Eric Richardson has been at Chandler High School for nearly three decades. When he speaks, he speaks from a deep well of experience. So when he talks about Imani Galera-Young, it’s fair to believe that he is not speaking in hyperbole.
“I’ve been doing this for a long, long time and, you know, most of the time, when you get somebody as immensely talented as she is, you got to deal with a bunch of other stuff,” said Richardson, Chandler’s accomplished girls track and field coach. “But with her, it is exactly what you see.”
What spectators see is a name that is etched in the record books. Galera-Young ran the second leg of the Wolves’ state-record setting 4×100 meter relay (45.12), she set the meet record at the 85th Chandler Rotary in the 300-meter hurdles (41.50) and she was named the 2024-25 Gatorade Arizona Girls Track & Field Player of the Year.
While her performance sets her apart in track and field history, Richardson said Galera-Young further separates herself from the pack due to a rare blend of maturity and humility.
“Jeez, she’s the perfect prototype of kids from yesteryear because the kids today aren’t like that,” said Richardson, who has led Chandler to 17 state championships. “It’s not their fault because they have parental guidance or whatever it is, the parental managers.”
Galera-Young’s resume makes it clear that she is an elite talent, but she does not come with the same baggage as other elite athletes, Richardson said. There is no agent butting heads, there is no ego, there is simply an elite athlete ready to perform.
Her personality is not a detriment, rather a positive.
“Well mannered, mild mannered, is shy and squeamish about challenging her teammates, you know, as most leaders want to do,” Richardson said. “I mean, she’s the perfect person. She works hard, never complains, even when she’s beat up and stuff like that.”
Galera-Young is also an elite student. She takes Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes and has a 4.30 GPA.
This dedication to her education was instilled through a childhood of Montessori learning, her mom, Riane Dawson, said.
“She kind of learned to be an independent – especially in the Montessori world – learn to be her own independent thinker,” Dawson said.
Dawson did not want to define Galera-Young’s future when she was younger, instead allowing Galera-Young to pursue her own path. She knew there would be good, bad and ugly, but she also knew there would be a lot of learning.
It was that learning that taught Galera-Young who she wanted to be: not just an elite athlete, but an elite, well-rounded human.
“I feel like it makes me more of a person to also have academics,” Galera-Young said.
While the motivation to be academically excellent is internal, she is aware that people take note of her academics.
“The reason I got recognized from the mayor was because of my Gatorade Award, and the whole reason I got that, I feel like, was also because of my academics,” Galera-Young said.
When it comes to budgeting time, it’s hard to figure how Galera-Young juggles training to be an elite athlete, maintaining a 4.30 GPA, taking challenging classes, volunteering at the Chandler Care Center and living the rest of her life.
“Fitting in that part of your schedule, along with the rigors that are required with the APs and IBs and stuff, and maintaining a 4.3, it’s pretty challenging, but she navigates it pretty well,” Richardson said.
While all of this paints a dazzling picture of Galera-Young, you won’t hear any bragging until she is pressed to rank her accomplishments.
“I’m most proud of winning the four by four in state my sophomore year,” Galera-Young said. “So I would say those two are tied, even though Gatorade (Player of the Year) is a higher rank.”
The Arizona Gatorade Track and Field Player of the Year is presented to only one girl each year. A relay involves four, so being one of one might seem more special to most people than being one of four, but not to Galera-Young. She prefers winning the 4×400 meter relay because she enjoys being a part of a group and serving a larger purpose.
“She’s just extremely, extremely humble,” Dawson said. “I don’t think she’s even fully realized and wrapped her mind around what we see in her yet. It’s just naturally not in her to feel boastful.”
Humility not only defines her present, it shapes her future. Galera-Young is committed to the University of Arkansas for track and field, but she is not relying on a career of running professionally.
“I’m going to school for nursing, and I also want to study psychology,” Galera-Young said. “Hopefully I can have a career in that just to also have a life that’s not fully track. Because I feel like, just being consumed with one thing, that gets draining and you kind of lose yourself.”
Galera-Young dreams of becoming a pediatric nurse, inspired by a bond she formed when she lived with her 8-year-old cousin, Kai.
“I feel like we’re like the same person,” Galera-Young said. “I just like how kids act.”
If Galera-Young’s goals ever change or she has the opportunity to pursue a career as a professional athlete, she has the trust and confidence of those around her.
“Any year that we follow up with her, if she says ‘This is what I want do,’ I have no doubt in my mind that it’s gonna happen,” Dawson said.
Galera-Young’s maturity and independence allow her to define her own path, and they may be the reason that she is a future Razorback.
“You get kids in the top 10, they’re all pretty much the same athletically,” Richardson said. “Then you have to go to the intangibles to see which one that best fits your university.”
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