Catalina Foothills was the last team from Southern Arizona to win a state championship on the boy’s side and the Falcons did that in 2016. The Canyon del Oro boys came in fifth place the following year and Salpointe came in sixth place twice since then, including last year, but it’s been a hard road.
Salpointe junior Carlos Astiazaran took second place in Division II last year and he will be battling for the top spot. Former University of Arizona and current Loyola Marymount standout Gavin Cohen won an individual title in 2016 for Catalina Foothills.
The girls, on the other hand, have experience more recent success with Ironwood Ridge winning the D-II title in 2019 and 2020 and the Nighthawks are heavy favorites again this year based on the top talent coming back especially with Zoe Newell and Hannah and Raina Ports. The three finished in the top four last year and Celia Schrecker and Makenna Brown also contributed to another very successful season. More talent is coming in from the Oro Valley school but our focus is on the top returners.
Salpointe senior Mackenzie McRee is the only returning state champion (2018). Arizona standout Maya Benita won it all in 2019 and she was the last from Southern Arizona.
The season starts on Aug. 17 and the state playoffs for D-II run from Oct. 25-26 for girls and Oct. 27-28 for boys at the Omni Tucson National and from Nov. 1-2 for girls and Nov. 3-4 for boys in D-I. The boys will be on the Catalina Course and girls on the Sonoran course.
TOP 30 RETURNING GIRLS
Zoe Newell, Jr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II runner-up)
Hannah Ports, Sr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II runner-up)
Raina Ports, Sr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II runner-up)
Celia Schrecker, Sr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II 12th)
Mackenzie McRee, Sr. Salpointe (D-II 14th) 2018 State Champion
Mia Cesarek, Jr. Catalina Foothills (D-II 17th)
Susie Gietl, Sr. Salpointe (D-II 17th)
Makenna Brown, Sr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II 24th)
Lily Huether, So. Rincon/UHS to Salpointe (D-I 31st)
Rylie Crane, Sr. Catalina Foothills (D-II 29th)
Akyra Kay, Jr. Salpointe (D-II 31st)
Hannah Lee, Sr. Rincon/UHS (D-I 34th)
Gina Lee, So. Catalina Foothills (D-II 47th)
Emarie Sooter, Sr. Sabino (D-II 56th)
Rachel Hanson, Sr. Catalina Foothills
Rylee Koebnick, Sr. Sahuarita
Savannah Welch, Sr. Cienega
Angelina Santiago, Jr. Mountain View
Jilliana Stopani, Sr. Cienega
Marissa Partida, Jr. Desert View
Isabella Cheeseman, Sr. Rincon/UHS
Gertrude Munoz, So. Flowing Wells
Charlotte Schrecker, So. Ironwood Ridge
Alexa Corona, So. Marana
Lindsay Draper, Sr. Sabino
Faith Valenzuela, Sr. Canyon del Oro
Taylor Patterson, Sr. Marana
Kailey Argue, Jr. Marana
Myranda Moreno, Sr. Tucson
Samantha Smith, So. Cienega
TOP 30 RETURNING BOYS
Carlos Astiazaran, Jr. Salpointe (D-II Runner-up)
Beckett Carlson, Jr. Canyon del Oro (D-II 9th)
Andrew Bowers, Sr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II 16th)
Jake Myre, Jr. Sabino (D-II 21st)
Zander Los, Sr. Ironwood Ridge (D-II 37th)
Spencer Chan, Jr. Catalina Foothills (D-II 43rd)
Jacob Medina, So. Ironwood Ridge (D-II 45th)
Luis Lopez, Sr. Sahuarita (D-II 49th)
Jackson Rustand, Jr. Sabino (D-II 53rd)
Carter Callahan, Sr. Salpointe (D-II 69th)
David Busse, Sr. Sabino (D-II 70th)
Nathan Monroe, Sr. Salpointe (D-II 72nd)
Nicklaus Dubois, Jr. Catalina Foothills
Kaden Boyter, Sr. Sahuarita
Bryce Colby, So. Cienega
Ben Hogan, Sr. Ironwood Ridge
Gustavo Acosta, Sr. Nogales
Nathan Romero, Sr. Marana
Ethan McWilliams, Jr. Canyon del Oro
Diego Medina, Sr. Nogales
Raymundo Ruiz, Sr. Nogales
Colin Lynch, So. Mountain View
Dominic Swick, Sr. Marana
Michael Denman, Sr. Ironwood Ridge
Tate Williams, Sr. Cienega
Jayden Schmitz, So. Ironwood Ridge
Kiran Glenn, Sr. Mountain View
Colton Boone, Jr. Douglas
Isaac Schwarz, Jr. Cienega
Henry Ferguson, Jr. Canyon del Oro
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. 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. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019 and he is a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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