Arizona Running Community Grieves Loss of Beloved Brophy Coach Michael Keahon

Former Phoenix Brophy College Preparatory cross-country and track and field coach Michael Keahon died on June 22, 2025, after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

A former state champion miler during his time at Brophy as an athlete, Keahon returned to his alma mater to lead the cross-country program and was a coach on the track and field team for more than 25 years.

Keahon was the best distance runner in Brophy history, owning school records in the 880 yards and mile. He went on to run on scholarship at Northern Arizona University, competing on the first team to win a Big Sky conference championship in 1975.

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As Brophy coach, Keahon’s teams captured state titles in cross-country in 2003 and in track and field in 2011 and 2013. In a sign of Keahon’s enduring legacy on the track, the school records in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 meters and 4x800-meter relay are still held by athletes coached by Keahon, who retired in 2017.

One of Keahon’s signature qualities was his relentlessness. Saying no to Keahon was hard. So much that he convinced countless former track and field athletes to return to the sport in the coaching ranks. Tim O’Neil was one of those coaches and O’Neil eventually helped a young Devon Allen get his start.

Oscar Borboa, a 2005 Brophy alum, was also one of those convinced by Keahon to get back into running. Borboa is now the head coach of the cross-country team.

“He was deeply passionate about cross-country and track and field,” Borboa said. “Not just as a sport, but as a vehicle for the development of young people and character. That’s something a lot of people picked up from him along the way. He knew he wasn’t just coaching running. He was coaching people to be successful at life. So much of what we try, and continue to do this day, is due to Coach Keahon.”

Keahon will also be remembered for his generosity.

“He did so many things behind the scenes,” Borboa said. “He helped financially sponsor students through college who otherwise couldn’t have afforded it. He was always trying to open doors for some of our financial aid students and seeing if they could land on collegiate track rosters and run into scholarships. That was a big part of what he loved to see.”

Charles Hampton, a 2004 graduate, eventually took the mantle as the school’s best runner under the guidance of Keahon. Hampton, who competed at Texas and then Rice University, won back-to-back individual state titles in cross-country as a junior and senior in high school and won the 1,600 and 3,200-meter titles in track, earning him the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year.

The two stayed in almost weekly contact in the years after Hampton graduated.

“He had a massive impact,” Hampton said. “He’s been basically like my family to me for 25 years since I met him.”

Hampton, now working as the director of marketing and communications at Brophy, was the first individual cross-country state champion in school history.

“It was a testament to the time and effort he and I put in together,” Hampton said. “Looking back on it all these years later, I think so much more fondly about it because of him. He was a volunteer coach for 25 years – he didn’t get paid at all, nor did he want to get paid. He did it because he cared about the kids, the school. He just enjoyed and loved doing it. ”

Hampton was the spearhead of the team that won in 2003.

The 2003 team was the first ever from Brophy to win it all. Keahon, known for his classic look that featured dark sunglasses and a jet-black mustache, agreed to shave his face if the team won the state title. He never grew it back after.

“He was so proud, I think, that everybody who asked when he shaved it, it gave him the opportunity to tell them about the team winning,” Hampton said. “It was such a source of pride and joy for him.”

Alex Mason, a 2005 alum, was on the team as a sophomore that won in 2003. Mason went on to become a two-time individual state champion in track and field, winning the 1,600 and 3,200, before competing at Georgetown.

After graduating from college, Mason – like many others – began coaching with Keahon.

“That’s when I was really exposed to how much he cares about the kids and their development as people. The sport is a way to get there, it’s a tool,” Mason said, echoing his former teammate.

“In talking with him, he was always, ‘But how are the kids doing? How are they doing in school? How is home? How are they progressing as human beings?’ I think that is a more unique trait in coaches that you don’t see when you’re 16. He was a big picture guy in that way.”

While Mason wants Keahon to be remembered for what he did off the track, he also believes he should be recognized for what he did on the track.

“It shouldn’t be glossed over how much he grew a program,” Mason said. “The legitimate success he had as a coach can’t be overlooked. At the end of the day, he was a really good technical coach.”

There has already been a website set up , with athletes sharing memories of the former coach.

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 logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona running community mourns loss of longtime Brophy coach Michael Keahon