ERIC NEWMAN Sun Sports Editor
Flagstaff’s Lance Harris had a heck of a running year. The senior distance runner already has a team state championship in cross country — he led the Eagles runners and finished fourth individually — and called the moment one of the most emotional he’s had in athletics.
Now Harris is aiming for more success on the track in the spring. He’s already had some, too.
Last Friday he took first in the 3,200m race at the Ron Smith Classic in Phoenix, finishing with a time of 9:40.62 to beat the second-place finisher (9:44.40) by almost four seconds and out-pacing runners from some of Arizona’s top schools in Divisions I and II.
Now with just a few meets before the state championships in May, he is looking forward to what he can accomplish in the remainder of the spring.
“It’s definitely one of my most enjoyable seasons of my high school career so far. I have a bunch of guys that make it more enjoyable, too. After some difficulties in years past it’s nice to be having some success and getting good times, which gets my hopes up for the future,” Harris said.
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His running past goes all the way back to when he was age four or five, when he and his mother used to run together for fun. He took up competitive distance running in grade five.
“I took 19th in my first meet in fifth grade which made me feel like, ‘This is cool, I’m not bad at this,’ and I just kept doing it,” Harris said.
He continued all the way until his freshman year at Page High School. But, when his family moved to Flagstaff and he started running for the Eagles, he had some early difficulties.
Harris remembers, despite his training, that his times actually slowed in his sophomore year with the Eagles.
“I was adjusting to the elevation and the new training style and being in a different place, I had trouble with that. Then junior year I finally hit it off,” he said.
Even in what Harris called a down year, Flagstaff coach Matt Barquin saw the potential talent. As a sophomore, Harris was close to breaking two minutes on the 800-meter race, something rare at that age.
At the Nike Chandler Rotary in March, likely the most important meet in Arizona until the state championships, Harris finished the event with a time of 1:57.94. Barquin said that is around a half-second off from the Flagstaff school record.
“When he came here, I kind of knew that it would be a big deal. But it wasn’t until he actually got on the track that we saw there was a skillset right from the get-go,” Barquin said.
Barquin also said he is impressed by his senior’s progression.
“You see athletes that come in with expectations, and they put in all this work and sometimes burn themselves out. But with him it’s constant improvement,” Barquin said.
Harris has provided a consistent high score for the Eagles at events, as a dependable runner in the 800m, mile, and two-mile races. He prefers the 800m and mile, though, as he said he can show off his speed a bit more.
He has provided, as an aside, a lead-by-example mentality, showing what can be accomplished with dedication to the sport. Barquin said he uses the top athletes, such as Harris, to show teammates “where the bar is at.”
But the senior is not thinking about that, as much as he is focused on growing as an athlete.
“I just want to get faster,” he said. “I’ve been able to run how I want, and I hope to keep improving and try to get myself set for next year.”
Harris will attend Grand Canyon University in Phoenix following graduation. He is hoping to earn a spot on the Lopes track and field or cross country team.
He and the other Eagles distance runners will compete in the Scottsdale Distance Classic at Saguaro High School on Friday, while the other Flagstaff athletes will compete at the Mingus Invitational at Mingus Union High School on the same day.
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