Anthony Phelps is proud to take home a first-place medal from his final state meet in a Deer Valley track uniform.
But he’s not satisfied. Phelps posted a career-best time (38 seconds flat) to win the Division II 300-meter hurdles and needed every bit of that speed to hold off the surprising challenge of Tucson Sahuaro senior Anthony Burley (38.20).
A couple of weeks after winning the title May 7, though, Phelps still focused on hitting a hurdle and missing a chance at breaking the school record.
“The state meet didn’t go as well as I thought it would. So now I have to get back to my main forte,” Phelps said. “I felt like my race was going good until I hit the sixth hurdle. I was going for the school record. It was nice to have somebody to push me.”
Phelps ran cross country this year, largely to build endurance for the long hurdles and 4×400-meter relay.
He made a leap in his junior year, finishing fifth in the Division I 300 hurdles finals. Suddenly Phelps, who only took up track in his sophomore season, entered the spring as a state title favorite once the Skyhawks dropped to Division II.
Division I featured state champ Robert Grant of Phoenix Brophy Prep and 110-meter hurdles champ Tevin Mayfield of Tempe Corona del Sol.
On a day the Deer Valley boys team entered with title hopes and stumbled, finishing 15th in the team competition, Phelps was the lone Skyhawk to live up to his pre-meet clippings.
“Our boys’ team certainly had enough talent to win a state title and just didn’t show up at the state meet. For all the disappointments that happened during the state meet, for him to still to come out on top in the 300 shows a lot about his character,” Deer Valley track coach Eric Bolus said.
There’s one more opportunity at the school record. Phelps and several other Skyhawks will compete in the 39th Great Southwest Track and Field Classic June 5-7.
The invitational at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque brings together top high school track performers fron Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, as well as guests from several other Southern and Western states.
“He would have the school record if he hadn’t banged that hurdle. But he’s going to Great Southwest and he’ll have one more opportunity to get our record.”
Phelps said, while nothing is finalized, he’s likely to continue his track career at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.