Archive for September, 2009

    Brophy Prep's 4x100 relay swim team, competing in the Brophy/Xavier Invitational, eclipsed the old event record by a full two seconds, as Brophy went on to win the boys title.  John Wojciechowski, Danny Hatfield, Brian Stevens, and Tony Mead-Smith swam a meet-record 3:13.76 for the win.
    The Broncos piled up 513 points to win the boys' competition, followed by Chaparral HS (182), Mountain Pointe HS (179), and Arcadia HS (174).  Stevens also won the 200 freestyle (1:44.08) and Wojciechowski added titles in the 50 freestyle (21.44) and the 100 butterfly (49.20).
    Xavier won the girls' competition with 432 points, followed by Chaparral HS (308), Canyon del Oro HS (Tucson) with 184, and Horizon HS at 178 points.  Xavier got a big boost from Haley Krakoski, who won the 100 backstroke (59.32) and the 100 freestyle (51.87).
    On the boys' side, Tyler Messerschmidt from Desert Edge HS won the 100 freestyle (46.10) and the 100 backstroke (51.81).  He was .06 second off the meet record in the 100 freestyle.  And Chris Pickard, swimming for Arcadia HS, won the 200 individual medley in 1:55.04.
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   OK, exhale.  Week 5 of Arizona high school football is in the books.
    But it had everything… high drama, heartbreak, and hysteria.  It was loaded with excitement that spread throughout 5A and 4A play – from the top-ranked teams to those still trying to earn respect.
    Chandler HS, ranked No. 5 in 5A-I, took No. 3-ranked Brophy Prep to overtime before the Broncos pulled out a 27-26 win in overtime… and in 4A competition, it took TWO overtimes before Cactus Shadows HS was able to upset favored Paradise Valley HS, ranked No. 2 in Division II, 29-22.
    The Chandler-Brophy game tied at 20-20 with just 51 second left, when Chandler’s sophomore QB Chase Knox hit Max Eller for a 29-yard score to send it into overtime.  Then Chandler sent in junior QB, Brett Hundley, and he scored on a 9-yard quarterback keep play to make it 26-0.  A missed PAT was costly because Max Leonesio answered for Brophy with a TD and Alex Garoutte added the extra point needed for the victory.
    In the Cactus Shadows win, it was their quarterback, Dillon Classen, that put the game away in the second overtime when he connected with his running back, Cameron Larsen, for a 10-yard score.  Classen threw for 161 yards and three TDs.
    Still another heart-stopper was unfolding Friday night in the game between Highland HS and Desert Mountain HS...

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    A shoot-out among last year's top three high school golf teams has only shown that this year's results are likely to be pretty much 'business as usual'.  But the much-touted match involving Xavier Prep, Hamilton HS, and Corona del Sol actually had a little drama - Xavier Prep, which is looking for its 12th 5A-I state championship in as many years, was just two shots from ending its 137-match win streak.
    Xavier's Daffodil Sanchez shot a 3-under 33 for nine holes on the par-36 course to earn medalist and help her team overcome a Hamilton push that left the Huskies in second place, 144 pts to 146 pts.  Corona finished third with 178 pts. - and that's the exact order the three teams finished at last year's 5A-I championships!
    Just one stroke behind Corona was Highland HS with a 177, as Shelby Phillips and Alexi Schendelma came in at par.
    Mikayla Harmon finished in second place in the individual scoring with 35 pts., followed by Kassidy Long-Goheen of Desert Vista HS with 39 pts., and Alysia Casillas from Mesquite HS in fourth with 40 pts.
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    It looks like 5A-I is the division with the most interest this week, as the top five football teams face challenges - with the possible exception of a mismatch that will pit undefeated No. 4-ranked Mountain Pointe HS against unranked Casa Grande HS that is coming off a 23-7 loss to Salpointe Catholic (Tucson) in a game that they weren't able to put points on the board until the fourth quarter.  Mountain Pointe will unleash Davon Jones, who ran for 216 yards and four TDs last week, and should win going away.
    No. 1-ranked Hamilton HS should notch another win, but it will have to work for it since Desert Vista made a good showing last week as they held a lead on No. 4 Mountain Pointe at halftime, until Jones went to work in the second half. 
    No. 2 Red Mountain HS (4-0) takes on Mesa HS (3-1) in what should be a good game. Last week, Mesa came up just a touchdown shy of beating No. 5 Chandler HS, coming from behind thanks to a 63-yard TD run by Jaymen Green and losing on a late fourth quarter Chandler score by Devontae Kellybrew.
