Derek Moskal is a ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Carl Hayden Community High School for AZPreps265.com

Early Saturday morning, the Carl Hayden Community High School Falcons took home a victory at the Juan Reyes Invitational at Cesar Chavez Park. The Falcons finished with 63 points followed by rival South Mountain High School, who finished with 71 points. 

The victory was largely due to four Falcon runners finishing within the top 15. Senior Benjamin Morfin led the way with a 3rd place finish and a time of 16:19. “Just looking at the trophy and looking at my medal, knowing how far we’ve come, it feels really good,” Morfin said.

In the final stretch of the race, Morfin was aching in pain as he held onto his right leg. Prior to Morfin’s junior year, he bruised his patella and ended up tearing it. He didn’t need surgery but the pain still resides in his knee. “I’m not going to let that small obstacle stop me  from running hard,” he said, “I think about my roots. I think about the jersey I’m wearing. And most importantly, I think about my grandfather.” 

Morfin’s grandfather has been a big inspiration to him and his running career. “Junior year, my grandfather told me that he wanted to see me run and that was big. For him to come out and see me run meant a lot to me.” Unfortunately, Morfin’s grandfather passed away two days before a race last spring. “I know that he’s looking down on me from above,” he said. 

Coach Gabriel Robles appreciates this passion for running as he prioritizes hard work over winning at this point in the season. The Falcons have now won their past two invitational meets, including the Ray Wherley Invite on Sept. 14. Robles does not find the results of these meets as important as how his team feels. “Winning the last two invitationals means very little because they are all practice meets compared to what happens at the state meet,” he said, “If we win, that’s great, and if we don’t, then we keep working. It’s not where you start in September, it’s where you end in November.” 

Robles said he knew his team would finish around the top three, but did not expect to win the whole thing. Along with his team exceeding expectations, senior Xavier Levario surpassed Robles’ expectations. “Xavier really did above and beyond. Normally he runs our number four, but today he was our number 3,” Robles said. 

Levario finished in 11th place with a time of 17:13. “Last year I didn’t do that great at this race, but this year I’m feeling so much better, and it makes me feel on top of the world,” Levario said.

“Last year I believe I went out too fast, and this year I did the exact same thing, but I just held it much better,” he said. At the Juan Reyes Invitational last year, Levario finished in 33rd place with a time of 18:56. “Each year you develop and it just grows on you after a while. You get used to everything around you,” he said. Levario aspires to continue to help the team win more medals and potentially earn a scholarship of his own. 

The Falcons now look forward to the Nike Desert Twilight XC Festival next Friday at the Grande Sports Complex.