Symond Martin leads talented Runnin’ Devils

By Steven Law
Special to the Times

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For the last four years, Symond Martin has had his eyes on this cross-country season, and this season all eyes are on Symond Martin.

As Martin enters his senior year, he has one goal: be the fastest high school runner in Arizona. Anyone who has been following the sport knows he has a great chance to do it. Last year, Martin had a stunning season in both cross-country and track racking up multiple first-place finishes and breaking several long-standing records.

In cross-country, he took first place at the Peaks Invitational, the Canyon De Chelly Invitational, the Lake Powell Invitational, the Ojo Rojo Invitational, and the AIA State Sectional. He was runner-up at state, finishing just two seconds behind the winner. Martin led the cross-country team to its third straight state championship and the program’s 20th in history, making Page the third-winningest cross-country team in state history. Along the way, he was named to the First Team All-State and the 3A North Male Runner of the Year.

He followed up his sensational cross-country season with an equally great track season. At the Division IV State Championship (more than 40 schools competing) he took first in both the 3200M and 1600M. At the same Div. IV State Championship, Martin was part of the 4×800 relay team (along with Jaiden Jordan, Nyall Prather and Desmond Goldtooth) that broke the Page High School Record with a time of 7:58.81, smashing the old school record (set in 2018) by six seconds.

At the Open State Championship (comprised of the top 18 runners in every event regardless of school size) Martin placed second in the 3200M, and fifth in the 1600M. In the 3200M, Martin finished just half a second behind the winner. It was a very exciting race. Martin pushed himself hard the entire race, leading the pack. The runner who ended up taking first, stayed right behind Martin drafting off him, then outkicked in the final stretch.

“Symond took it out and tried to break everybody,” said head track coach Tim Martin. “He had a couple guys tuck in on him and ride his tail. It’s hard to win when someone’s drafting off you the entire race. The guy in front is doing five to 10 percent more work. The person drafting conserves energy, while the guy in front is pressing.”

Martin and the first-place finisher crossed the finish line with a 30 to 40 meter lead in front of the rest of the pack.

During the 2025 track season Martin also broke the Page High School record for the 3200M record with a time of 8:57.44.

One of Martin’s biggest accomplishments from last season was qualifying to compete in the Arcadia Invitational, the most prestigious track event for high school runners in the United States. Runnin’ Devils teammate Nyall Prather also qualified for Arcadia.

Other highlights from the 2025 season included head coach Tim Martin being named 3A Coach of the Year, and Symond Martin was named 3A Male Runner of the Year. In addition, Symond received the 2025 3A North Track & Field Male Athlete of the Year, and coach Martin received the 2025 3A North Coach of the Year.

Symond is considered one of the state’s top contenders for a state championship, but it’s not a given. He’ll face several other elite runners this year.

“The state has a lot of good runners,” said coach Martin.

During the summer, Symond could be found running the streets and trails of Page, sometimes alone, but oftentimes with his teammates. Over the summer the Runnin’ Devils also held their annual week-long summer camp at Navajo Lake. Coach Martin says it was their largest summer camp ever, with runners from Page, Chinle and even some from Phoenix and New Mexico. Most of the runners from Phoenix schools are the children of Page High Schools alums. Kids as young as fifth grade attended with camp. Twenty-five Page runners attended this year’s camp.

At the camp, the participants ran twice a day, and learn basic strengthening methods. Campers also competed in a 10K time trial race.

The camp included two college-aged former Runnin’ Devils. Jade Reid, Bowen Martin and Tanner Dugi helped facilitate the runs and other camp activities and had opportunities to mentor the next group coming up behind them. One of the most important goals of the camp is to build team bonding.

“It’s all about team bonding,” said coach Martin. “It’s really not about the running. It’s all about the team getting together and just hanging out. There were lots of fireside talks about mental edge and what it takes to be successful.”

Official team practice began Aug. 4, the first day of the new school year. The runners will take a break from summer training for a week before that.

The Runnin’ Devils are expected to have another big, record-breaking season. The entire varsity team is returning from last year, and they are adding to their ranks Max Martin (Symond’s younger brother) who was the number one ranked middle school runner in Arizona last year.

When coach Martin looks at the running times of his athletes he sees improvement over last year’s times, which is, of course, exactly what he wants to see.

“In theory, if they run around 36 or 37, that’s what usually wins,” said coach Martin. “Symond’s going to contend for a state title. He runs a 35, and the rest of the group runs at least a 37. We should be pretty solid. It’s going to be fun to see what they can do.”

Symond will be joined by several elite Runnin’ Devils. The returning varsity runners include Nyall Prather, Jaiden Jordan, Desmond Goldtooth, Bryden Bennett and Maximus Reid.

Prather, who will be a junior this year, also had a great running season in both cross-country and track last year and is expected to be right on Martin’s heels this year. He finished in the top 20 last year and his goal this year is to finish in the top 10.

In track he placed fourth in the 3200M and third in the 1600M at the state championships. He also competed in the Arcadia Invitational, the most prestigious race for high school runners where only the elite of the elite are invited to compete. He also won the morning session at the Chandler Invitational where he won the mile, setting a monster PR in the process. At the Open State Championship, he finished in the top 10, and PRd once again, in the mile.

Packed with talent, this year’s boys cross-country team has made a goal of winning the Runnin’ Devils’ 21st state championship; but they want to do more than that. They want to go down as one of the fastest groups of Runnin’ Devils in the history of the school.

“We are the favorites going into state, but our goal is a little bit higher this year,” said cross-country coach Jonathon Prather. “We have an incredibly powerful team coming in this season. Just to make the top eight or ten for our team is going to be difficult.”

If the Runnin’ Devils stay healthy and do what they need to do they will dominate, said coach Prather.

“The next question for us and for legacy is where are we going to be on the All-Time list,” said coach Prather. “And you determine that by the total time – at state – run by all five of your scoring runners and that’s how they determine the best teams in state history.”

Page’s cross-country team has lofty goals this season, but two other talent-packed schools will be gunning for them this year: Hamilton and Flagstaff. Hamilton, a 6A school, set the state record last year with a monster team filled with seniors. Flagstaff High, a 4A school, also has a packed roster of elite runners.

“Hamilton was great last year. They were the best and they got it done,” said coach Prather. “Hamilton and Flagstaff are going to be very tough. It seems to be a three-horse race for state supremacy: Hamilton, Flagstaff and Page.”

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