    But the game to watch will be No. 2 Brophy Prep vs. No. 5 Chandler, both 3-1.
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    The Arizona State University volleyball team has been putting local talent to good use this season, as Sarah Reaves and Paige Mittelstaedt helped the Sun Devils win the Holly Young Tournament in Duham, NH. 
    Mittelstaedt (top photo), a graduate of Xavier Prep in Phoenix, was hitting .500 to help hold the defensive effort in the opening match with Harvard.  Reaves (bottom photo), from Ironwood HS in Glendale, led the attack on the Crimson with 10 kills.  In the final game of the tourney, Reaves and 6'1" sophomore, Sofie Schlagintweit, combined for 61 of ASU's 91 kills.
    The duo was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the ASU Sheridan Classic earlier this month.  Mittelstaedt is a senior and Reaves is a junior, both outside hitters.
    The Sun Devil volleyball roster is loaded with local players this year, including: Cat Highmark, a sohomore setter from Scottsdale who transferred in from Longbeach State; Shawnee John, a redshirt freshman from Thatcher HS; Sarah Johnson, a jnior libero from Sunnyslope HS; Ashley Kastl, a freshman outside hitter from Mountain Pointe HS; Ashley Kelty, a sophomore libero from Basha HS; Marina Mercer, a senior setter from Chandler HS; and Alexis Pinson, a 6'2" freshman from Xavier Prep.
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    SportZine Magazine was there in 2004 when 327 runners from nine Arizona high schools showed up for the very first George Young Invitational at the Sanctuary Golf Course, helping organizers Mike Keahon and Dave Van Sickle publicize the new event with a 2-page photo spread.  This weekend, the cross-country meet celebrated its fifth anniversary at the same course - but with 1,200 runners! 
    Young, the well-known four-time Olympian and long-time cross-country coach at Central Arizona College in Coolidge, was there to launch the event. His involvement helped bring out some of the best cross-country talent, unusual for a new event, including seven of the top 20 teams in Arizona. Today, it has become a major early-season event.
    Some things have changed since then.  Flagstaff HS dominated that first meet, winning the girls varsity competition and finishing second on the boys' side.  This year, Alhambra HS finished at the top of the boys' individual and team competition (1:24.10) and Xavier Prep earned the individual and team (1:39.47) honors in the girls' division.
    Jorge Martinez, Alhambra, won the boys' individual competition in 16:19.9, followed by Eric Zuza from Camelback HS (16:20.6) and Tyler Bingham from Mountain View HS (16:29.2).  On the girls' side, Jessica Tonn, Xavier Prep (pictured here), led the pack at 18:01.1, followed by teammate Sarah Fakler (19:19.4) and Christen Collins from Pinnacle HS (19:37.9). 
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    While this year's edition of the Chandler Wolves Classic didn't produce the avalanche of record-breaking performances (17 meet records and one state record) that were the highlight of last year's event, there were some great races and some surprises from the small-school competitors.                                                 
    Brianna Jurries from Valley Christian HS (Chandler) and Hayden Thomas from Tempe Preparatory Academy, both 2A schools, showed that the size of the school isn't as important as the size of the heart in the competitor.
    Jurries, a freshman, won the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:08.56, beating out the next two finishers from 5A schools, second-place Madeleine Wells of Xavier Prep (1:09.51) and third-place Sachi Mehrotra, a junior from Chandler HS (1:10.94).  She also finished second in the 200 Individual Medley (2:14.89), behind Sara Jurek of Chandler HS (2:13.30) and Xavier Prep freshman Kathleen Mulligan (2:16.73).
    Thomas, a sophomore, took on the field of larger schools in the 500 Freestyle and won it for the second year in a row.  His time of 4:53.09 edged out Brophy Prep's Mathew Carbajal at 4:57.01 and bested his own winning time last year of 4:53.66.
    On the girls' side, senior Haley Krakoski helped propel Xavier Prep to the team title by winning the 200 Freestyle (1:52.28) and the 50 Freestyle (23.69), and then joined her teammates - Sarah Graif, Alisha Bender, and Kayra Zsiga - to win the 200 Freestyle Relay in 1:39.54.
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UPDATE:   Local favorite, Desert Vista HS, lived up to expectations in winning the Nike TofC Saturday at Perry HS.  The Thunder defeated Seton Catholic in the semi-finals of the Gold bracket, 25-18, 25-21, and then went on to down Covis West HS from Fresno, Calif., 25-19, 26-24, for the title.  In the Silver bracket, Mountain Pointe HS defeated Hamilton HS, 25-22, 18-25, 15-8, for the title.  In the Bronze bracket, it was Red Mountain HS over Arcadia HS, 25-23, 25-23.

