Canyon View Annaleise Taylor Gatorade Track and Field Player of the Year
Annaleise Taylor knew she had to bet on herself. After her sophomore season at Goodyear Millennium, where she didn’t have a hurdles coach, Taylor decided to head 7 miles west and transfer to Waddell Canyon View. If she wanted a future in track and field, Taylor said something had to change.
The decision two years ago clearly marked a turning point in her career and put her on the path to becoming one of the state’s best hurdlers.
Taylor was named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year for girls track and field for the 2024 season. Taylor, who is transferring to Oregon, had a standout season, running the 300-meter hurdles in 41.09 seconds in the preliminaries of the AIA state championships, the second-fastest time in Arizona history, and winning the state title in 41.15.
With her time of 41.09, she is the fifth-best high school hurdler in the USA. She also achieved top 25 results nationwide in the 100 and 400 meter hurdles this spring.
She ran the 100-meter hurdles in 13.67 seconds, placing her just outside the top five in state history. Taylor played a key role in the Jaguars’ victory at the AIA Division II State Championships over Phoenix North Canyon, a track and field hotbed in Arizona. Canyon View finished third overall as a team at the AIA State Championships.
Not bad for a former cheerleader.
“Winning this award means a lot to me and I’m so grateful to be in this position,” Taylor said in a message to The Arizona Republic. “It really shows that all my hard work and dedication paid off. After making the transition, I knew I had to trust the process and know that things don’t just happen overnight. So I worked hard, trusted myself and my training while everything fell into place.”
Taylor was a member of the Republic’s 2024 All-Arizona track and field team.
Next year, Taylor will head to Oregon and follow in the footsteps of another recent honoree: Jadyn Mays, who shined at North Canyon and won in 2020. Mays just competed in the semifinals of the women’s 100 meters at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Qualifiers last week, where she ran 11.20 and finished 13th overall. Mays will have another opportunity to qualify for Team USA in the 200 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin June 27.
At Oregon, Taylor will shift her focus to the 400-meter hurdles, the distance run at the collegiate and Olympic levels. The plan is for her to also run the 100-meter hurdles at Oregon.
“It’s a confidence booster going to Oregon knowing that so many top athletes have won this award. It’s a huge validation to receive it,” Taylor said. “It’s motivation and drive to work hard in this new chapter of my athletics career. So thank you to everyone who supported me and contributed to my nomination and selection for this award.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter for The Arizona Republic, focusing primarily on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. For ideas for human interest stories and other news stories, contact Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@LSscribe.
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