Archive for October, 2009

    While a wily old veteran was taking care of business as usual on the boys' side, it was a young upstart female runner that came flying out of the final turn in the annual Flagstaff city cross-country meet to pocket her first varsity win.
    Two-time defending state champion Brian Shrader (photo left) from Sinagua High School overtook Garner Grennier, a junior from Flagstaff High School, in the last quarter-mile of the race to post his third consecutive first-place finish in the annual 3-mile event held at Buffalo Park.  Shrader, a seasoned senior, finished in a time of 16:05, making up as much as 20 seconds in the last half-mile.  Grennier finished second in 16:12
    Shrader has clocked a personal best this year of 14:24 and has also won the Queen Creek Twilight Festival, Ray Wherley CC Invitational, and the Peaks Invitational.
    On the girls' side, Breanna O'Connor, a freshman from Flagstaff HS, finished ahead of race favorite Andrea Klimowski from Northland Preparatory Academy, the defending 1A-2A state champion, to win in 19:29.  O'Connor has been threatening all season long, finishing in the top 10 in every race so far, but this was her first varsity win.  Klimowski, who was leading at the two-mile mark, never made it to the finish line, collapsing toward the end of the course from what later was diagnosed as dehydration.
    In the team competition, Flagstaff HS took both the girls and boys team titles.  For the girls team, this was...ho-hum... the 12th consecutive city title. Ten of the top 12 finishers in the girls competition were from Flagstaff HS.
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     It wasn't Xavier Prep standing in the way of Gilbert High School's quest to win the Goldwater Volleyball Festival, generally considered the cadillac of the Arizona volleyball tournaments.  That was last year, when Xavier downed Gilbert 25-14, 25-16 in the championship match. 
    This year it was a different team, but similar results.  Gilbert made it all the way to the finals again some of the state's best volleyball teams, but it was the Desert Vista HS Thunder that pulled the rug out from under the Lady Tigers in the finals of the 2009 Goldwater, 35-18, 24-26, 15-9.  
    Play in the finals represented some of the best high school volleyball talent in the state; Desert Vista is ranked No. 2 in 5A-I (AIA power rankings) and Gilbert is ranked No. 4.  Desert Vista, just three power points behind top-ranked Xavier Prep, returned five starters from last year's title runners-up and were expected to be strong contenders again. Gilbert is a young team, trying to build on every game.
(for full article and photo IDs, click here)   

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I watched my son's soccer match this weekend. This is his first year on a competitive squad and it’s fun to watch him succeed.  This weekend they played a team that obviously had more experience, had been playing the sport longer, and had much better skills moving the ball and executing on the field; to say it politely, my son’s team lost, quite badly. 
    As I watched the other tournament games going on on the other fields, I noticed a similar story unfolded on each of the younger groups’ fields; better skills on one side led to a lopsided score at the end of the game.  But as the ages increased, the skills evened out; even those groups that dominated at the younger ages weren't necessarily running away with games in older age brackets. 
    Why?  The skills didn't erode as they got older, they got bigger, stronger, kicked farther.  What happened?  The answer is eventually the playing field evens out, what caused lopsided scores when you were younger, isn't there when you are older and, ultimately, the end result of games is decided by which team has the best athletes on the field.  Which player has those small intangibles that separate them from the masses that play the game. 
    The same story is true in almost every sport.  Exceptionally strong or big players will dominate in contact sports, like football, probably through high school.  Once you hit college, the size and strength even out and it comes down to quickness and speed.  In other sports, like soccer, baseball and basketball, players with excellent sport skills can lead teams to victory up to a certain age, but eventually size, speed and agility impact how far you can advance.
    Sure there are some exceptions to this rule; but, in general, the best athletes always have the best chance of success in sports.  This article is going to discuss two key components provided by sports performance training that can help you understand how to become a better overall athlete.
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    Sarah Schmidt and Brianna Decker were able to focus on the up-and-down hilly terrain they had to navigate while challenging each other for the lead on this year's Doug Conley Invitational course. For a change, they didn't have to look over their shoulders for Jessica Tonn, the state's top girl cross country runner who was not entered this year.
    Schmidt was the eventual girls winner on the Rolling Hills Golf Course, where the event orginated before moving to Kiwanis Park in Tempe for many years.  The name of the golf course says it all, with lots of small hills to overcome.
