Sophomore Joel Gardner (Ironwood Ridge HS) took 19th place out of 61 competitors (all NCAA Division I runners) at the Dave Murray Invitational. He finished the 8K (4.97 miles) with a time of 25 minutes, 08.2 seconds. The Aztecs finished with a team score of 153. Photo by Raymond Suarez
Sophomore Joel Gardner (Ironwood Ridge HS) took 19th place out of 61 competitors (all NCAA Division I runners) at the Dave Murray Invitational. He finished the 8K (4.97 miles) with a time of 25 minutes, 08.2 seconds. The Aztecs finished with a team score of 153. Photo by Raymond Suarez
Posted: Sep 30, 2022

Joel Gardner finishes in the Top 20 at Dave Murray Invitational

The Pima Community College men's cross country team was part of the Dave Murray Invitational hosted by the University of Arizona on Friday held at the Tucson Country Club.

  • The Aztecs took sixth place out of six teams with a total of 153 points.
  • Sophomore Joel Gardner (Ironwood Ridge HS) was the top Pima finisher in the 8K race (4.97 miles) as he took 19th place out of 61 runners with a time of 25 minutes, 08.2 seconds.
  • Freshman Abraham Valenzuela (Palo Verde HS) closed out the race in 24th place with a time of 25:37.5. Fellow freshman Justin VanDeberg (Gila Ridge HS) crossed the finish line in 42nd place at 26:54.7.
  • Freshmen Russell Bauer-Woodman (Marana HS) and Donny Speas rounded out Pima's team score. Bauer-Woodman finished 47th with a time of 27:14.4 and Speas was 49th at 27:31.1.

The Aztecs will compete at the ACCAC Conference/NJCAA Region I Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Central Arizona College in Coolidge, AZ. The race is tentatively scheduled for 9:00 a.m.

See complete results of the Dave Murray Invitational on Direct Athletics