Highland finishes 2nd, Liberty’s Dilworth runs sub-15 5k

Highland and coach Dave Montgomery are no strangers to success. The Hawks are aiming for their fourth consecutive Division I state championship in girl’s cross country later this fall.

But Friday night at Toka Sticks Golf Club in Mesa, at the Desert Twilight, was a whole different experience.

At one of the most competitive meets in Arizona and the nation, featuring 6,000 athletes from 15 states, Highland’s girls’ team finished second in the coveted Sweepstakes race with a score of 123 points, led by senior Cloe Baugh’s 15th-place finish. The only team that Highland lost to was Niwot (Colorado), which entered the night ranked No. 3 and featured one of the top prep runners in the United States, Addison Ritzenhein. Highland finished ahead of Cherry Creek (Colorado), a team that was above them in the DyeStat national rankings.

It is the best-ever finish at Desert Twilight for Highland, ranked No. 34 in the nation. The performance also puts the Hawks squarely into the conversation to receive a bid to Nike Cross Nationals, essentially a de facto national high school championship meet for cross country, in December. The last school from Arizona to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals was the storied Phoenix Desert Vista team in 2017.

Montgomery was a little surprised to see his team perform so well. The Hawks took last week off in preparation for Friday’s meet. The Hawks even did so without one of their top runners, Addy Frost. Montgomery is taking it all in stride.

“It’s a meet at a time. “It’s a day at a time,” Montgomery said. “I’m not one to talk about winning. They’re better than I thought they were going to be. I knew we were going to be good, but they’re really tough. I’m proud of them. We’re running really well, close. They’re feeding off each other.”

Montgomery recognized the significance of Highland’s performance and the implications it could carry down the road. Teams qualify by region for Nike Cross Nationals, and the Southwest region happens to be one of the fiercest with Colorado and Utah both included.

Desert Twilight showed Highland can compete with them.

“We’re ready,” Montgomery said. “We talked to them about Nike (Cross) Regionals after because I think if you come in the top four, you might get a free bid to Portland. Right now, we put it out there. Our girls are very academic, honors classes, they have a lot going on. But I think today showed them, ‘Hey. ‘We got a shot.’ “I’m excited to see what they want to do.”

Baugh ran the 5,000-meter course in a time of 18:24.6. Coming in closely behind her was junior Audra Huempfner in 17th at 18:25.9 with senior Stella Hall in 19th at 18:28.0. Junior Camryn Delancey was 46th in 19:10.9 while senior Charlotte Greer rounded out the top five for the Hawks in 58th at 19:32.9.

With Montgomery nearing the end of his career, there’s a little bit of added motivation within the team.

“It’s Coach Monty’s last year, so we’re trying to give him a good last year,” said Baugh.

Liberty’s Dilworth stands out

In the boy’s Sweepstakes race, Peoria Liberty senior Henry Dilworth continued his torrent start to the season by running 14:54.5 to come in sixth. Dilworth was the highest-placing Arizona athlete at the meet, but more importantly, he became the first runner to go under 15 minutes for the 5,000 since Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge’s Logan Marek did in 2022.

It is the seventh-fastest time ever in state history since 2000, according to MileSplit.

Afterward, a depleted Dilworth lay sprawled out on the ground, only getting up to receive his medal. It’s another box checked off on Dilworth’s list of objectives for 2024.

“I went into it thinking I’m going to come out of this race going under 15, regardless of what it takes. I’ll puke my guts out – and I did – if that’s what it takes to get it. Whatever it takes,” Dilworth said. “It’s really awesome. “It was one of my goals going into the season – I want to go under 15. And now that I’ve done it, it feels great.”

Now the focus is shifting to the championship part of the season.

A few regular season meets are left, but with the Arizona Interscholastic Association state championships moved up to the first week of November, the postseason is coming up quickly.

Liberty coach David Ostrus thinks his star runner, who has ambitions to make it as an individual to either Nike Cross Nationals or the Foot Locker National Championships, is right on track.

“He basically set his own individual goals and he’s hit every one of them,” Ostrus said. “It’s exciting as a coach to see it’s working. He’s doing what he needs to do. Hopefully, we’ll just try to keep him healthy and strong. And if we keep following that plan, the sky’s the limit. “I’m excited for the end of the season and where it leads him.”

Other notes

Flagstaff sophomore Yohanes Van Meerten, competing unattached as he sits out due to the AIA’s transfer rules, ran 15:00.7 to win the community race. That is the new sophomore state record. Van Meerten set the freshman state record last season at this same meet.
Tucson Catalina Foothills junior Katie McNulty built on her state lead by running 18:03.2 to finish eighth in the Sweepstakes race.
Chandler Hamilton boys team had a disappointing performance after last week’s impressive showing at the Woodbridge Classic in California. Hamilton ranked No. 22 in the nation, finished 10th in the team standings.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.