With the track and field season winding down and the state contenders beginning to truly emerge, Sedona Red Rock High School has some key athletes that are standing out amongst their peers at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division IV level.
In two recent meets, the Peoria Invitational on April 1 and the Blue Ridge Invitational on April 8, the Scorpions pulled off some terrific individual performances that put them up with some of the highest ranked athletes in Arizona.
At Blue Ridge, senior Odin McGinness delivered the best javelin throw achieved by any Division IV athlete this season. His throw of 155 feet and 9 inches edged out Camp Verde’s Kayden Boggess by 6 inches to make his way to the top of the state rankings this season. The two rivals will likely be competing for the javelin throw crown at the Division IV state meet in May.
Distance and middle-distance runner Jackie Palmer is making her name known for her 800 meters and 1600 performances in Peoria. In a field of 41 runners, the senior took the gold in the 1600 with a time of 5 minutes and 47.41 seconds, just defeating Northwest Christian’s Maddy Autry who finished at 5:48.38. Despite adding ten seconds to her time at Blue Ridge and finishing at 5:50.52, Palmer still took third in the event out of 31 competitors.
In the 800 at Peoria, she finished seventh at 2:39.65. At Blue Ridge she took third with a time of 2:33.16.
Palmer currently ranks in the top ten in Division IV in both events. She’s ninth in the state in the 1600 and eighth in the 800, leaving her as a contender to qualify for the state finals in both events.
A pair of Sedona girls are making a splash in the high flying events. Sophomore Arabella Licher took sixth in the high jump at Peoria at 4 feet and 7 inches. Her personal best for the season, an inch higher at 4-08, is good enough to put her at No. 11 in Division IV.
Junior Bella Williams took second at Peoria in the pole vault at 7 feet and 6 inches. She’s currently ranked No. 8 in state for that performance.
And, of course, distance standout senior Shota Yabuuchi is steadily climbing the leaderboards in his three events. The defending state champion in the 3200 hasn’t run that race quite as often this season, but took second in the event at Peoria with a time of 9:52, just a second behind Camp Verde’s Caleb Weaver.
At Blue Ridge, Yabuuchi swept his two races. He won the 800 with a time of 2:01 and the 1600 at a blazing 4:36, three seconds clear of the next-best runner. His 800 performance was the second-best time in Division IV this season, less than half a second slower than Valley Christian’s Jose Garcia at the Nike Chandler Rotary Invite.
The Scorpions have plenty of time to keep improving, and they’ll attempt to do so Saturday at the Sedona Invitational, the last home meet of the season for Sedona. Competition kicks off at 9 a.m. on the track of Sedona Red Rock Jr./High School.
