This year, Sahuaro’s track and field has gone above and beyond everyone’s expectations for how the season would go. Senior Nick Ponds said, “I thought it was a successful season. We had a lot of people make Divisionals and some make it to State.” With their speed, endurance, toughness, and teamwork, they were able to win many of their races for this year.

The throwers this year were especially strong athletes who became the only two from Sahuaro to compete at the State meet. Freshman Hailey Leota and junior Liz Ugwu both threw shotput and discus. Hailey said, “When I first found out that I was going to State it was an eye-opening experience. I knew that I had to work hard to place at the state…this season I made many new memories with the people on my team by celebrating our victories.” Liz has been a great asset to our team since her freshman year, but Hailey surprised everyone with her talent right from the start.

The long-distance team is also starting to ramp up. Last year, they competed with only two athletes, but their team was able to grow to over 16. Junior and distance leader Marley Gandee said, “This year was a great start for me, but I am super excited to get back next year and see how much I will improve and how far I will go.”

On the sprint side, the girls’ and guys’ 4×1 teams really stood out. They both improved greatly throughout the season and competed at Divisionals.

This year was exciting for the track and field team, as they became TUSD champions (men, women, and overall) – the girls won the Kiwanis Invitational, and many personal records were set. Watch out for next year, and go Cougars!