Tallman, also a junior, has no problem admitting that he did not jive with the sport of running when he was younger. He was a soccer player. Period. The only thing he needed running for was to get him in shape for soccer. Perhaps unfortunately for Tallman, he quickly realized that running liked him more than he liked it. “I honestly hated running, but Logan loved it and he en- couraged me to do cross country (in middle school) be- cause it would make be better at soccer,” Tallman said. “When we got to high school, it was so much more fun be- cause it wasn’t just me and Logan running together, it was a bunch of people. We started racing and it was actually really fun.” The freshman year of Bleich and Tallman began this la- test Renaissance period for Gilbert cross country. They led
the Tigers throughout the campaign, highlighted by an eighth-place finish for Bleich and a ninth-place result for Tallman at state. Squiers made the podium as well in 12th, as they powered Gilbert to somewhat of an upset over Pella in the team standings. A year later, it wasn’t considered an upset when the same trio guided Gilbert to an unbeaten season and caped it by scoring a paltry 33 points at state to win by 35 points over runner-up Des Moines Christian. And just like that, the legend grew. • Headed down the back bike trail on the south side of Gil- bert, the pace picks up significantly for the trio as this morning run surges past three miles. The playful banter
FALL 2025 | GAME ON 7
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