Devon Allen won two events and finished second in two events last weekend at Mesa Community College.
File photo by Kirby Lee
While Devon Allen, Trae Armstrong and Ky Westbrook grabbed most of the attention during the Arizona track season, Jaide Stepter is the one who has racked up six state medals, and a couple of state records, over the last two years.
The
Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.) senior was nearly unstoppable Saturday as the Southern California recruit capped off her career all the while flashing a smile that could light up at Mesa Community College's Riggs Stadium if need be.
She won three events in the Division II meet for the second straight year and broke the state record in the 300-meter hurdles again and just missed a fourth state title.
"To be able to leave like that, it's amazing," Stepter said. "I don't have any other words for it."
Stepter's only misstep – if you can call finishing the 200 meter dash in 24.9 – was being edged in the 200 by
Salpointe Catholic (Tucson) sophomore Michaela Crunkleton Wilson.
Before that she won the 100 hurdles (14.43 seconds), the long jump (19 feet, 3 inches) despite only competing in it for about five weeks and took center stage in the 300 hurdles.
For the second time this year she set the state record, this time 42.01 to best her mark of 42.18 set in the Chandler Rotary.
The overflowing crowd had one of its loudest ovations after the winning time was posted as she waved to the crowd.
"It just shows how much support I've had over all the years here in Arizona," Stepter said. "It's really cool to know that, as I go on to the Pac-12 and go on to USC, if I have a track meet down here, I'll have some fans to support me."
Another storyline was the Division I battle between
Brophy College Prep (Phoenix) junior Devon Allen and
Deer Valley (Glendale) senior Trae Armstrong.
In the 200 dash Allen had about a 15-meter lead but Armstrong's kick was enough to surge for the victory at the end with a time of 20.74 seconds compared to Allen's effort of 20.75.
According to The Arizona Republic, it was the third- and fourth-fastest 200 times in Arizona preps history tailing Olympian Dwayne Evans (20.22 in 1976) of South Mountain (Phoenix) and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bates (20.68 in 1986 for Amphitheater (Tucson).
Their other battle was just as close as Armstrong, who has nine career state titles including the 400 on Saturday, took the 100 in 10:48 with Allen right behind at 10:49.
"Devon is fast," said Armstrong, who is starting to consider track (Arizona State) in the fall instead of football (Idaho). "I have a lot of confidence in myself. I work hard."
Allen didn't go home emptied handed as he won both of the Division I hurdles titles taking the 110 high hurdles in 13.58, just off his state mark of 13.52.
In the 300 intermediate hurdles, he was actually challenged by
Chandler's Paul Perkins before winning in 36.94.
It might have been a sign of the extended schedule – weather on Wednesday canceled many of the preliminaries – catching up to Allen, who also ran in the 4x800 relay.
All in 100 degree hit, but he says he was unfazed.
"It is my last event so I'm going to give it all I've got and see what happens," he said.
The
Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) boys set the state record in the 4x100 relay with a time of 40.46 seconds in Division I to best the mark of 40.90 set by Laveen Chavez in 2008.
That's what happens when you combine flawless handoffs, unmatched combo speed and a senior anchor who wanted to leave an imprint.
"It's my last year and now I can go with a state record," Pride senior Ben Trotter, who was the anchor on the team that started with junior Kejavon Moore, followed by junior Travonn White and freshman Paul Lucas. "We did this to share with Mountain Pointe and hopefully it stands for a long time so we can always look back on it."
White also won the DI long jump title with a leap of 24-5.5 by beating Trotter (23-7) on his final jump.
Chandler sophomore Ky Westbrook was the story of DI girls as won the 100 and 200, finished second in the shot put despite rarely practicing, and anchored the winning 4x100 relay team as the Wolves won the state title for the seventh straight year.
Westbrook dominated the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 11.42 and 24.15 seconds, respectively, and also cruised down the straightaway in the relay without any competition. Her 100-meter dash was the third-fastest in state history and she still has two more years left of high school.
"When I heard the crowd go wild, I knew I had done something really good," she said.
The other team champions were Chandler (Division I boys), Tucson Salpointe Catholic (DII boys and girls),
Higley (Gilbert) (DIII boys),
Mingus (Cottonwood) (DIII girls), Chandler Valley Christian (DIV boys) and Tucson Pusch Ridge (DIV girls).
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothills News staff writer, is a 15-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.
