Juniors Laramie Mahan and Luis Valdez, along with five Camp Verde High School throwers, will travel Friday, May 8, to the Division III state championships at Mesa Community College.
But it could have been more, head coach Michael Prow said.
Valdez’s personal best April 21 of 2:03.24 in the 800 meters made him the first CVHS boys runner to qualify for State since Justin Reay had a fifth-place finish in the event at State in 2013.
But Reay’s little brother Jordan, a senior, tied for 25th in Division III in the 200 meters with a run of just over 23.5 seconds at an April 1 multiple meet in Prescott. The top 25 athletes at the end of the season qualify for State in most events, but Reay chose to sit out his final week of meets to focus on graduation.
“He would’ve gone had he finished the season with us,” Prow said. “He was right on the bubble.”
As it turned out, five more Cowboys than last season will be going to State anyway. Mahan’s long jump of 14 feet, 11 inches was not a top-25 mark but, if her knees are not hurting her too badly, she still plans to accompany her teammates to Mesa.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, May 6, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