    The Mountain View HS sophomore finished in 18:40, about three seconds off Tonn's winning time last year of 18:36.89 on the Kiwanis course.  So it would have been an interesting race between the two this year.  Decker finished second in 18:44.08, as Schmidt, her cousin and teammate, stretched out the margin of victory in the final mile. Decker had to hold off Kylee Kieser from Casa Grande HS who finished in 18:44.10 for a photo finish.
    On the boys side, Steve Magnuson from Ironwood Ridge (Tucson) crossed the line first in 15:43, ahead of Jorge Martinez from Alhambra HS (15:57)  Martinez was hoping to repeat after winning last year's Conley, sprinting ahead in the last 40 yards of the race to win in a time (15:38.9) that might also have won this year.  Instead, he had everything he could do to hold off Ryan Yazzie from Tuba City HS, who finished third in 15:58.04.
    Team winners also changed hands this year...
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    This was not one of the nail-biting, upset-filled weeks of Arizona high school football that we've come to expect this season.  Four of the top-ranked five teams in 5A-I didn't even play, and No. 1 Hamilton HS had no trouble running its unbeaten record to 7-0 with a 45-2 win over Salpointe Catholic HS.  Meanwhile, the top five teams in 5A-II rolled through Friday's games with three shutouts and combined 208-26 scoring.
   The one game that would be considered an upset was Williams Field HS ending the 28-game winning streak of No.1-ranked Notre Dame Prep in 4A-II. The 32-30 game had lots of offense, come-from-behind drama, and the feel-good storyline of a new school stepping up to take down an established power. 
    An interception by Eric Rendon that he returned 70 yards for a score just before halftime lit the fire under Williams Field.  But the drama wasn't over, as Saints QB Will King hit Skyler McCurdy for a 35-yard score just six seconds before the half expired to put Notre Dame up 21-12.  In the second half, a 71-yard touchdown score from QB Tom Ross to Brandon Warren, and another TD by Alex Howard, who punched it in from the one, was enough to give the Blackhawks their seventh win in as many games. King racked up 282 yards on the night, but it was his two interceptions that made the difference.
    The other round of excitement and 'upset' of note was in 2A, where No. 2  Northwest Christian HS slipped past No. 1 Valley Christian on a late score and now stands at the top of the Central Region standings.  Credit Northwest's QB Nathan LaBarbera, who scored five touchdowns, four on rushing yards.  Running back Casey Jahn accounted for the other Crusade score, finishing the evening with 154 yards.
    In stadiums elsewhere, a few nagging questions were answered in games that were not as high-profile...
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    Some good football is on tap tonight in games around the state. 
    The Big Dogs will play... the games that mean something to the rankings, such as 5A-I Pinnacle HS trying to hold on to it's unbeaten status (5-0) and No. 5 ranking as it travels to North Canyon HS to take on the 3-2 Rattlers who scored 47 points in last week's win over Kofa HS.  In 5A-II, there isn't much movement expected among the top 5 teams; Centennial shouldn't have any trouble holding on to its No. 1 ranking, as it meets Ironwod, which lost to Westview last week, 33-14.  QB Justin Butler put Ironwood ahead at the half on two TD passes, but Westview's Eric Ramsey scored three times in the second half, on runs and a pass completion.
    In 4A, Notre Dame Prep (5-0) and its impressive QB Will King will try to hang on to its No. 1 ranking in Division II, as it gets a real challenge from Williams Field HS, also 5-0.  And Cactus Shadows, No. 2 in 4A-I, will take its unbeaten record to Apache Junction to take on the No. 5 Prospectors (5-1), who had a come-from-behind win over Greenway HS last week.
    The last game that can truly be considered a spotlight contest is in 2A, where top-ranked Northwest Christian (5-0) travels to Chandler to take on No. 2 Valley Christian (5-0).  It will be Northwest's super sophomore running back, Casey Jahn, facing off against Valley's QB Jordan Morgan, who will be running and passing to keep the defense on its heels.
    But there are also some interesting games, outside of the ranked teams, that bear watching this week...
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    Arizona now has two runners in the Milesplit.com Sweet 16 national rankings.  Jessica Tonn from Xavier Prep in Phoenix has been holding on to the No. 3 spot for several weeks on the girls side, and is now joined by Brian Shrader from Sinagua HS in Flagstaff who has moved into the No. 6 slot among male cross country runners.
