DIVISION III: CROSS COUNTRY

Saturday, Nov. 8

Phoenix Cave Creek Golf Course

Rio Rico senior Carlos Villarreal committed to run for the University of Arizona a couple of days ago and he celebrated that news by taking the individual title of the Division III race Saturday morning with a time of 15:24.

He was in a close race with Jeffrey Miller of Page (15:46) until the final hill. Tucson Sabino senior Sawyer Sprung (15:11) took third.

"I love Arizona," said Villarreal. "I was raised a Wildcat and now I am a Wildcat."

As far as racing with a team of champions including defending champion Oscar Amaya, Villarreal feels that made a difference.

"I get to train with my friend and champion everyday," added Villarreal. "Running with Oscar helps me a lot and I learned to lead from the front rather than having to kick at the end."

Rio Rico (87) took third place. Chinle (80) came in second and Page (44) won the boy's team championship.

On the girl's side, his teammate Allie Schadler put in a repeat performance to capture her second title. Only a sophomore, the standout has quite a few races left. She ran an 18:14, 31 seconds ahead of Chamique Dubois of Window Rock.

"I'm really tired," said Schadler. "I'm tired and very thankful for my win.  We ran a lot of difficult races this year and it helped me reach my goal and I'm looking forward to next year."

Page (65) swept the team races and Window Rock (66) took second with Chinle (102) taking third place.