This is the 23rd installment of “Old Pueblo Abuelo,” a thought on positive things happening in the Old Pueblo from a sometimes cranky and often times humorous grandfather actually born in Tucson and writing from my desk in Tucson, the Old Pueblo.…
Southern Arizona sends dozens of our best athletes off to college every year and quite a few make a name for themselves on various academic or athletic honor rolls. I was able to find the names of some 207 athletes from Southern Arizona who did well last year and that’s only about 10 percent of the ones out there.
So, in any given year, we have about 2,000 athletes from Southern Arizona playing some kind of sport locally, in Arizona or across the nation. By doing well, these athletes open doors for others to follow but, I fear I miss some athletes every year because there are too many to keep track of.
We keep track of athletes who win championships and competitions in a separate list, this list is reserved for those who become All-Americans or earn other meaningful awards. We are off to slow start this year but we have two listed so far.
Former Sabino baseball standout Jack Langan was appointed to the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Langan is a sophomore catcher for Cornell.
Langan is one of six student-athletes nationally selected as primary members of Division III SAAC, representing the Midwest region.
Langan is in his second year on Cornell’s SAAC and also serves as a Midwest Conference SAAC representative for 2021-22.
“A big topic now is mental health. The Special Olympics are also big to me,” said Langan in a release. “The (NCAA D-III) convention was interesting and a cool experience. Things are rapidly changing. We’re here to figure out how to solve issues for everyone. It’s a great thing to do.”
Langan is pursuing a double major in kinesiology and business management. He has career ambitions of becoming a physical therapist or lawyer.
This list will be updated all year in an effort to recognize all former local prep stars who have gone on to achieve either academic and/or athletic awards at the next level. These are not high school awards but collegiate and professional recognitions. NOT CHAMPIONSHIPS. If you are aware of anything I have missed along the way, please let me know. amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
Portions from news release.
This is our second recognition for 2022 – we had 207 athletes recognized in 2021.
Jack Langan/Baseball
Sabino/Cornell
NCAA D-III SAAC Member (1/27)
Angel Addleman/Basketball
Palo Verde/Pima
ACCAC D-II Player of the Week (1/5)
More “Old Pueblo Abuelo” can be found here.
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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, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee and he earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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