    Play starts today in the Valley for the inaugural Nike Tournament of Champions for volleyball and, while last week's Mesa Westwood Tournament of Champions drew most of the area's top-ranked teams, the new Nike event drew 23 local teams that included seven schools ranked in the top five of their respective divisions.
   Some of the first-round match-ups between local teams that included ranked opponents included Seton Catholic HS, ranked No. 2 in 4A-II, versus Northwest Christian HS, a regular power in Class 2A.  Seton, behind the play of sophomore Haley Lawless, won 25-14, 25-22. 
    Other games of note included top-ranked teams in 5A-I: Desert Vista HS (No. 3) winning over Arcadia HS, 25-18, 25-9... Corona del Sol HS (No. 4) over Basha HS, 25-12, 25-15... and Hamilton HS (No. 5) defeating a Millennium HS squad returning five starters and ranked No. 5 in 5A-II at the start of the season, 25-18, 25-23.
    Desert Vista HS, the odds-on local favorite in the tournament, also played in the Mesa Westwood event last weekend, going undefeated through eight games before losing in the semi-finals to tournament champion, Xavier Prep. Desert Vista's Betsi Metter was named to the all-tournament team.    
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    There were some significant upsets this week in Arizona high school football, games that scrambled the standings among the 'big dogs' in 5A and 4A competition, plus some extended win streaks that were challenged. But the feel-good story of Carl Hayden HS getting its first win since 2002 had to be the game that will be remembered by many for a long time to come.
    Carl Hayden led 20-6 at halftime and never looked back after that, posting a 44-21 win over San Luis HS to bring an end to a 66-game losing streak!  Those who made some of the biggest contributions Thursday night were running backs Chazz Walton and Francisco Bustillos with a TD from each; a pair of interceptions by Oscar Vera; and Ulises Contreras going 10-of-15 passing, with no interceptions, and two TD passes, one to Gabriel Manquero and the other to Alejandro Miranda.
    There were 21 seniors on the 36-man varsity roster that will have a special memory of their final year of high school ball.  The captains of this history-making squad are Tre' Fields and Andres Renteria, both linemen, and Manquero, who is a receiver and defensive back. 
    Among the few upsets among the ranked teams in 5A and 4A, the most significant had to be No. 2 Notre Dame Prep rolling over No. 1 ParadiseValley HS, 31-12, in 4A-II play.  It's hard to call a win by Notre Dame an 'upset' since they are the two-time defending champions in 4A-II - but Paradise Valley, the pre-season top-ranked team that moved down from 4A-I this year, has been an offensive juggernaut this year, racking up a single-game state record the game before with 592 rushing yards, 295 yards from Jake Brown and 267 yards from Tyree Parker.
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    We noticed that a former Sunnyslope HS volleyball player made a big splash in her first year of college competition.  Laurann Durbin, a sophomore at Grand Canyon College in Glendale, AZ, was named the Pacific West Conference Pre-season Libero of the Year.  As a freshman, she set a new single-season GCU record for digs (530), erasing a mark that has stood for 19 years (set by the team's coach, Kris (Belcher) Naber.
    We also noticed that Durbin isn't the only local volleyball talent on the GCU roster; this year's recruiting class was loaded with it.  Caelen Hiller is the third player on the squad from the 2006 Sunnyslope HS state championship team, joining Durbin and junior setter, Katie Meyers.  Hiller had a .284 hitting percentage during her last season at Sunnyslope.
    Joining the trio is 5-11 freshman, Katie Peterson, from Glendale Mountain Ridge HS; 5-11 junior, Tommyka Henry from Alhambra HS, and libero Erin Compton.  Henry came to GCU by way of Mesa Community College, where she had 135 kills last season.  Compton played one season at Sunnyslope HS before moving to Billings, Mnt., where she was a two-time all-state and record-holder for digs in a season (433).
    Add to the group Emily Draper, a 5'8" setter, and Shelby Taylor, a 6'0" middle hitter.  Both are from Phoenix Christian HS and both were all-league in the 2A West Region; Taylor was a 1A-3A honorable mention all-state selection.
    Kristen Preach (pictured here) is listed as a freshman, but the 5'10" setter from Xavier Prep is actually a third-year freshman who was on medical red-shirt status during 2007 and 2008.  She was on the 2005 state championship team at Xavier and is already making her mark this year as a 'Lope.

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