Nick Scheske is a student journalist at the Walter Cronkite Schoool of Journalism at Arizona State University assigned to cover Desert Vista High School cross country.

479 boys from 41 different teams lined up at the starting line, ready to charge for three miles at the sound of the starting gun.

The 2019 Doug Conley Invitational took place on Saturday, Sept. 21. The starting temperature for the non-varsity boys race was, by Arizona standards, quite a cool 71 degrees.

The conditions in any race are always a concern. Bob Davis, a coach for Desert Visa, said that the footing would be a problem.

“This is cross country, so that’s what you expect,” Davis said.

A race official even warned the runners before the starting gun went off to be careful for the wet grass, which can be quite slick.

“I was worried about ankles for all athletes here,” said Jake Janas, a former Thunder runner and son of Thunder assistant coach Rich Janas.

Dean Wool was the top finisher for the Thunder, and he noted the conditions as well. “A lot of the times when you want to be on the inside, for the right turns, there was a tree stump sticking out," he said. "There were holes everywhere.”

Wool, a junior runner for Desert Vista, finished just outside the top 100, placing 103rd with a time of 19:49.

The non-varsity race was dominated by Highland High School. Brandon Ericson from Highland high won the race with a time of 17:05. But not only did the Hawks have the race champion. Gavin Nielsen, Ryan Lundgreen, Miles McLeskey and Kaden Gilliland placed second through fifth respectively — a complete one through five sweep of the race. The Hawks also had Brock Scott finish eighth.

Last year the Desert Vista boys took third place in the invitational race with a score of 142 points. This year however, the Desert Vista varsity boys could not compete in the Doug Conley Invite because they were in California competing in the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. Thus, Desert Vista only had runners competing in the non-varsity race.

“You can kind of say I’m the best of the worst,” Wool said. “All my fellow runners from my class are at Woodbridge right now. This is my official first race of the season, and I felt like I just had to go out there and prove that I could have gone to Woodbridge too.”

Janas was impressed with the team as whole. “I think they did great today, consistent results," he said. "Can’t ask for much more really.”

Still, it was Highland who reigned. After their incredible finish, Highland coach Monty Montgomery looked to the future. “That was a JV race you know, I’m losing a bunch of guys, this year, a bunch of seniors, so that’s the future," he said. “I’m excited, we’re going to be very competitive.” 

Montgomery believes that the various tree roots, sprinklers and other course hazards are part of what makes cross country the unique sport that it is.

“This is not track,” he said. “It’s not always about time. It’s where you place. That’s how you score in the sport.”

Desert Vista’s next meet is the Desert Twilight Cross Country Festival in Casa Grande, Arizona on Sept. 27.