The Falcons wanted to go out on top, and several Fountain Hills High School track and field athletes did just that at their last regular season meet of the year. They participated in the Northeast Valley Championships last week, and some of them will go on to divisionals this Friday and Saturday, May 5-6.

The Falcons will send several athletes to the postseason, but some Falcons are done for the year. Seniors Space Kingphakorn and Brandon Despain each set new personal records (PR) by several feet in their final events, and they’ll have a happy final memory of high school track.

“I made a lot of my friends in track last year,” Kingphakorn said. “It’s fun, it’s a nice atmosphere…It might hit me a little harder later on, but right now, I think I’m just enjoying the PR.”

Kingphakorn was a new student to Fountain Hills last year, and the swim and track teams welcomed him. On Wednesday, April 26, the first day of the Northeast Valley Championships, he threw his second-best discus record, and then he set new records in both the long jump and triple jump on Friday, April 28.

Kingphakorn’s long jump record (16’11”) was over a full foot longer than his last attempt, and nearly two inches better than his previous best. In his last high school event, Kingphakorn jumped 36’4.25” in the triple jump, nearly two feet better than his previous best (34’9”).

Despain has been on the team for three years, and he threw a new record (37’4”) in shot put. He beat his previous best by nearly four feet (33’4.5”).

“We just normally give it all because we have nothing else to lose,” Despain said about the final meet. “This year helped a lot since we had a good throwing coach. From sophomore to junior year, I only went up four feet, and then from junior to senior year, I went up seven feet with no weight gain really. It was just great technique.”

Despain’s best throw last year was 28’10”, and he credits assistant coach Ed Tafoya for his improved technique. Freshman Jaysonn Thompson is also grateful to Tafoya for helping him improve his javelin toss from 75’10” in his first ever outing, to an 87’0” PR in one season.

“He helped me with lots of simple tips and tricks or small advice that has helped me throw 10 feet further and just kept me going throughout the entire season,” Thompson said.

Another freshman, Colby Wright, has been turning heads this year. Last week, he set new records by eight or more seconds in both the 1600m (5:02.22) and the 3200m (10:43.86).

“I think I did good at this meet particularly because it was the last meet and it motivated me more,” Wright said. “If this was my first meet, I probably wouldn’t have much motivation…When you’re going for state and it’s the last meet, you get more adrenaline running through your body. It feels like you have more energy.”

The relay teams took advantage and all six set new records last week. The Falcons moved up to top 16 rankings in both the boys 4x400m and 4x800m, and the girls 4x400m and 4x800m relays. It was the first time the girls ran a 4x800m relay (10:25.82), and they hold the No. 6 ranking in Division IV at the time of writing.

“I think just realizing the importance of the situation and practicing it so well through the year, from the technique of their hand offs to the speed they had to run in the relays,” Clancy said. “They just knew it had to be done. They came out and they executed. Every single person on every single relay executed to the best of their abilities.”

The official standings for divisional meets were sent to coaches after press time Tuesday, May 2. Clancy has a few athletes he thinks should be locked into divisional qualifications, and then the best times from all five divisional races will be used in the larger state meet on Friday and Saturday, May 12-13.

“Divisionals this year is what state has been for the past couple of years, where all Division IV schools are present at the meet,” Clancy said. “It’s phrased as the Division IV state championship because I think that’s what people are used to as a state championship. There’s a Division IV champion, and the state meet is all divisions.”

The track Division IV championships will take place at Red Mountain High School, and the state championships will be held at Mesa Community College.