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WEST VALLEY PREPS

Thomas adds to Northwest Christian cross country trophies

Glendale Prep girls finish 2nd in Division IV again

Posted 11/16/22

One year after playing a crucial role in Northwest Christian winning the Division IV cross country team title, Glenn Thomas added one for himself.

The junior used his finishing kick to beat his three closest competitiors Nov. 12 at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix.

He knew he had …

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WEST VALLEY PREPS

Thomas adds to Northwest Christian cross country trophies

Glendale Prep girls finish 2nd in Division IV again

Posted

One year after playing a crucial role in Northwest Christian winning the Division IV cross country team title, Glenn Thomas added one for himself.

The junior used his finishing kick to beat his three closest competitiors Nov. 12 at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix. Thomas finished first in 16:17.7,  passing up Chandler Valley Christian freshman Jamison Ping, who finished with a 16:31.2.

Thomas said he ran his best race on the state course, after finishing seventh last year.

"I think I had a much better race this year. It was solid and I had the good competition up front, which was nice. I'm proud of it because it was fast," Thomas said.

He has one more race this season, Saturday at the NXR Southwest Regional Championships in Mesa. Thomas said he set a goal time in the 15:20 to 15:30 range for this meet.

Thomas said this year he knew he had the endurance, strength and fortitude to push through at the end.

"I knew it was going to be super hilly. Last year I wasn't really prepared for it. This year I worked on those hills and worked on the mental toughness. I knew I could attack it," Thomas said.

Then it's off to track season and Thomas will have more time to train for the distance events. He said he wrestled the past two winter seasons and is excited. to see how much faster he can get after a winter of preparation.

 Meanwhile, Glendale Prep placed second in the Division IV girls team race for the second straight year.

The Griffins had 74 points, behind only Phoenix Country Day, which had 50 points.

"We're led by a sophomore. That always helps when you have a young runner in the lead. She kind of pulls people along. Then 3, 4 and 5 are really close together so they can push each other and it keeps the team competitive," coach Eric Webdale said.

That sophomore, Taryn Janssen, improved in her second state final, finishing in fourth with a time of 19:43.9, just behind Valley Christian freshman Ellie Phillips in 19:43.1.

Unfortunately for all Division IV hopefuls, three-time Division I champion Lauren Ping transferred from Phoenix Desert Vista to Valley Christian. She dominated the Division IV final in 17:53.2.

"It's a little annoying that I got fourth barely. But the competition changes every year," Janssen said.

Janssen posted an improved time from her freshman year, only to drop to fourth from second thanks to the deeper field.

She learned from her 2021 finals on the hilly Cave Creek course.

"My strategy was to go out a little bit more conservative and try and run that second mile a little stronger," Janssen said.

A teammate joined her for most of the morning, as junior Anushka Kulkarni jumped all the way from 17th  in 21:53.5 last year to fifth in 20:00.1 Saturday.\"I've been more committed to the sport and I have more confidence. It's really amazing to see how far I've come since last year," Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni  said she is excited for the opportunity to win the team state title next year with a whole bunch of seniors.

Webdale shares those thoughts, with only one senior in the Griffins girls' top five this season.

"Anushka, our second girl, ran great. She was probably two minutes faster than last year on this course. She made exceptional strides this year," Webdale said. "Even Taryn was like 30 seconds faster this year. She finished second last year, runs 30 seconds faster and finished fourth. Go figure."