By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

MESA — Both of the team champions from this year’s AIA State Track & Field Championships Open meet were from Chandler Unified schools.

The Chandler High School Wolves dominated girls events at the May 16-17 meet, easily winning the team crown with 74 points. North Canyon was a distant runner-up with 47 points.

The Basha Bears boys team edged Red Mountain for first place in team points, 38-37.

Both CUSD programs historically have several strong sprinters and jumpers, and 2025 was no exception. Chandler High senior Sniyah Cade won the girls 100 and 200 meters, was seventh in the long jump and helped the 4-by-100 meter relay team win.

Junior standout Imani Galera-Young also made contributions for CHS, winning the 300 hurdles and serving on the 4-by-100 and fourth-place 4-by-400 teams.

Chandler High might have dominated even more had Galera-Young not false-started in the prelims of the 100 hurdles.

Senior Donice Ezealah placed fourth in the 100 hurdles for the Wolves. She was also fifth in the 300 hurdles.

Arianna Curry was fourth in the 100 meters and fifth in the 200.

Sophomore Kyra Hogarth placed third in the pole vault with a leap of 12-feet, 3-inches.

Kya Kisler was sixth in the 100 meters for CHS.

For the Basha boys, standouts included Mason Aughe, Boston Walseth, Percy “Trey” Knox and the 4-by-400 relay.
Aughe won the discus with a top throw of 162-feet, 7-inches. He also placed fourth in the shotput.

Walseth placed third in the 3200 meters and was seventh in the 1600.

Basha coach Marcus Brunson said the Bears’ 4-by-100 relay almost failed to get out of the prelims, placing eighth among the nine finals qualifiers and only 0.19 seconds faster than the eliminated 10th-place team.

The following day, the relay of Tristan Sailer, Knox, Noah Roberts and Dominic Harris-Baker placed fifth in the 4-by-100 finals with a season-best time of 41.33 seconds.

Knox went on to place seventh in the 100 meters. While he only earned the Bears 2 team points with his finish, it was 2 points they’d need to win the team title.

The boys team title was in doubt until the final event, the 4-by-400 meter relay. That’s where the Basha team of Christian Walker, Sean Anthony, Lemuel “LJ” Williams and Kade Eubank was a close runner-up, with Eubank crossing the finish line less than a second behind his Buena counterpart.

Other Chandler Unified teams has strong showings at the all-classes Open meet. The Basha girls were the next-best CUSD team behind Chandler High, tying Highland for sixth with 32 points.

Senior Juliana Garcia led the way for the Basha girls. She won her first state overall title with a triumph in the discus, got fifth in the javelin with what Brunson said was a new PR of 124-5, and placed 10th in the shotput.

Brunson said Garcia is headed across the Valley to Grand Canyon University on a track scholarship.

Taylor Drewry, a two-time reigning state cross country champion, helped the 4-by-800 meter relay place second to a strong-finishing Canyon View squad with a new school-record time of 9 minutes, 13.84 seconds.

Brunson said Drewry was also qualified for the 1600 and the 3200 but injuries forced her to only be able to focus on the distance relay.

Kayla Lark was qualified for the 800 and 1600 meter and the 4-by-800 relay. Skipping the 800, she placed fifth in the 1600 with a new PR of 5:01.10.

Audrey O’Connor — the anchor of the 4-by-800 — also placed 10th in the 1600 with a new PR of 5:04.79 and was third in the 3200 with a new PR of 10:53.79.
Allie Pierson, the second leg of the 4-by-800, placed 13th in the girls 800 with a time of 2:18.22.

Paris Magee placed 10th in the long jump with a PR of 18-feet. Magee also anchored the 4-by-100 relay team that, while placing only 13th in the prelims, logged a new school-record time of 48.19.

Jenny Tan, Amy Tan and Sydney Powell also were on that relay, Brunson said.

The Hamilton boys placed fourth with 34 points. Their top performers were their first-place 4-by-800 relay, senior Theo McDaid’s fourth-place finish in the 3200 and Zachariah Stowe’s fourth-place triple jump.

Addison Kohlmeier of Hamilton and McKenna Brown of Arizona College Prep both claimed top-six placings in the girls pole vault.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.