The first path to the post season runs through the section races and this is how the races from Southern Arizona look right now. All records are section records.
Pueblo beat Thatcher 6-2 on Friday to remain on top of the Division IV AIA/MaxPreps rankings. The Warriors (18-5 overall and 12-2 in rankings games) are experiencing one of the best seasons ever for the program, rivaled only by the 25-2 squad that won the 4A championship in 1990.
Yazzie has been the head cross country and track coach at Pusch Ridge since 2005 and an art teacher at the school for a couple of years before that. But he is heading home now, back to New Mexico, to teach art and coach with his daughter Autumn Newell at the Rehoboth Christian School just outside of Gallup.
Abby Miller spent a lot of her childhood trying out different sports and even gave softball a go, like her older sister University of Arizona outfielder Merrilee Miller. The Ironwood Ridge senior also has a golf gene in her family thanks to an uncle who played at East Carolina so she gave that a try.
These are the current stat leaders for baseball with just about two weeks left in the regular season. These lists fluctuate daily depending on updated stats. Although I have only included the top three for each category, one name that will come out high on the strikeout list at the end of the season will be Santa Rita junior pitcher Rickey Borquez.
Spring signing period: Southern Arizona list
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: CDO Hitmen Invitational brackets set
We are about five weeks away from the Division III state golf championship to be played May 13-14 at the Antelope Hills Golf Course in Prescott. There are seven sections in D-III and each section winner will earn an automatic berth to the playoffs while eight more teams will earn an at-large berth based on their iWanamaker rankings.
Washington won the state championship last spring with a distance of only 172-feet-8 inches. I wrote "only" because he set a state-record 202 feet at the Casa Grande Kiwanis Invitational on Friday, April 1.
It's been five years since Canyon del Oro has gotten the best of Ironwood Ridge. Those five years, and the 11 losses in a row that came with it, were almost forgotten Tuesday night when the Dorados came out on top 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22) in an emotionally packed match. Almost forgotten, but not quite. This is a rivalry after all - at least it is now.
Canyon del Oro defeated Sunnyside 6-4 in an important Division II match Friday between two teams currently ranked in the Top 10. CDO (17-1-1 overall and 9-1 in power-ranking games) is ranked second in the state as of Friday morning and Sunnyside (12-10, 5-3) came in ranked eighth.
San Miguel gave up an early lead but the Vipers slowly fought back to defeat Academy of Tucson 14-10 on Thursday. The Vipers improved to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in Division V, Section II while Academy of Tucson dropped to 9-4 and 0-1.
The Catalina Trojans woke up this morning and found themselves ranked third in the first Division IV AIA/MaxPreps power-rankings of the season. It's an incredible turnaround from a program that has only won 33 games since winning a state championship in 2011.
Salpointe defeated Cienega 5-1 Tuesday in a rematch of the Division II state championship game last year where the Bobcats prevailed 9-2. The Lancers (13-1 overall, 8-1 in power-ranking games) have reloaded despite the loss of seven seniors while Cienega (9-9, 3-3) is still trying to find an identity.
Bishop Gorman defeated Canyon del Oro 9-0 in the championship game of the Chris Moon Memorial Classic on Friday afternoon at Cherry Field. It was a game that featured the defending Nevada Division I state champions against the defending Arizona D-II state champions.
A rivalry in name only, Ironwood Ridge has grown accustomed to beating Canyon del Oro during singles play but the Dorados forced the Nighthawks to doubles where the Nighthawks ultimately pulled out a slim 5-4 win on Thursday.
Catalina Foothills swept Salpointe Monday in an important Division II girl's tennis match heading into the first power rankings of the season to be released on Wednesday. The Falcons are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Section VII while the Lancers fell to 6-1 and 2-1.
The Chris Moon Memorial Classic is named after the Tucson High 2007 consensus Southern Arizona Player of the Year pitcher and outfielder Chris Moon. Moon was drafted by the Atlanta Braves but chose instead to play for Andy Lopez at Arizona.
The University of Arizona and Ironwood Ridge hosted the first high school “pairs” competition in Arizona. The CatBox Classic featured athletes from Xavier Prep, Salpointe, Chaparral, Ironwood Ridge, Corona del Sol and Notre Dame.
Tucson went undefeated (4-0) to earn the top seed in the Championship Bracket of the Badger Invitational to be played Saturday at Cherry Field. The Badgers outscored their opponents 41-11 in the process. Buena (3-1) earned the 2-seed.
Empire beat Safford 12-5 Thursday afternoon at the inaugural D'Eredita Memorial Baseball Invitational held at Empire High School in Vail.
Desert View beat Empire 4-3 Wednesday afternoon to start off pool play at the Badger Classic. The Jaguars (6-6-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to get past the Ravens (5-4).
AMSA Transportation Lancer Baseball Classic
Mar. 14-18: Tucson Reid Park Annex
Sabino outlasted Mountain View 8-6 Tuesday in an important Division II game between two teams still looking for an identity. Sabino (3-7 overall, 3-1 in division games) is still rebuilding from the loss of several standouts including Wisconsin leader Kelsey Jenkins while Mountain View (3-5-1, 1-3) is coming off one of the best seasons in recent memory that included a rare trip to the state playoffs.
Six teams are taking part in the D'Eredita Memorial Raven Baseball Invitational held at Empire High School. Each team is scheduled for three games with bracket play scheduled for Saturday.
In addition, softball will be played at the Tucson Badger Invitational at Cherry Field. Pool play starts on Wednesday and the championship is scheduled for Saturday night.
1810 articles by Andy Morales
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