Vote for the top 10 results from the Week 8 high school cross country competition.

Athletes are starting to hit the stretch of the season they’ve been preparing for since the summer, and it’s starting to show in the results as several of the state’s top runners set new personal bests in the eighth week of the season. There are now five athletes who have run 5,000 meters faster than 15:10, and Chandler Hamilton has assembled one of the best teams in state history.

Here are the best performances from Arizona’s top boys cross country team in Week 8. Vote in our poll below:

1. Zarian Rodriguez, Chandler Hamilton Jr.: Led a strong group of Hamilton runners at the Chandler City Championships, winning in 15:03.8. That’s the third fastest time in the state this season (by 0.05 seconds), putting Rodriguez closer to his goal of running under 15 minutes for 5,000 miles.
2. Chase Markunas, Hamilton Sr.: Was second at the Chandler City Championships just behind Rodriguez, running 15:04.9 to move into fourth place in the state.
3. Theo McDaid, Hamilton Sr.: Finished third at the Chandler City Championships, just behind Rodriguez and Markunas, running 15:07.4 to move up to fifth in the state.
4. Boston Walseth, Chandler Basha Sr.: Helped upset Hamilton’s lead group at the Chandler City Championships, running 15:11.7 to finish fourth and move up to sixth in the state. This is a new personal best for Walseth with a result of 28 seconds.
5. Josef Eaker, Chandler Prep, senior: He was one of the reasons Hamilton didn’t run the top time at the Chandler City Championships, running 15:25.7 to finish sixth. Iker had dropped below 16 minutes in the 5000 just once in his career before last weekend.
6. Max Bruns, Gilbert Arete Prep Sr.: Won the Eye of the Tiger at Marana with a personal best time of 15:28.4 to finish just outside the top 10 in the 5,000 state. For the first time in his life, Bruns ran faster than 16 minutes.
7. Jack Bradley, Gilbert Williams Field Jr.: Earned the first win of his cross-country career with a first-place finish at the East Valley XC Invite in 15:31.9. That’s two straight meets Bradley has played in the 15-minute range after not doing so before in high school.
8. Boston Shaffer, Queen Creek Casteel, Co.: He placed first as a junior at the Chandler City Championships, running 15:47.0 and finishing ninth. With a time of 15:47, Schaffer is now the fastest sophomore in the state.
9. Sam Besh-Stokes, Chandler College Preparatory Faculty in Arizona, Fr.: Ran 16:27.7 to finish 20th at the Chandler City Championships. He became the third freshman this season to record a sub-16:30 time, joining Gilbert Highland’s Brandon Delancey and Gilbert North American Leadership Academy’s Joshua Callister.
10. Uts Masayuptewa, Flagstaff, O.: Ran 16:43.6 to place 10th at the East Valley Invite, sixth best this season for the freshman.