SOCCER: Amphi Panther Invite Schedule
Preseason Southern Arizona Basketball Tournaments
Pusch Ridge advances to the first semifinal game in school history thanks to an improbable flurry of plays and penalties that turned an average encounter into a game that will be long remembered.
That's what the Marcos de Niza coaching staff told their players after they knocked off Ironwood Ridge 35-15 Friday night in an important Division II quarterfinal match. The win pushed the Padres' record to 11-2 heading into their semifinal game against Skyline (12-0) next Friday night.
Division III Quarterfinals
Division IV Quarterfinals
You won't find Elizabeth Villasenor's name anywhere on the AIA list of swimmers who qualified for state. In fact, you'll have scroll through several pages of Division I swimmers to find her best times of 32.73 in the 50 Free and 1:45.26 in the 100 Breast listed. And, right there, you will find her name.
Canyon del Oro boy's golf coach John Farbarik retired after leading the Dorados for the past 10 years. Farbarik retired with a record of 1,037-314-4 from 2006-2015. Part of those 1,000 plus wins included two state championships and three runner-up finishes.
Former Desert Vista championship runner Dani Jones was awarded the Gatorade State Cross Country Runner of the Year after she broke the course record at the state championships last year.
Her time of 17:26 lasted three days short of one year after Rio Rico standout Allie Schadler destroyed it in the Division III race with a time of 17:04. The win gave the junior her third straight title.
No. 4 Ironwood Ridge outlasted No. 13 Sunnyside 34-30 Friday night to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Division II state playoffs where the Nighthawks (9-2) will host No.5 Marcos de Niza (10-2).
Ironwood Ridge defeated Marcos de Niza 35-24 on the Padres' home field on Oct. 16. Prior to this season, Marcos de Niza knocked Ironwood Ridge out of the 2013 playoffs in the first round.
With nine kills in the first set, nine more in the second and four in the third, Lowry led No. 4 Salpointe to a 3-0 sweep over No. 12 Mesquite at home Thursday night. The win also sends the Lancers to the Division II semifinals against No. 1 Notre Dame on Saturday.
D-II Volleyball Preview
D-V Volleyball Preview
The Xavier Prep girls have won nine state championships including three in a row from 1995 to 1997 and then six in row from 2007 to 2012. Added to that incredible accomplishment is six runner-up finishes including the last two in 2013 and 2014.
Saguaro's Tyler Beauchamp set to finish high at state
Division II Boys
Nov. 2-3: Randolph Golf Course
Desert Edge junior Aaron Ramos won the Division II state championship by one stroke over Salpointe standout Trevor Werbylo (140-141).
Sahuaro senior Kathryn Ottman should be the main candidate for the state golfer of the year after winning the Division II state championship at the Del Urich Golf Course on Tuesday over Jessica Williams of Amphitheater.
Southern Arizona Update:
Rio Rico junior Allie Schadler won the Division III, Section III title with a time of 16:47.7. This is the lowest official time recorded for the two-time state champion in her high school career.
Her time is also the best in the nation for a junior by almost 35 seconds and fifth best in the nation regardless of class year. Schadler is only 24 seconds behind Oregon commit Katie Rainsberger (16:23.3 ). Rainsberger is a senior from Colorado.
Salpointe's quest to earn a top-four seed in the state playoffs was bolstered by a 3-0 win over Tucson on Thursday night. Teams seeded in the top four have a chance to host two matches in the playoffs depending, of course, on a victory in the opening round.
Safford and Empire met in a high stakes match Wednesday for a shot at the Division III playoffs and the Bulldogs came away with a 3-0 sweep to win Section III. Safford (9-7, 8-0 in section play) came in ranked 33rd while Empire (10-6, 7-1) was 37th. With only 16 teams making the playoffs, it was obvious the loser would be out.
The Division VI state playoffs got underway Saturday night with very little drama in the first round. No. 9 Glendale Prep beat No. 8 Salome 42-36 in a slight upset but the other three games went according to seed.
No. 6 Gilbert Christian beat 11 Ajo 64-22, No. 7 Mogollon got past No. 10 Williams 14-12 and No. 5 St. David defeated No. 12 Joseph City 58-14.
Salpointe was 2-4 at one point. A lot of experts offered to perform last rites for the Lancers, forgetting the first avenue to the playoffs comes through a section championship and the second option involves power points.
Cooper Bradford calmly approached what he thought would be his last official putt in high school. The Rincon/University senior knew his team needed to score a 157 to take over the last at-large playoff spot but he had no idea everything depended on how he finished.
It's been ten years since Patagonia qualified for the state playoffs. That's a decade of frustration that will certainly end next week but The Gregory School made sure the Lobos would have to wait a bit longer to celebrate after beating Patagonia 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 12-25, 25-22, 18-16) Monday night.
Down 11-6 in the third and final set to archrival Sahuaro, the Lancers went on a 9-2 run to close out another win and another tournament championship over the Cougars, 23-25, 25-15 and 15-13.
1963 articles by Andy Morales
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