Desert Vista Girls Cross Country

On Saturday Nov 15th, 2025, the Desert Vista Girls Cross Country team took second place at the 2025 Arizona State D1 Cross Country Championship. Senior Co-Captain Izzy Villarreal led DVCC with a 4th-place finish overall, crossing the line in 18:48. She was followed by sophomore Kendyl Taylor in 19th (19:45), senior Co-Captain Lydia Leeman in 21st (19:48), and sophomore Jocelyn Prather in 51st (20:58). Sophomore Bailey Orr completed the scoring in 60th (21:16). Also competing were sophomore Peyton Stark in 67th (21:25) and junior Laniya Begody in 95th (22:03).

On Wednesday November 6th, the DVCC girls returned to Crossroads Park in Gilbert for the Division-1/Southeast Sectional Meet and posted a 1st-place finish, with all scoring runners finishing in the top-20. The Thunder were led by senior co-Captain Izzy Villarreal in 3rd place overall with a time of 18:45. She was followed by sophomore Kendyl Taylor in 7th (19:24), senior co-Captain Lydia Leeman in 10th (19:54), and sophomores  Jocelyn Prather in 15th (20:34) and Bailey Orr, who completed the scoring in 20th (20:49). Also competing were sophomore Peyton Stark in 37th (21:55) and junior Laniya Begody in 42nd (22:33). With this result, DVCC qualifies for the Arizona State Championship Meet on November 15th.

On Thursday, October 30th, the Thunder Girls paid a visit to Cottonwood, AZ to compete in the Verde Valley Invitational, held at Riverfront Park. In the Junior Varsity Race, the Thunder took first place overall, led by freshman Samantha Botzler, who won the race with a time of 21:49. Desert Vista swept the top five places to win the Varsity Race, with senior Co-Captain Izzy Villarreal taking medalist honors with a time of 19:25.

The DVCC Girls travelled west to Cesar Chavez Park in Laveen on October 4th to compete in the 7th annual Juan Reyes Invitational. The Varsity placed third overall, led by sophomore Peyton Stark in 6th (21:29). The JV squad won the Large Schools Open race, led by senior Bella Collins in second place overall with a time of 24:32. Nicolette Margaron in 18th (23:48). In the Freshmen race, the Thunder were led by Evelyn Shearer, who finished in third place overall with a time of 25:42.

The DVCC Thunder Girls raced in the 18th-annual Desert Twilight Festival in East Mesa on the evening of September 26th. Sophomore Kendyl Taylor placed 36th overall in the top-billed Sweepstakes race with a time of (18:48.1) to lead the Thunder Varsity to an 11th-place finish. The Junior Varsity posted a 16th-place finish in the (combined) Large School Open race, with Kaelyn Albrechtsen leading the way in 65th place (23:43). Samantha Botzler led the DVCC Freshman to a second-place finish, placing 10th overall with a time of 22:26.

The DVCC Girls traveled to Southern California on Saturday, September 20th for the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, a huge meet that draws the Best of the West. In the Seniors/Juniors Race, DVCC turned in fifth-place finish, led by Co-Captain Izzy Villarreal who took medalist honors with a time of 18:24. In the Sophomores Race, the Thunder took second place, led by Kendyl Taylor, who won the race with a time of 18:03. In the Freshmen Race, the Thunder grabbed 6th overall, led by Samantha Botzler in 27th place with a time of 21:17.

On Saturday, September 13th, the DVCC Girls made the short trip up I-17 to Anthem to compete in the Boulder Creek Invitational. The DVCC Varsity squad raced to a 1st-place finish in the Varsity Race, led by sophomore Kendyl Taylor, who took medalist honors with a time of 18:49. Senior Bella Collins took second place overall (24:22) to lead the Thunder JV to a first-place finish in the Open race. The Thunder completed their sweep of the days events by winning the Freshmen Race, with Samantha Botzler taking first place overall with a time of 21:46.

The DVCC Girls travelled to Freestone Park in Gilbert, AZ on Friday morning September 5th to compete in the Western Equinox Cross Country Festival. In the Championship race, the Thunder were led to a 5th-place finish by sophomore Kendyl Taylor, whose time of 19:16 was good for 10th place overall. In the Open Race, DVCC captured 11th-place overall, led by junior Laniya Begody who placed 5th with a time of 22:19. The Thunder took fourth place the Freshmen race, led by Gianna Johnson, who placed 12th overall with a time of 23:01.

On Saturday morning August 30th, the DVCC Girls kicked off their 2025 season at the 31st Annual Chandler Invitational. In the series of class-based races, the DVCC Seniors were led to an 2nd-place finish by Team Co-Captain Lydia Leeman, who placed 6th with a time of 20:10. DVCC took 12th in the Juniors race, led by Laniya Begody in 29th (22:41). The Thunder grabbed second place in the Sophomore Race, led by Kendyl Taylor in 4th (19:49). Samantha Botzler finished 12th with a time of 22:40 to lead the DVCC Girls to a fourth-place finish in the Freshman Race.

Congratulations to the DVCC Captains for 2025:

• Lydia Leeman
• Izzy Villarreal

On Saturday Nov 2nd, 2024, the Desert Vista Girls Cross Country team took ninth place at the 2024 Arizona State D1 Cross Country Championship. Freshman Kendyl Taylor led DVCC with a 40th-place finish overall, crossing the line in 20:29. She was followed by junior Lydia Leeman in 45th (20:36), freshman Bailey Orr in 57th (20:54), and freshman Jocelyn Prather in 74th (21:23). Sophomore Laniya Begody completed the scoring in 80th (21:29). Also competing were junior Izzy Villarreal in 124th (23:24) and senior co-captain Dana Pivin (DNF). Read more...