The 2013 season was a good one for the high school track squad with 19 athletes going on to compete in the state meet and three school records being broken.

This season began in Paradise Valley for the Falcons at a special relay meet that saw the Falcons going toe to toe with some of the best schools in the state.

The caliber of competition this season was high throughout with the local squad taking part in a handful of massive meets featuring more than 20 teams from every division.

And, despite taking on teams from bigger schools with much bigger rosters, the team from Fountain Hills continued to do well with quite a few standouts rising to the top.

According to head coach Chris Davis, one of the biggest highlights from the season was the girls’ performances at the state event just a couple of weeks ago.

“Our boys did well, but the girls were right there in the mix with a seventh place finish,” Davis said.

“Most of the lower placings were within just a handful of points from each other, too, so there was a good spread and a close finish against some much bigger schools.

“We ran against top schools with a bigger population of athletes and we did well. We were able to compete.”

Davis knew from the outset that the Falcons would be a young team this season. With only a handful of seniors on either the boys or girls squads, he said he was pleasantly surprised with how well his teams performed.

“Overall, we had a very strong nucleus,” Davis added.

“I think the best part is that they were so young and they’ll be returning for the next year, or two, or three.”

Davis said that working with a young team like this year’s Falcons track squad is like “building an empire of athletes,” one that he looks forward to watching grow even stronger in the next few years.

“I have to thank my assistant coaches for that, too,” Davis added.

“I appreciate the time they’ve put into these athletes. We were so successful this year because of them. It was a great achievement.”

Davis said the Falcon roster was a strong one this season, another team aspect he was quite proud of.

“I didn’t really see any quitters out there,” he said.

“They went beyond what they thought was their capabilities a number of times. That’s something I really enjoyed seeing.”

As for leadership, Davis said that the dynamics of his team were pretty different this season.

“As a whole, they were all leaders because they were so in sync with one another,” he said.

“You couldn’t say ‘this one did a better job than this one.’ They were all equal in that regard. They performed as a team and were a community both on the track and off the track.

“Track is an individual sport, but they all still stuck together.”

Davis said he hopes the team can maintain that camaraderie moving forward and said that, if they do, he expects the team to have an outstanding future laid out before it.

“I’m hoping to see them come back better and stronger than ever,” Davis added.

“What I really got a kick out of was seeing the kids smiling and being cheerful after they had performed, because they knew they had done their best. That’s all you can ask for.”

With 2014 on the horizon, the Falcons now have a few new school records to shoot for, courtesy of some of this year’s top athletes.

Sierra Jarriel broke the school record in the 3200 at 11:32.89 while teammate Brooke Yost broke the record in the triple jump at 32’11.50”.

Finally, the girls’ 4x800 team came in with a new school record. Leah Carillo, Madie Blaes, Brooke Yost and Sierra Jarriel worked together to cross the line at 9:51.11 this past season.