Coyotes sprinters surprise at Arizona Division II meet

By Richard Smith
Mail |
X: @rsmithYWV

Division II boys state track results this May showed the folly of projecting a year ahead, although the Westside still was in the front.

The top three finishers in the 100 meters in 2024 were West Valley juniors, as were the top two in the 200 meters — plus a West Valley sophomore in third. Desert Edge dominated the 4x100-meter relay, followed by Canyon View, Centennial and Millennium.

Even with 100 meter champ Jamar Beal-Goines enrolling early for football at Texas A&M this spring, the Scorpions looked poised to dominate again before injuries. Instead, Centennial stood tall with senior Jacoby Lamar winning the 100, placing second in the 200 and anchoring the Coyotes’ winning 4x100 relay.

“Brayden (Long) starting out with an 11.5 his freshman year and Jacoby starting out with an 11.37 were nothing that makes anybody in the state go, ‘Yeah, one of these guys are going to run a 10.5 or a 10.7, Centennial track Coach Steve Ybarra said. “They just kept improving. Landien (Long) is the same, he just started his sophomore year and ran an 11.7.”

Lamar entered the State Track Championship May 16-17 at Mesa Community College with the second fastest time behind Phoenix South Mountain senior De’Mar Coleman.

The relay team enters with the sixth fastest time behind Gilbert Highland, Gilbert Williams Field, Tucson Mica Mountain, Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge and Millennium.

“When we see guys running good up front that’s usually a good sign for us because we’re still elevating and still climbing,” sprints coach Clavaughn Moorer said. “It wasn’t a shock that Jacoby could do what he did and Brayden could do what he did. We had great chemistry from day one.”

Lamar and Brayden Long missed half of the 2024 season with ankle injuries, Ybarra said.

If the Coyotes sprinters were a mystery, the surprise factor ended with a first place finish in the secondary relay race March 22 at the Chandler Rotary Invitational.

The team’s time of 41.74 would have placed it fourth in the elite meet later that day.

“We had a lot of mistakes but we still went out there and won our heat. After that, we knew we could win it if we got the chemistry down,” senior Landien Long said. “I feel like no one can beat us individually, so once we get the chemistry down 100% nobody can beat us.”

Centennial’s order solidified with Brayden Long first, Landien Long (not related) second, freshman Isaiah Newsome third and Lamar running the anchor leg.

With experience, the relay posted its best time of 41.65 to win the Peoria Unified School District title April 23.

“We do a thing called tap, tap, give. We tap the baton one, two and then press it in his hand on the third tap and make the person rip it,” Lamar said.

But the group had to deal with adversity the week of the state finals. Landien Long was injured before the division meet.

Sophomore Romeo Berryhill was in the middle of spring football practice and originally did not plan to attend the divisional meet.

“He was a huge gamer. We didn’t expect to need him, but when he came in, he gave it what we were looking for,” Moorer said.

Centennial’s time dropped a bit, but 41.99 was enough to comfortable win the Division II final over Laveen Betty Fairfax.

“My favorite moment was watching them win DII state, even though I couldn’t be a part of it. Having a coach like coach C-Mo to get us all prepared, even the alternates, gave Romeo the confidence,” Landien Long said.

Newsome said his favorite moment was that first big meet at Chandler, which gave the relay confidence it needed to reach expectations for the season. It is the first competitive relay he has been a part.

While this is new for Newsome, this season represented Lamar’s last chance. He admitted he was nervous going into the Division II finals.

Lamar won in 10.43, just squeaking by the 200 meter champ from 2024, Willow Canyon senior Tyreeq Jones, who finished in 10:44.

“I definitely felt like I could win when I ran a 10.5 at Sunrise,” Lamar said. “My teammates and my past teammates helped see it through. My mentality going into it was this is my fourth year and there’s no more chances. I had to really hone in on my skills and abilities to sprint to my fullest potential.”

Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Richard Smith can be reached at rsmith@iniusa.org. Follow him on Twitter at @RsmithYWV.

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.