Behind impressive anchor from Williams, Grandview caps strong night in relays for Colorado programs; Chandler, Legend, Long Beach Jordan and Valor Christian also victorious

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Grandview CO has demonstrated quite an impressive run in recent years in the girls 800-meter sprint medley relay and the Wolves added another achievement to their growing resume Friday at the 79th NIKE Chandler Rotary Invitational.

Avery Harr, Melody Nwagwu, Kameryn Brown and Lily Williams prevailed in 1 minute, 48.98 seconds for Grandview, which highlighted a strong night of performances by Colorado relays at Austin Field in Chandler, Ariz.

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST | RACE VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS

Williams and Nwagwu were members of Grandview’s relay that ran 1:42.89, the second-fastest time in Colorado history, at last year’s 5A state final, with Denver East setting the state record by winning in 1:42.62.

Those performances trailed only the 1:42.53 produced last season by Nansemond River VA to win the New Balance Nationals Outdoor title in June.

Williams and Brown were also members of Grandview’s 5A state championship quartet that ran 1:46.57 in 2017.

With Long Beach Jordan CA (1:52.18) applying the pressure Friday on Grandview during the first three legs, the Wolves relied on the experience of Williams, who produced a 55.1-second final 400 to secure the victory in the second-fastest time by a Colorado team this season and the No. 11 mark nationally.

Valor Christian swept both 4x200 relays and Legend prevailed in the boys distance medley relay to add to Colorado’s success on the meet’s opening night.

Gavin Sawchuk, Max House, Jack Ranson and Dane Palazzo ran 1:28.80 for the Valor Christian boys, with Sadie McMullen, Destiny Grimes, Reese Dragovich and Camille Peisner clocking 1:41.89 in the girls race for the Eagles.

Ryan Johnson, Jace Owen, Nolan Getchell and Jadon Bennick secured the boys DMR win for Legend in 10:57.06.

Long Beach Jordan’s Deshone Harris, Roberto Collins, Nehemiah Condon and Andrew Gallardo won the boys 800 sprint medley in 1:38.75.

Meet host Chandler earned a victory in the girls distance medley, with Ava Potts, Daniela Montufar, Sarah Plant and Brooke Eversden joining forces to triumph in 13:17.34.

In the final section of the open 3,200 meters, Desert Vista AZ senior Lee Nasewytewa controlled the boys race throughout, winning in 9:32.13.

Salpointe Catholic AZ sophomore Alexis Lambert continued her impressive progress, winning the last section of the open girls 3,200 in 11:58.72, one week after running 12:37.22 and less than a month after clocking 13:10 in her first career race at the distance.