DECEMBER 202 Rachael Bouley he last few months have been jam-packed for local sports, high school athletes giving their all in pursuit of State titles personal success. Arcadia News caught up with Arcadia, phy, Veritas, and Xavier to find out how the football, cross ntry, swim, golf, and volleyball teams finished their seasons.  Football fter making it to the State semifinals last year, the Titans e determined to build on that success. They hit the ground ning this season, with eight straight wins before their first and an 8-1 overall record (with one ‘no decision,’ a forfeit ista Grande), earning them second place in the 4A Desert Division and a spot in the 2024 playoffs. s of press time, the Titans won the first playoff game inst Seton Catholic, 34-30 and were gearing up for their nd game against AZ College Prep. This is their third year row making it to the playoffs. Girls Flag Football he Lady Titans made history with their first flag football , a 33-0 victory over Arete Prep to kick off the season. They shed with a 6-6 record and scored a spot in the playoffs. ton Connelly finished in the top four offense rushing and sing for the 4A Desert Sky region. She scored 80 points and ouchdowns with 3,419 total yards going into round one of postseason. Cross Country he Titans enjoyed a memorable season marked by historic ievements and standout performances. For the first time ight years, the Arcadia boys’ team qualified for State, led junior Chase Braden who finished 7th overall out of 234 ners and was joined by fellow junior Brady Lord and seniors ah Talamantes, Ari Schott, Javier Pulido, Efrain Carmona, David Darnall. HS ranked 15th out of the top 30 Arizona schools, which d Coach Tyler Moore believes is a testament to the athletes’ work, dedication, and perseverance. Throughout the season, the boys demonstrated exceptional work and resilience, consistently improving their times pushing each other to new heights,” Moore said. he girls’ team also had a phenomenal season, with five vidual runners qualifying for the State Championships: hman Samantha Gagnon, sophomore Evra Therien, juniors Catton and Kelly Mitchell, and senior Charlotte Hopper. Each of these athletes showcased incredible talent and rmination, earning their spots at the qualifying Division 2 sectionals meet,” Moore added. “Their support for one another was evident in every race, creating a positive and motivating environment. The boys’ historic qualification for State and the girls’ individual successes have set a new benchmark for the program.” Swim & Dive It was a successful season in the pool, with the Arcadia swim and dive boys team placing eighth, their highest finish in five years, and the girl’s team finishing 13th overall at State. Ryan Mallender and Aidan McClure finished eighth in their respective events, while Tristyn Abbott, Andrew Brown, Hudson Pentkowski, and Adlai Lipton all swam lifetime bests in the boys’ 200 free relay. The boys’ 400 free relay of Ryan, Grant Moy, Aidan, and Paul Huisman dropped 10.34 seconds to win their heat and finish eighth overall. In the girls’ championship, Evelyn Klein and Zoë McClure had top 20 finishes in the 200 free, plus the 500 free and 100 fly respectively. In State relay swims, the 200 medleys of Presleigh Voris, Elsa Nunley, Zoë, and Elle Stultz swam a season-best to finish tenth. On the diving side, Arcadia had the most divers advance to State with five athletes, something coach Brittney Blystone said she was very proud of. Avery Bowling placed second this year, and Kingston Williams placed 13th in boys’ diving. Logan Costello placed 11th, Eva Bowling placed 15th, and Kendall Sawkiw placed 18th in girls’ diving. Golf It’s been a transition year for Arcadia, with just a handful of seniors and many younger players strengthening their skills on the course. Even so, they reached their goal of qualifying for State, participating in the Division 2 Boys Golf State Championships at the end of October. The Titans finished ninth overall with a 606 overall score, led by Jackson Malatesta in 22nd place and Hank Hubbard in 35th place. The girls came in eighth at State with a 696 overall score, as Logan Jenkins finished 25th and Payton Connelly finished 39th. Volleyball The Titans came close but ultimately fell just short to St. Mary’s, dashing their playoff hopes despite 11 aces and scoring more points across five sets. Their last game marked three consecutive contests with at least 10 aces. The team finished with an overall record of 15-16, and their best run was a five-match winning streak, including four straight 2-0 wins. Emma Lindenmeyer ranked fifth in the State with 864 assists, and senior Katie Musselmann ranked tenth with 113 total blocks. Senior Lane Sheedy was another key contributor with 416 digs, putting her in the top 25 for all of Arizona.  