Javier Perez

Gila Ridge junior

The lowdown:

Javier earned his spot on the all-region team in large part thanks to how he finished the season at districts and sectionals. At districts, he finished sixth in a personalbest time of 17:51. At sectionals, he posted the sixth-fastest time of any local runner (17:55) and finished in 33rd place, just missing out on qualifying for the Division II state meet.

Coach Caleb VanderBaan:

“Javier stepped up big time this year in his first year of cross country. His constant improvement and leadership helped fill some major gaps from last year.”