Fountain Hills High School sent seven athletes to the cross country state championship last Saturday, Nov. 12. The girls team placed ahead of two other teams, and both Tyler Irvine-Violet and Erin Hooley improved their times from last year’s state championship.

Irvine-Violette finished 101st (18:50.6), and Zion Atwood finished 138th out of 210 racers (19:20.9). Both seniors ran their last race on cross country, and while they will be around for track in the spring, they will leave a big hole to fill on the boys team.

The girls team went to the state meet for the first time since 2016, and juniors Hooley and Skye Alker each placed in the top 50. Alker finished first for the Falcons in 29th place (21:33.9), and Hooley placed 37th (21:50.1).

The Falcons had two new faces that allowed them to score as a team when fully healthy. Sophomore Racine Homyak finished 122nd (24:09.8), and freshman Alli Guerrette placed 131st (24:30.8). They were the only Falcons to set new personal records at state.

“We went out there and raced well,” head coach Kevin Clancy said. “I mean, it was a tough course, so when they were running times that were anywhere close to what they'd ran previously, or even, in the case of Alli and Racine, they PR’d and that was a big time performance. They responded to the atmosphere of the state meet really well.”

Alker and Hooley carried the team most of the year, and Homyak and Guerrette were great additions that improved dramatically throughout the season. However, it was a team effort, and it took five athletes to score as a team.

Junior Eliana Bartman finished last for the Falcons in 161st place (29:23.9). Bartman’s finish helped the Falcons finish 18th out of 20 teams, and her season record race at sectionals got the Falcons into state.

“She had a great race at section championships and she's one that just kept messaging and kept trying to figure like, ‘what do I need to do to help the team make state,” Clancy said. “She knew where she had to be if they did what they were supposed to do.”

The Falcons only had five girls to start with, and all five can return next year. Clancy said they couldn’t have an off day because they had no alternates, and he’s excited to see how much better they can be next season.

Clancy plans to spend more time and energy on offseason conditioning moving forward. On the bus ride home, he talked with his athletes about offseason conditioning, and said his preseason track conditioning will start the week after Thanksgiving.

“It feels like a lot of work, but when you get in season, you're starting off in your best shape,” Clancy said. “Then you're going from there rather than waiting until the end of the season to get in your best shape. The shape you're in now, for cross country, like for sectionals and state, imagine starting a season like that and then being able to drop time.”