Salpointe junior forward Leo Gutierrez’s hat trick of three goals in the 4A state championship victory over Mica Mountain on Feb. 23 was a symbol of how important he was to the Lancers’ nine-match winning streak to end the season.
Gutierrez had 16 goals and five assists in that stretch.
For his late-season performance, particularly in February, when he had the hat trick in the 4-1 win over Mica Mountain in the championship match, Gutierrez is the Jet Sports Training Male Athlete of the Month for February.
Salpointe junior Leo Gutierrez had a hat trick to help pick up his third state championship in a row. #azpreps365 pic.twitter.com/omO1ksCmKi
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) February 24, 2024
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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.