Tucson Conquistadores Tucson City Jr. Championship
Junior Golf Association of Arizona (JGAA)
May 29-30: Randolph Golf Complex
Xavier senior Ashley Menne finished six strokes ahead of the field to capture the Girls Championship of the Tucson City Junior Championship held at the Randolph Golf Complex Wednesday and Thursday. The ASU commit is a 3-time Division I state high school champion.
Menne shot a 7-under-par 133 and Catalina Foothills standout Maya Benita shot a 1-under 139. Benita committed to play for the University of Arizona this week.
“It means so much to me to be able to play for Arizona,” Benita said. “To be able to represent Tucson at the next level is incredible.”
Benita was a soccer standout and grew up wanting to play college soccer but she gave up the sport after her freshman year at Catalina Foothills to concentrate on golf.”
“I just might play soccer this year,” Benita added. “I have one more year and it’s gone by too fast. I just fell in love with golf and my personal coach Susie Meyers. She changed my life and she changed my game.”
Brophy standout Cameron Kaiser and former Notre Dame standout Mason Quagliata shot identical 3-under-par scores (71-70 141) to force an extra hole to decide the Boys Championship and Kaiser shot a birdie on the 10th hole on Randolph North to stay ahead of Quagliata’s par 4 for the title.
Celia Schrecker played for Canyon del Oro last year but she has transferred over to Ironwood Ridge. She put together the best two rounds of her career (76-72 148) to capture the girls 15-18 title. Her goal is to be in the LPGA one day and this is an excellent way to start that dream.
Lily Huether took third in the Girls 13-14 division and she is the latest edition of the Salpointe sports family that includes Pomona Pitzer freshman standout Annabelle Huether, who was recently named to the All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Golf Second Team.
Cienega standout Diego Guerrero wins the Conquistadors @CologuardGolf Michael J Harris Core Values Award @JuniorGolfofAZ @TucsonCityGolf pic.twitter.com/QT3MTOzDtZ— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) May 30, 2019
The Tucson Conquistadores presented the Michael J. Harris Core Values Award to Cienega standout Diego Guerrero during the awards ceremony. Selected by the Junior Golf Association of Arizona (JGAA), Guerrero exemplified The First Tee Nine Core Values of Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgment.
According to the Conquistadores, this award is given in memory of Harris, a longtime member of the Tucson Conquistadores, a civic leader and philanthropist who was dedicated to the community, young people and embodied the aspiration that golf, like life, be enjoyed with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect and a sense of fellowship. He was one of our community’s most dedicated citizens, and we’ll forever be grateful for his many contributions to the Southern Arizona community.
Harris’s wife Charlotte and his son Chris were on hand to help present the award to Guerrero. Former Salpointe and current University of Arizona standout Trevor Werbylo placed the legendary Conquistadores helmet on Guerrero.
The Harris family established and endowment fund and Guerrero will receive $500 to be used toward expenses related to golf such as instruction, tournament entry fees, tournament travel or equipment.
GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP (Dell Urich)
1: Ashley Menne, Surprise (66-67 133) -7
2: Maya Benita, Catalina Foothills (70-69 139) -1
3: Madeleine Laux, Goodyear (70-72 142) +2
3: Carly Strole, Avondale (69-73 142) +2
BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP (North)
1: Cameron Kaiser, Scottsdale (71-70 141) -3
2: Mason Quagliata, Scottsdale (71-70 141) -3
3: Noah Nuez, Laveen (75-71 146) +2
GIRLS 15-18 (Dell Urich)
1: Celia Schrecker, Ironwood Ridge (76-72 148) +8
2: Taylor Naumann, Gilbert (76-76 152) +12
3: Julie Huggins, Anthem (80-77 157) +17
BOYS 15-18 (North)
1: RJ Wright, Bisbee (75-75 150) +6
2: Jorge Parada, Tucson (74-78 152) +8
3: Isaac Ruiz, Buena (76-77 153) +9
GIRLS 13-14
1: Annie Dawson, Phoenix (79-85 164) +24
2: Mia Cesarek, Tucson (84-84 168) +28
3: Lily Huether, Tucson (94-78 172) +32
BOYS 13-14
1: Andrew Bowers, Ironwood Ridge (72-75 147) +7
2: Thayer Plewe, Colorado (79-74 153) +13
3: Oliver Corwon, Sahuarita (79-77 156) +16
GIRLS 11-12
1: Natalia Lamadrid, Phoenix (41-38 79) +9
2: Lucy Newell, Oro Valley (40-40 80) +10
3: Ella Walsh, Tucson (48-44 92) +22
BOYS 11-12
1: Brennan Korn, Phoenix (35-34 69) -1
2: Gavin Ly, Goodyear (38-35 73) +3
3: Griffin Meister (40-37 77) +7
3: Chase Pickering (38-39 77) +7
GIRLS 10U
1: Alexis Lamadrid, Phoenix (37-38 75) +5
2: Ashley Shaw, Litchfield Park (39-38 77) +7
3: Peyton DeCosta, Glendale (46-42 88) +18
BOYS 10U
1: Zachary Schaefer, Tucson (33-38 71) +1
2: Everett Corwon, Sahuarita (40-38 78) +8
2: Jake Kellman, Tucson (39-39 78) +8
2: David vanden Branden, Oro Valley (38-40 88) +8
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