    Tonn has been tearing up the cross country courses all year as the senior caps off an amazing career, most recently with wins at the Queen Creek Twilight Festival and the George Young Invitational.  Actually, she has won the George Young each year since she was a freshman.  That first year, she won by a mere second, while this year she dominated the field, finishing a minute and 18 seconds ahead of her closest competitor, her teammate Sarah Fakler, who has provided Xavier Prep with a 1-2 punch they didn't have last year, finishing right behind Tonn at most races. (Tonn is left in photo, Fakler right)
    Tonn also won the Scottsdale Running Company Cross Country Festival and the Nike Outdoor Nationals, both the 3-mile and 5K events.  Her personal best this year is 17:35.00 in 5K competition and 16:32.30 in the 3-mile.
    Shrader, also a senior, has wins to his credit this year at the Queen Creek Twilight Festival, Ray Wherley Cross Country Invitational, and Peaks Invitational.  His personal best so far this year is 15:45.25 in the 5K and 14:24.10 in the 3-mile.
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    Kick it, spike it, or just run it into the ground.  This weekend is for the high school sports fan because it offers some great competition across the board - from some great Friday night football match-ups... to the premier volleyball tournament of the season... to the granddaddy of cross-country invitationals.
    The best girls volleyball teams in the state will step onto the courts at the prestigious Goldwater Volleyball Festival, played at courts scattered around the north end of the Valley and culminating with the championship matches at Barry Goldwater High School.  It's the closest thing to the state championships, as 32 teams from around the state, regardless of division, compete for bragging rights.
    Last year, Xavier Prep struggled to get past Corona del Sol in the semis, going to three sets, and then dominated Gilbert HS, 25-14, 25-16, in the championship game for the tournament title.  Xavier is again No. 1 in the power rankings and has to be considered a favorite to repeat at the Goldwater.
   In the meantime, the cross-country fanatics have been waiting all season for the Doug Conley Invitational, and now it's here. 
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    The big guys on the Yuma High School offensive line have opened the holes and the little guy has been scooting through - and now the Criminals have a new touchdown king!
    JC Baker, a 5'6" 165 lb. scat back started this season by setting a single-game touchdown record at Yuma with seven scores - in just about every way imaginable.  Five were on runs from scrimmage, another was courtesy of an 85-yard return, and then one more came from a 10-yard pass reception from QB Donte Jackson. 
    This week he added three more TDs in a 48-31 win in the Criminals' 5A Gila Valley Region opener against Lake Havasu to establish a new school career record with 36 - and counting!  Included in the senior's record-breaking performance was an 84-yard kick-off return for a late score that put the game out of reach.  He finished with just under 250 yards.
    Jackson has returning wide receiver, Andrew Herrarte, to throw to as a primary target, but Baker gets his share of passes out of the backfield.  On the offensive line, only center Mike McAdams returns from last year, so Baker is working behind a group getting used to each other.
    By the time the offensive line gets some experience under them and really begins opening those holes for 'Baker the Touchdown Maker', the Crims have a match-up with powerhouse Brophy Prep in the final game of the season.  That should be interesting.
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    It was another week of cannibalizing in 5A-I football, as four of the top five-ranked teams played each other.  No. 1 ranked Hamilton HS took care of business by defeating No. 5 Chandler HS, 24-20, but No. 2 Red Mountain HS will take a step or two down since it was mauled by No. 3 Brophy Prep, 46-17.
    But perhaps the biggest surprise was the end of the 37-game win steak built up by 4A-I top-ranked Saguaro HS.  It wasn't so much that the Sabercats got beat; they were playing a very good Canyon del Oro (Tucson) team that was ranked just below them at No. 2.  It was the way they got beat that stands out... a 44-0 blow-out that was all but over at halftime.
    Junior tailback Ka'Deem Carey ran all over the Cats, carrying for 299 yards; in the second half he scored three times on back-to-back-to-back runs as he sought revenge for the 2007 loss to Saguaro in the state championships.  That was more than Saguaro's total yardage (187) for the night. 
    Hamilton's win was no cakewalk; it had to come from two scores down and won on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Travis Dean to Kyren Poe with just three seconds left to play.  Brophy, on the other hand, had little trouble upsetting the undefeated Red Mountain, as senior tailback Max Leonesio ran for five TDs behind an offensive line that manhandled the Lions.
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