Copper Canyon junior Zalaya Dupre won the triple jump at the Division II championships, becoming the first Arizona athlete in 2024 to jump 40 feet.
• Oro Valley Canyon del Oro senior Katrina Trahan won the discus at the Division III championships, throwing 143-7 to move up to No. 2 in the state for the event.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school and Olympic sports. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona High School Track & Field Division Championships, Top 10 girls' performances; vote