Flagstaff harrier Taylor Biggambler wins first state crown
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Flagstaff senior Taylor Biggambler nears the finish line during the AIA Division II girls state cross country race on Saturday morning at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix. Biggambler won her first cross country crown as she crossed the finish line in 18:44.8.
PHOENIX
“Finally!”
That was the message coming from the family of Taylor Biggambler after the Flagstaff senior captured her first individual state crown, winning the Division II title on Saturday morning at the Arizona Interscholastic Association state cross country meet.
“It’s really emotional that I got to win it today, especially with it being my senior year,” said Biggambler, who placed second her junior year and third her freshman season. “This is really special for me.”
The four-year Flagstaff varsity runner covered the state meet course in 18:44.8 at the Cave Creek Golf Course in north Phoenix. She won this year’s race by a large margin with state runner-up Sorella Natale of Tucson Ironwood Ridge finishing 40 seconds back at 19:23.4.
“Coming into this race, it was just fixing my mental game and just trying to gain that confidence,” Biggambler said.
That confidence building took some time as the Diné runner worked on that concept after last year’s state cross country meet. She continued to refine her mental outlook through last spring’s track season when she earned two state medals.
“It didn’t happen overnight,” Biggambler said of her confidence building. “It took like a whole year, and it definitely worked in my (junior) track season. I had really good confidence coming into this season and today’s win reflected off of that.”
Longtime Flagstaff coach Trina Painter expressed pride and happiness in Biggambler’s first state crown. She acknowledged her pupil’s dedication to the sport and her willingness to go after her dreams.
“Taylor’s had her eye on the title from her freshman year, and she’s gotten close many times, but this was her year,” Painter said. “She has trained really hard for four years, especially this summer. She came in more focused than I’ve ever seen her. And so that girl worked her tail off and deserved that win. I’m very proud and very happy for her.”
Led by Biggambler, the Flagstaff girls took home the state runner-up trophy behind state champ Ironwood Ridge. The Lady Eagles finished with 84 points, and they were also paced by the third-place finish from sophomore Kylyn Taylor, the 14th place showing from sophomore Rylan Swain, the 23rd effort from junior Naomi Ketter and the 53rd finish from senior Ryleigh Alex.
Ironwood Ridge won the state title with 45 points as the Nighthawks had all their scoring members in the top 16 headed by Natale. The Tucson high school also received a 9-10 finish from Sophia Simmons and Kylie Lederhos and a 12th- and 16th-place showing from Catelyn Parise and Kelsey Konishi.
“We were hoping to get for first but knowing that Ironwood Ridge had a really good team this year they deserved it,” Biggambler said. “They’re amazing girls. We’re just proud that we got second.”
As for her future, the Flagstaff harrier is exploring her options and she has yet to decide on where she’s going to run at the collegiate level.
“I do have a few offers right now,” Biggambler said. “It’s just Arizona schools right now and I’m deciding on where I want to commit. I’m not really making it public right now.”
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