Vote. Republic's All-time Arizona girls high school track athletes

• USA TODAY is spotlighting the top Arizona high school athletes as part of a series celebrating the 250 greatest American sports figures.
• The list highlights ten of the greatest girls' track and field athletes from Arizona high schools, including several who competed before Title IX.
• Many of these athletes, such as Kathy Gibbons and Lois Drinkwater, set world or national records and competed in the Olympics while still in high school.

Who is the all-time greatest girls track and field athlete from an Arizona high school?

This is sure to stir debate. But there is no doubting that this state produced some all-time high school and NCAA greats.

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports is celebrating the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network, which includes The Arizona Republic, will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states.

Throughout the next year, we will be showcasing lists of the top Arizona high school athletes who went on to define their sports and the state. In July, we will unveil our top overall athletes from Arizona. They were trailblazers and trendsetters who left an impact beyond state championships and statistics.

As part of this effort, we invite our readers to vote in polls that accompany the stories, or submit a name they think should be included if they don't see it on our list. Print readers can find the polls with the stories online at azcentral.com/sports/high-schools.

These are our picks for the top 10 high school girls track and field athletes who helped define Arizona.

1. Kathy Gibbons, Phoenix Alhambra, distance, 1972

A pre-Title IX athlete, Gibbons didn’t even have a team to compete for. That didn’t stop her from becoming one of the fastest distance runners in the world when she graduated from high school. Gibbons is still one of the best milers in Arizona history at 4:39.40 (hand-timed). She held the world record in the 1,000 and 10,000 meters and was on the 1972 United States Olympic Track and Field team. She died in 1982 at the age of 27 after being struck by a vehicle while running in Colorado.

2. Jackie Johnson, Yuma, multi-events, 2003

Johnson won 14 titles while at Yuma and excelled at Arizona State University. She became the first woman to win four straight NCAA outdoor titles in the heptathlon. Johnson made the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the heptathlon. Now, she was elected into the inaugural Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame class, along with Jesse Owens, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Steve Prefontaine and Wilma Rudolph.

3. Lois Drinkwater, Phoenix Central, sprints, 1969

Back before her high school even had a track and field team, Drinkwater was tearing it up as a sprinter. She was the first female track and field athlete from Arizona to make an Olympic team when she did so in 1968 in the 400 meters – as a high schooler still at Central. She won the 1968 AAU Indoor Championship in the 400. Drinkwater competed in international dual meets for the United States against the British Commonwealth team in 1967 and against the Soviet Union in 1969.

4. Mavis Laing, Phoenix Arcadia, sprints, 1971

As a 16-year-old at the 1970 United States Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Laing broke the American record in the 440 yards at 52.9. She also held the American record in the 400 meters. That same year, she broke state records in the 200 meters, 440 yards and 400 meters. She set another state record in 1971 when she ran 10.6 seconds for the 100-yard dash. Laing also competed in international matches for the United States, winning events against West Germany and the Soviet Union. A bout of mononucleosis ended her career prematurely.

5. Jan Glotzer, Phoenix Camelback, hurdles, 1970

Alongside her teammates Mavis Laing and Kathy Gibbons under legendary coach Fred Moore, Glotzer was a star in the hurdles. She set a high school national record in the 110 yards at 13.6. Glotzer was a two-time national champion in the pentathlon and a world record holder in hurdles. She was a part of the very first women's track team in Phoenix. She holds the state record for the fastest 110-yard hurdle time, a now-retired event.

6. Gea Johnson, Phoenix Washington, multi-events, 1986

Johnson was named National Female Athlete of the Year in 1984. She went from being a basketball star to a top heptathlete in track and field, being named the inaugural Arizona Gatorade Girls Track and Field Player of the Year in 1986. At ASU, Johnson was the 1990 NCAA heptathlon champion. She broke the school, stadium, and Pac-10 records for the heptathlon and recorded the third-highest collegiate total ever at the time. In 1990, Johnson broke the school record in all seven heptathlon events; those records still stand. She was also the Pac-10 long jump champion. She turned to bobsledding and reached the Winter Olympics in the two-woman bobsled competition before shifting to track cycling, where she became a world record holder.

7. Cindy Johnson, Chandler, throws, 1982

A standout softball player who would go on to compete at international tournaments, she also turned heads in the discus event. When she smashed the state record with a throw of 176 feet, 4 inches in 1982, it was also a national high school record. Johnson’s record still stands and nobody has come within 10 feet of her. She threw the discus and shot put at the University of Southern California, but a back injury kept her from competing in the Olympics.

8. Dani Jones, Phoenix Desert Vista, distance, 2015

After establishing herself as one of the top prep distance runners in Arizona and the nation, and taking down the mile state record with her 4:39.88, Jones went on to become one of the best in the NCAA at Colorado. Jones owns the rare title of being a national champion in both cross-country and track and field, where she has four total and is a 12-time All-American. Jones currently runs professionally for New Balance and has a personal best of 4:00.64 in the 1,500.

9. Ky Westbrook, Chandler, sprints, 2014

Known as a top sprinter (11.33 in the 100 and 23.37 in the 200), Westbrook is also No. 6 all-time in state history for the shot put at 47-9. She was a 14-time state champion with the Wolves and was the 2013 World Youth Champion in the 100. When she left USC, Westbrook was tied for seventh on the all-time 100 list and also ranked in the all-time top 10 indoors in the 60 and 200.

10. Jenda Jones, Phoenix Camelback, sprints, 1967

Jones was one of the state’s first track stars. She burst onto the scene, winning the AAU junior national championship in the 100-yard dash as a 14-year-old in 1964. Jones tied the American girls' record in the 100-yard dash in 10.7 when she was just a teenager.

Vote: Who's No. 1?

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@LSscribe.