For an 800-meter guy, David Graham transformed into a fine cross country runner.
The light came on for Graham late in his junior year when the Highland standout ran a personal best of 1 minute, 54.05 seconds in the 800 at the Meet of Champions in late May.
"Since I saw I could run that, I thought if I could do really well in cross country, it would carry over into the track season," Graham said. "I wanted to work harder."
So he did. Graham's work ethic, leadership and confidence transformed the Highland team from a perennial contender to Division I champion, the first state cross country title in school history, and those efforts are why Graham is the Tribune's Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
"After he ran that 1:54 last year, there seemed like there were some changes in his mental toughness and he started believing in himself," said Highland coach Dave Montgomery. "As a team they started believing in themselves and David added to that because he was running so well."
It's rare that one runner can transform the mental toughness of a team, but that is what Graham did for the Hawks this season. In 2010, the Hawks finished a distant-10th in the Division I state meet, with Graham's 39th place finish the best on the team. The top five runners from the 2010 state meet returned in 2011, with Graham, Logan Woolf, Peter Hanson, Alex Fabiano and Manuel Aguilar making up the core of the team.
With Graham leading the way, all of the Hawks rose to the occasion at the state meet. Graham had his best race of the year, placing third, and six of the Hawks' seven runners finished ahead of where Graham finished in 2010 (39th).
"When we started seeing we could compete, we came together and made a goal that we were going to do everything for each other," Graham said. "We said we were going to do it the whole time, but afterwards, when we did win, it was a big surprise."
The Hawks won by a whopping 37 points, which is a pretty large margin at the state meet. Graham, who was shooting for a top 10 finish, ran a strong tactical race, moving up through the pack after going out conservatively in the first mile, which turned out to be a winning formula for the Hawks.
"After we won the (Doug Conley Invitational), I told them that I thought we had a shot at this," Montgomery said. "But they were like, ‘We're going to win.' David was a big part of that because he's a great leader. His mental attitude is phenomenal. He had no doubts."
Graham is hoping that his strong cross country season carries over into track, where he has his eyes on setting a new state record in the 800 this spring. Desert Vista's John Kline holds the record at 1:51.3, but Graham wants to go faster.
"I want to run in the 1:49's," Graham said. "I want to be the best in the nation."
All-Tribune First Team
Name Yr. School Comment
Dallin Gherkins Sr. Mountain View Made big jump this season; placed 9th in Div. I
David Graham Sr. Highland Best runner on state's best team
Carter Macey Jr. Desert Vista Started to tap vast potential with 7th-place finish in Div. I
Luke May Jr. Coronado Was 10th in loaded Div. III field
Jose Retana Sr. Skyline Closed career on high note with 8th place finish in Div. I
Eduardo Roa Sr. McClintock One of the state's best as Div. II champion
Jake Wynn Jr. Saguaro First in long line of Wynn's to win individual state title
Runner of the year: David Graham, Highland
Coach of the year: Dave Montgomery, Highland: It was a long time coming for the Hawks coach, who after 25 seasons as a coach was able to hoist a state championship trophy of his own. Montgomery's teams have always been solid, but this year the Hawks had the kind of toughness that it takes to survive a tough season and come out on top.
All-Tribune Second Team
Name Yr. School Comment
Manuel Aguilar Sr. Highland Part of the Hawks' senior core; was 18th in Div. I
Ryan Dykstra Jr. Desert Vista Much was expected of Dykstra and he was solid; finishing 13th in Div. I
Ethan Homan Jr. Cactus Shadows Ran to a 4th-place finish in Div. II
Cooper Molumby Sr. Perry A nice surprise for the Pumas; had a 15th place finish in Div. I
Brandon Wheat Sr. Mountain View Finished season 10th in Div. I, right behind Gherkins
Jake Whitney Jr. Corona del Sol Mr. Consistency for the Aztecs was 16th in Div. I
Logan Woolf Jr. Highland His emergence behind Graham helped Hawks claim title
Honorable Mention
Apache Junction: Colton Cave, Sr.; Omar Ewert, So.
Brophy: Jack Rubenzer, Jr.; Brock Ghelfi, Sr.
Cactus Shadows: Keith Durkin, Fr.
Corona del Sol: Nate Rodriguez, Soph.
Desert Mountain: Matti Groll, Jr.
Desert Vista: Ryan Smith, Jr.
Gilbert Classical: Sawyer Kimball, So.
Hamilton: Marcus Wheeler, Fr.
Highland: Weston Jones, So.
Higley: Brennen Barfuss, So.
Horizon Honors: Galen Geislinger, Sr.
Marcos de Niza: Julio Felix, Sr.
Mesquite: Tyler Day, Fr.
Mountain View: R.J. Massey, Sr.
Perry: Patrick Hardwick, Sr.
Saguaro: Damian Mitchell, Sr.; Wil Gilbreath, Jr.
Tempe Prep: Caleb Peckham, Jr.
jdleslie1 posted at 1:19 pm on Wed, Dec 21, 2011.
Wow. Graham's a good runner and all, but Roa beat him head to head all three times they met and had a better time (albeit different divisions, though same course on same day) at state. And Roa actually is a state champion, whereas Graham finished third. So on what basis is Graham the better choice? That he had a better team around him? Poor Roa, in that case. Tribune fail.
fishpaste posted at 11:08 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
This was an egregious decision. I can't say I understand this choice at all. Jake Wynn had the best race at state out of all divisions, not to mention that he beat Graham at the two meets they physically raced head to head this season.
Here you can see the milesplit comparison.
http://az.milesplit.com/athletes/compare/879999+1033826
Prep_fan posted at 3:51 pm on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
Although this was a bad choice, it doesn’t approach the snubbing of Joel Huerta for Scottsdale football player-of-the year in 1997 as the worst injustice the Tribune has committed in a player/athlete of the year selection.
The choice comes down to the two runners referenced in the earlier comments, Jake Wynn and Eduardo Roa. Either one would have been a good pick, but the nod should have gone to Jake, for the following reasons:
1) Division 3 in boys cross country is far tougher than Division 2, on both the individual and team levels, so Jake winning that championship carries more weight than Eduardo winning D2.
2) Jake won the only head to head meeting between the two of them, at the Desert Twilight meet on September 30. Among Arizona runners in that race, he finished behind only Bernie Montoya of Cibola (clearly the best runner in the state), Tyler Stamp of Sabino (a setback Jack avenged at the state meet), and Ryan Silva of Rincon.
3) Jake had the best time run on the course at the state met, albeit in a different race than Montoya and the others.
A considered list of the top runners in the state, regardless of classification, would read: 1) Bernie Montoya 2) Jake Wynn 3) Tyler Stamp 4& 5) Very close between Ryan Silva and Eduardo Roa. David Graham might head up the second five but good as he is, he doesn’t rate higher than that. Perhaps the selection committee confused him with the golfer of the same name who won the 1979 PGA championship and 1981 US Open.