In its infancy the Desert Twilight was just a way to beat the heat in Arizona with a friendlier starting time.

Understandable.

Cross country runners in Arizona, especially for the schools south of the Verde Valley, battle some brutal conditions even if most of the big meets are in the a.m. on a Saturday.

It means a wicked early alarm and putting the body through a rigorous test in temps approaching the 100s. Not exactly the best conditions, but there aren’t many other options.

At least there wasn’t until Carrie Hardt, then a runner at Queen Creek on her way to a career at Arizona State, made a suggestion to her mom.

That conversation led to Arizona hosting one of the premier events in the Southwest, if not the country, every September at Toka Sticks Golf Course in southeast Mesa.

It’s the 19th annual event and has become cross country’s version of Friday Night Lights.

“We had no clue what we were doing that first year; there were a lot of dark spots on the course,” said Ellie Hardt, the meet director. “We had 12, maybe 18 lights, and 12 teams. There was a huge learning curve.”

The learning curve had to happen fast because once word got out about a cross country meet held under the light on a Friday night – eliminating that early morning bus ride and the rising temperatures – the amount of teams wanting to participate grew exponentially.

Now there are about 45 light standards on the course, 25 races including middle school, community and a sweepstakes events, 270 teams and about 12,000 people in attendance when participants are included.

“There was a time where I thought about capping the amount of schools because I wanted to be respectful to the golf course and the space we take up,” Ellie Hardt said. “It’s been a great relationship. The people from Gila River have been amazing. They love the event and welcome the community to have this event on their golf course.”

The field brings in cross country programs from about 10 states from around the country including some on the East Coast. It is used as a Southwest qualifier for the Nike Cross Nationals.

Local schools have been coming for years and when Mike Scannell took over the Hamilton programs three years ago, he made sure the event was kept on the schedule.

“The level of competition is very high,” Scannell said. “It’s one of the most important races of the year and gives us an idea as to where we are at as we start preparing for the end of the season push.”

While Arizona will be represented by top teams like Highland girls and Flagstaff boys and individuals like Hamilton’s defending state champion Zarian Rodriguez, and Flagstaff’s Yohanes van Meerten, who finished 14th at Footlocker last year, there will be some national interest as well.

Niwot in Colorado is the three-time Twilight defending champion in the girls race, and is led by Addy Ritzenhein, who is the meet record holder and three-time champion.

The Desert Twilight brings nationally ranked teams like Niwot out of Colorado. (Photo submitted by Hardy family)

Flower Mound out of Texas is ranked No. 16 nationally and comes to the event for the first time.

On the boys side, the Flagstaff program is in line to be the top contender from Arizona with Niwot, which won Twilight last year along with a national title, is back and will be a top contender although top runner Rocco Culpepper is not expected to compete.

Eastwood from Texas is looking for a top three finish, while the top boy individual is Oliver Horton from Coronado, Colo., and he will challenge for the top spot after finishing third a year ago.

The event has come a long way, and even continued during the COVID years, and seemingly is getting better each year.

“It’s what we look forward to,” Queen Creek junior runner Elie Pacheco said. “Everyone focuses on Twilight because it is so different, and the competition is tougher than we will see at state.”