Diné runner anchors Round Valley to runner-up finish in 4×800

MESA, Ariz. – Over the past few years, a strong group of middle-distance runners has emerged for the Round Valley 4×800 boys relay team.

In 2022 the Elks finished third at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division IV Championships.

Last year Round Valley took the Division V title behind two seniors and a pair of sophomores during the AIA’s realignment year.

That championship team, which was composed of then-seniors Kevin Flores and Dallon Walker and underclassmen Jonathan Madrid and Gabriel James – set the school record of 8:13.91 during the divisional championships.

Last Saturday the two remaining members – Madrid and James, both juniors – attempted to reset that mark with new running mates Ryan Rodriguez (sophomore) and Preston Myers (junior) during the Division V Championships at Red Mountain High School in Mesa.

The Elks were nearly five seconds off that mark as Round Valley finished second behind Arete Prep. The Gilbert, Arizona, private school won the race in 8:07.88 behind Derick Ruiz, Noah Wesson, John Bruns and Max Bruns. Round Valley came in a distant second at 8:18.90.

“If it weren’t for these guys, we wouldn’t have placed second,” said James, who is Diné with family roots in the Thoreau, New Mexico, area.

“I have to credit my coaches and my family, too,” he added. “They want nothing but the best for me, so they are the ones that keep pushing me.”

The Round Valley team came into the divisional meet with high hopes, having won last year’s meet. But Arete Prep had two runners complete their splits just over the two-minute mark while anchor Max Bruns ran a sizzling 1:57.14.

On average, each Elk runner posted a 2:04 over 800 meters under the hot desert sun.

“We set a standard last year, and so we were expected to do really well here,” said Madrid, who helped set the school record last year. “We all had a job to do, and I think we gave it all we could.

“I mean, we did this as a group,” he added. “We’re all coming back next year, so we’ll have another shot of getting the school record again.”

Rodriguez opened the race by running his split in 2:04.37 in a crowded field.

“This was a good race, but I felt like I could have ran faster,” Rodriguez said.

By the time Rodriguez handed the baton to Myers, Round Valley was sitting third behind Gilbert Classical Academy and North Phoenix Prep.

In his leg Myers overtook the two runners from those schools as the Elks were the first team to swap the baton on the second exchange.

“I just wanted to get out of the pack,” Myers said of his split time of 2:04.58. “I wanted to give Jonathan and Gabriel something to work with, rather than trying to get around the other guys.

“But after that first lap, I felt kind of dead,” he added.

Madrid, who ran the third leg, completed his split in 2:05.53 as Round Valley dropped to second on the final exchange behind Arete Prep.

By that time the Gilbert-based school had gained a four-second advantage over Round Valley. That margin was stretched to 11 seconds as James finished his leg in 2:04.40 while Arete Prep’s Max Bruns ran a sub-2-minute split.

“That was brutal,” James said. “This race is a lot closer to a sprint because you have to maintain a faster pace compared to running the mile or two-mile race.”

In the open 800 James placed third, almost two hours after the sun had set in the Arizona desert. The Round Valley junior completed the two-lap race in 1:58.80, which was 5.6 seconds faster than his earlier race Saturday.

James finished behind event winner Jonah Pearson (1:56.91) of North Phoenix and Gilbert Classic’s Sotiris Katsanos (1:57.87).

“That is the one thing I wanted to do,” James said of making a podium appearance. “I didn’t quite make it in the 1600, so I wanted to make it in the 800.”

On Friday James placed fifth in the one-mile race, clocking in a 4:30.76 effort.

“I had run two hard races before the 1600, so I wasn’t feeling it,” James said.

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