Seton Catholic. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

Cactus Shadows held on to beat Seton Catholic 624 to 625 at the AIA Division II state championships held at the Aguila Golf Course in Laveen on Monday and Tuesday. The victory was the ninth in program history dating back to 2003 and the fifth under Mark O’Bryan. With five state trophies, only legendary Xavier Prep head coach Sister Lynn Winsor has more with an incredible 32 along with current Xavier head coach of record Tui Selvaratnam, who has six. Former Cactus Shadows head coach Mike Sarraino has four, former Chaparral coach Pat Mahan has four, as does former Catalina Foothills head coach Mark Polich.

This was the highest finish for Seton Catholic, Chaparral took third (629), Notre Dame Prep came in fourth (665) and Canyon del Oro took fifth (667).

Individually, St. John Pual II senior Kaitlyn Helm shot 5-under-par during round two on Tuesday to pull away from the crowd with Sabino senior Zaida Wise and Chaparral junior Isabel Helgemoe tied with Helm for the lead after the first round. Helm shot a 9-under 135 to hold Wise (139) and Combs senior Alexis Vakasiuola (139) at bay to earn the state championship. Seton Catholic junior Cynthia Lang (142) took fourth and Helgemoe (143) took fifth.

Helm is a Washington State commit and her victory guarantees a new individual champion next year. Six seniors will graduate from Cactus Shadows, including four of the five scorers, so we might see a new team champion next year.

Top ten finishers from right to left. (Anfy Morales/AZPreps365)