Football After a one-point overtime loss in the semifinals last year, the Broncos looked to go one step further and once again clinched the No. 1 seed in the AIA 6A Conference playoffs. Brophy finished the season 8-2 and ranked fifth in Arizona. They opened the season with five straight wins, outscoring opponents 171-62. Junior quarterback Case Vanden Bosch had 14 touchdowns, in 10 games with an average of 80.6 rushing yards per game. Junior wide receivers Daylen Sharper and Devin Fitzgerald led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns. Senior Dominic Woods led the defense as a middle linebacker with 8.1 tackles per game. In one of their closer games this season, sophomore Ryder Noche came in clutch with a 93-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter to hold off Mountain Pointe. Golf The Broncos finished the season 8-0 on matches an won the Brophy Rodeo presented by PING and the Peak Invite. They placed second in the Brophy Invite and tied f second at the Dobson Classic. This set them up for succe on the State stage, as they won the 2024 Division 1 Sta Tournament after defeating second-place Perry by 21 shot Brophy had three players in the top 10: Dylan Boennin second at nine under par, Asher Nelson tied for fifth three under par, and Jack Langbein tied for tenth at tw under par. Asher finished second in team scoring averag “I am most proud of the overall team effort, that 12 guy came together to support and encourage one another. W had a very competitive team and everyone contributed to th overall success, which culminated in a State Championship Head Coach Jon Shores said. Cross Country The Broncos finished in the top 10 at the Division 1 Sta Championship, marking their 17th consecutive season. Senior Santiago Sanchez was the first Bronco to ever brea 15 minutes for three miles at the Woodbridge Invitationa and finished as a State medalist for the second straight yea Fellow seniors Evan Giesecke and Ryan Rastad raced the fastest times at State to help bolster the team. “We are proud of having 60 boys on the team this yea with 20 of them running under 20 minutes for the full 5 distance,” Coach Oscar Borboa said. “This team hopes to b back in the top five at the State meet again next year, wi the continued development of its underclassmen.” Swim & Dive Brophy has now won 43 State titles, winning the first since 2019 after taking out the AIA Division 1 Sta Championship with 417.5 points, a healthy lead over secon place Pinnacle with 324 points. Their successful Sta campaign included two individual titles, three top-fou relay finishes, and ten top finishes in the finals at Skylin Aquatic Center. Junior Mark Heffern won the 200-yard individual medle and sophomore Patrick Dunn secured the 500 freestyl Heffern was also fourth in the 100 backstroke, while Dun finished seventh in the 200 freestyle. Finn Conley, Markus Crawford, Mark Heffern, and Fran Sunderhaus placed third in the 200 medley relay (1:37.64 followed by Thomas McCauley, Finn, Asher Gomez, an Mark Heffern, who also came third in the 400 free relay. Th 200 free relay team finished fourth, with Thomas, Ashe Tritan Oudman, and Frank, who was eighth in the 50 fre Finn touched seventh in the 100 butterfly and 11th in th 200 free. Asher placed sixth in the 100 freestyle, and Trita came eighth. Ashton Joswiak was third in the 500 free an 10th in the 100 backstroke. On the diving platform, Jonah Geist finished 14th, whi Scott Schubert came in 21st. This also marked the secon straight season of Daren Brubaker receiving Division Coach of the Year honors. 2024 high school fall sports wrap-up Brophy golf dia flag football adia football PHOTO: AUDREA WALSHIRE

