Even before the season began, Sedona Red Rock High School track and field coach Harry Schneider knew that the Scorpions didn’t have the numbers to really compete for a state championship as a team. He did, however, expect a number of athletes to compete for individual state championships. That’s exactly how things played out.
Sedona’s top performing athletes on the season were at Perry High School on Friday, May 14, and Saturday, May 15, competing in the Division IV State Track and Field Meet. The Scorpions posted a number of strong finishes, including one state champion.
Junior Shota Yabuuchi led the way for SRRHS, firmly solidifying his status as one of the state’s best distance runners. In the 1,600 meter race, Yabuuchi’s time [4:31.58] was good enough for second place. He was even better in the 3,200 meter, where his time [9:43.75] not only set a school record, but won a state championship.
“It still feels unreal,” Yabuuchi said. “I wasn’t expecting to win state at all. After I won it, it didn’t feel like it was real.”
“I think I was able to run throughout the race pretty calm and smart,” he added. “I didn’t panic or go out crazy at the beginning. I managed to put myself in a good spot throughout the race and put myself in a good spot to outkick the kickers.”
While Yabuuchi was the top finisher on the Sedona team, there were plenty of other strong performances.
Senior Courtney Hansen notched two top 5 finishes at state. She was fourth in the discus [97-8] and fifth in the shot put [31-2]. Her teammate and fellow senior, Tory Ferguson, was 15th in the shot put [28-4.75] and 20th in the discus [74-1]. Sophomore Bella Williams was also a two-time finalist. She finished 10th in the pole vault [8-0] and 14th in the triple jump [29-9.5]. In the triple jump, her teammate, freshman Arabella Licher [30-4.75], was 10th.
A pair of Scorpions finished third in their events. In his final high school competition, senior Eric Schrader was third in the boys pole vault [12-6]. Junior Odin McGinness was also third in the boys javelin event [145-1], which was held the prior weekend. Freshman Leila Bradley, meanwhile, was 18th in the girls javelin event [74-3].
The Scorpions skill in the longer distances went beyond Yabuuchi.
Sophomore Jackie Palmer was fifth in the girls 800 meter race [2:28.90] while freshman Skyla Bird was 13th in the girls 3,200 [12:59.27].
And while depth was not a particular strength of Sedona’s, it did have enough to record a pair of eighth place finishes in relays. The quartet of senior Tiana Trujillo, freshman Nia Trujillo, freshman Arabella Licher and Palmer was eighth in the girls 4×400 relay [4:28.83]. Meanwhile, senior Francisco Bekele, Yabuuchi, junior Jack Pierce and sophomore Carlos Villegas were eighth [8:48.77] in the boys 4×800 event.
“I think the state meet for the team went pretty good — especially for the long distance kids,” Yabuuchi said. “There were many PRs throughout the races.”
