Canyon del Oro senior Kayden Luke had quite a beginning and end of December.
He was part of the Dorados’ 4A state championship football team beat Yuma Catholic 35-27 on Dec. 1 at ASU’s Mountain America Stadium.
He earned the Mile High Challenge Most Outstanding Wrestler honor on Saturday after going 5-0 (all wins by fall) at 215 pounds in the prestigious event at Prescott. He improved to 59-0 over the last two years.
In that state championship game against Yuma Catholic, Luke rushed for 217 yards on 31 carries with two touchdowns. He eclipsed 2,000 yards rushing in a season, the first CDO back to achieve the feat since Ka’Deem Carey in 2009.
“It means everything to me,” Luke said of his performance. “I know my parents are standing back there prouder than hell because they made this possible and I just want to thank them. Thank you, God. Thank you everyone. I’m proud to make my family proud.”
He earned the Southern Arizona Media Most Valuable Player honor and was selected the Arizona Bowl Player of the Year.
For his achievements, including notable perforamances in December on the field and the mat, Luke is the Jet Sports Training Male Athlete of the Month.
2023 MALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH HONORS
January 2023: Sabino basketball player Weston Haebig
February 2023: Sunnyside wrestler Sergio Vega
March 2023: Catalina Foothills baseball player Ethan Bell
April 2023: Tucson baseball player Gennaro Brito
May 2023: Rincon/University track & field athlete Nathaniel Curtiss
June 2023: Former CDO track athlete Turner Washington
July 2023: Canyon View Little League outfielder/pitcher Ethan Burnside
August 2023: Sabino quarterback Cam Hackworth
September 2023: Pusch Ridge cross country runner Myles Floyd
October 2023: Ironwood Ridge golfer Brasen Briones
November 2023: Sabino running back/linebacker Mason Cade
December 2023: CDO running back/linebacker Kayden Luke
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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