Jaden Taylor is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Highland High School for AZPreps365.com

 

In the modern sports world, dynasties have occupied the minds of athletes, coaches and fans alike, driving passion for the sport and discussion. In Arizona, dynasties are strewn across the gridiron. From Chandler and Hamilton to Saguaro and Liberty, the top dogs in the state have had their time in the spotlight.

However, one growing and underrecognized dynasty in the Valley has been brewing at Highland High School. Following a sweep this past month at the state championships, the hawks’ boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams have combined to win five state championships in the last three seasons. The stretch marks the most combined Division I state titles in a three year stretch since the system began in 2010.

“If you were to tell me after COVID we'd be winning like this, I would have said you're crazy,” head coach David Montgomery said. “I'm just blown away by how good we've gotten.”

In a sport that requires such resilience, the rough conditions and needed endurance can turn a lot of people away. Characteristics of mental fortitude and ever-lasting lungs are a given for each runner, and for many, even a little bit of crazy.

 “You got to be nuts to go out there and want to put yourself through that kind of physical and emotional damage when you're running a 5k as fast as you can,” Highland athletic director Brandon Larson said.

No matter how insane the task, “Monty” as they call him has galvanized a group of nearly 90 students to be a part of the program. From 5 a.m. five-mile-long workouts throughout the summers, to hilly and hard clay courses, to meet days covered by the beaming hot sun, the conditions stand tough but still, the group remains.

“It's not just about one person and we’ve tried to make the last person as important as the first, and that's just what's worked and when we saw it on Saturday,” Montgomery said. “Kids realize they're running for each other. And obviously they're running for themselves, but they kind of run more for each other and they've got a bond kind of like a brother or a sister.”

In 26 seasons at Highland, Montgomery’s teams have combined to capture seven state titles and 23 top-three finishes at state. For Larson, who as a student at Highland watched coach Montgomery and the program grow, the consistent turnout each year is a testament to the longstanding culture of the program.

“It just shows you that people want to be a part of this program, whether they're running at the state meet or not, whether they're one of those top seven or not,” Larson said. “The way (Monty) approaches the sport, the way he approaches the people side of it, I think will allow those kids to run freer and not put that emphasis on winning.”

Although the winning and accolades have come pouring in as of late, it has never been the goal for the Hawks coaching staff but rather a biproduct of the work put in each day at practice.

“I know it's probably in their brains of the boys and girls, but we really don't talk about it,” Montgomery said. “We just tell them to buy into the process. The day in and day out via practice. Give us your best you got every day, and we'll deal with sickness, injury or anything else you're having trouble with.”

That philosophy has been one where winning and results are rarely discussed, yet personal growth and achievements are pushed. The style isn’t all new and is reminiscent of another coach in charge of a sports dynasty.

“Even John Wooden,’ he says ‘pep talks, all they do is give you peaks and valleys because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't,’” Montgomery said. “When the gun goes off there's not a lot of adjustments you can do.”

Building that mindset as the foundation amongst the entire program isn’t always easy but for senior boys runner Timothy Willford, it has helped renew confidence throughout the year.

“I think that helps us to be calm and collected,” Willford said. “(Coach Montgomery) just reminds us that we need to put our best and we've been putting our best in every weekend leading up to this. So, it's just the same thing and that's why we go out there and perform consistently.”

From the gridiron to the diamond or the hardwood, these philosophies have turned the direct attention away from the numbers and the stats but more towards the goal in helping the team.

“He's always been a great coach, but he's done a lot of work the last five years on really focusing on being transformational rather than transactional,” Larson said. “There's just not that emphasis on winning. It really is about being the best version of yourself you can be.”

One of the additions to help in this culture deep-dive has been assistant coach and girls coach Tara Hall. Hall, a former Division I cross country runner at the University of Utah, has helped build the culture at Highland while connecting to each of the students.

“I noticed the kids want is that connection and they want to feel like they're contributing to some capacity,” Hall said. “They want to know that you see them, (that) you're recognizing their effort and whether it's the first rounder or the last runner they want to be recognized, and so there's a lot of power in that.”

In recent years, Hall’s connection to the team has grown stronger with the addition of her daughter, Stella. Stella Hall, a junior, started running as early as fourth grade before beginning with the Highland program in middle school and into her high school years.

“We joked on that first day at practice and she’s like ‘are you going to keep coaching mom’ and then each year she asks that,” Tara Hall said. “You're proud of them every day. It’s half the battle to get them there every day at 5 a.m. and then the other half is them doing the work. It’s rewarding when they’re going to race an it's your own kid leading the way.”

For Stella Hall, although the balance between mom and coach is always in play, the connection made in practice has helped renew her love and passion for the sport.

"We're up together at 5 a.m. driving together and it's just been so fun making those memories together,” Stella Hall said. “When she's out there it's all coach, it's nothing personal to me. It's just pushing me like (she's) my coach.”

After making the state meet her freshman season, Stella Hall made it a goal to come back. The next year, the sophomore was a cornerstone to a team that placed six runners in the top ten before being just one second shy of an individual state championship as a junior. Despite not taking the top spot, Stella Hall expressed the joy of getting to that point with her team.

"That's probably the hardest I've ever really pushed myself as far as finishing like that,” Stella Hall said. “I was just so happy, and all these emotions are just going through my head. From the start to the end just being there for each other pushing each other, that was just something so rewarding.”

In the near twilight years of his career, the program that Montgomery has helped build from jump is at its highest point. For him, it’s all thanks to the kids there day in and day out.

“Obviously I’m getting to the end of my career and to see those kids do what they did, I’m just so thankful to be their coach,” Montgomery said. “The last few years, it has just been a lot of gratitude because these kids are going after it. There is never a morning I’m bummed out.”

As the new year looms, a once young core will begin to show as seasoned veterans, and for Stella Hall, there’s a lot to like for her senior year.

“Hopefully we can do it again,” Stella Hall said. “We think there'll be a few freshmen coming in from the junior high that are pretty good. I'm excited to see what next year will bring for us.”

As fitting as the program is toward the philosophies of great sports dynasties, John Wooden reminded his team every night of one thing: “Just get out there, and whatever you're doing — do it to the best of your ability.”

For Highland cross country, the philosophy stays the same. No matter the conditions, stay true to the team and do the best that one can do and the banners will come.