Two of Camp Verde High School’s track and field athletes finished their season on a high note at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division IV state meet on Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5, at Mesa Community College.
Cowboys junior Chris Holdgrafer and junior Joseph Jones led the way by qualifying for the finals in two events, recording personal best times in each of their races.
“When you can finish the season running the best race you’ve ever run, that’s a nice way to end your season. That’s what you point for,” Cowboys head coach Mike O’Callaghan said. “The disappointing part was we only brought four people this year. That’s a shame because your goal at the start is to get everybody you can, and we had some who were close, but they just couldn’t get over that little hump there to hit that top 18 or 24 or six, or whatever they were taking in the event you were doing.”
Holdgrafer took third in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.74 seconds. In 2017, he finished sixth in the race in 16.27 seconds. After not having qualified for the state meet at all in the 300-meter hurdles last year, he took sixth place this year in 42.20 seconds.
In the triple jump, he finished in 15th place with a leap of 38-06.5.
Holdgrafer ended the season on a high note, and said he knows he can still do even better in his final season next year.
“For the 110s, I’m happy with the times, but I know I could’ve done better. About the last hurdle my spike got caught and I stumbled; I knew I could’ve gotten a faster time,” Holdgrafer said. “For the 300s, I didn’t really like the 300 when I started it. I still kind of don’t like it just a bit, but I’m happy with my improvement.”
Jones competed in the two longest running events. On Friday, Jones raced in the 3,200 meters, finishing in 24th place with a time of 10:46.46. On Saturday, he ran aggressively in the first half of the 1,600 meters, leading the pack at the halfway point.
Jones slowed during the second half, and eventually finished 12th in 4:46.94. Both times were personal bests, as well.
“Stay with the top pack. I definitely did that for the first two laps, matter of fact I was the front pack, and I felt pretty great,” Jones said. “I think I should’ve watched my pace a little more, because after the third lap I started dying a little bit.”
Senior Mathew Wade returned to the state meet in the discus, taking 15th place with a distance of 115-10. Wade finished 24th in the shot put with a throw of 34-10.5. Junior Damian Wathogoma’s throw of 106 feet landed him in 15th in the discus. Both throwers were below their personal best marks.
O’Callaghan said he was disappointed to only bring four athletes to the state meet. He said that he would like to work with any athlete interested in getting out and running over the summer, as the work put in during that typically makes for a stronger season.
“I know a couple of the girls were crushed when they didn’t make it in the 4 x [800-meter relay],” O’Callaghan said. “We want to run this summer, we want to run in between seasons, and wanting to and actually doing it is what’s actually going to make a lot of difference between whether they actually get here or not.”
As for Holdgrafer, he has his sights set on breaking the school record in the 110 hurdles, which sits at a little over 15 seconds.