CEMBER 2024  Football fter dropping out in the first round of the playoffs last year, Falcons were ready to fight this season, improving their ord to 8-3 and 4-2 in the 2A Verde region. In 11 games, they red 319 points and gave up 189, with three and four-game ning streaks under their belts. he team made school history with their first-ever AIA te playoff win, winning 23-20 over Phoenix Christian ugars. Throughout the season, junior Rocco Guido earned 11.8 percent quarterback rating with 13 touchdown passes. ior Tico Lentz averaged 61.8 rushing yards per game with am-high six touchdowns and junior Baylor Arnold had four rceptions. Cross Country he boys’ team had a strong season and qualified for the Cross Country Division 4 State Championship, where y finished 17th overall. Junior Declan Travis led the way, ning a season-best and finishing 29th. Sophomore Santiago o lowered his personal best to over two minutes faster than freshman year. reshmen Kingston Travis and James Blakely also ran sonal bests, which ranks them as the 12th and 16th fastest hmen in State this year. Junior Dominic Heil set a new sonal best of and was a consistent key contributor to the m’s top five. Rounding out the top seven were sophomores vin McNeal and Bridger Bahen, who lowered his personal t over three minutes from his freshman season. With no seniors on the team, the junior boys stepped up their dership and the underclassmen ran hard every meet, showing ellent grit and determination,” Coach Sawyer Koops said. he girls’ team won the Metro Sectional meet and qualified the AIA State Championship meet, where they placed rth overall. They were led by junior Rachel Barney, freshman let Haggerty, and junior Hazel Haggerty, who all ran sonal bests. reshman Athena Skikos ranked the fourth fastest first-year h schooler in Division 4 State with a personal best of 21:30. homore Mila Mestaz beat her best record by almost four utes. Seniors Maggie Powell and Adelia Quayle provided sistent leadership. The former lowered her personal best two utes and the latter ran a season-best of 26:48. Winning their sectional race as a team was a fantastic effort t took the whole team doing their parts to take home the tion championship plaque,” Koops said. “A top-five team sh in the State is an amazing accomplishment and highlights depth and strength of this year’s team.” Swim & Dive he Falcons made a splash in the AIA Division 3 ampionships, with the girls finishing ninth and the boys cing 26th overall. Andrew Youssef, Jaspar Loel, Mason shard, and Louis Cristanelli finished inside the top 20 for boys’ 200-yard medley relay. n the girls’ side, Michelle Pham, Abigail McKinzie, Sicily tteri, and Sara Yani placed fourth in the same relay. Michelle Abigail placed eighth and ninth in the 200 individual event ile Sicily hit 16th in the 100 fly. Michelle also came sixth he 100 back. Volleyball The Falcons rode a three-match win streak into the playoffs with a 25-13 overall record but ultimately fell 3-2 in round one to North Valley Christian. They finished with a 9-1 record at home and went 6-2 in the 2A Valley Region. Junior Mary Hamann ranked sixth in the State with 469 kills and 24th with a 0.327 hitting percentage. Senior Joanna Llusco ranks 14th Arizona-wide with 739 assists.  Flag Football Flag football is a relatively new offering at Xavier, but the Gators have wasted no time leaving their mark on the competition in the last few seasons. Although they fell a bit in rankings this year with a 5-7 record, they won some close contests against tough competitors and have plenty to build on. Their biggest win came in round seven against Tucson High Magnet School, who they beat 28-6. Although it’s a young team, all players contributed to their success. Junior Isa Ady ranked ninth statewide with 19 sacks, while junior Ana Matuz Moran recorded 1,808 passing yards as quarterback. Junior wide receiver Gigi Bulkley made seven touchdowns and averaged 82.4 receiving yards per game. Junior Ruth Reyes received both first team all-region on offense and defense, with Gigi Buckley and Imani Campbell earning first team honors. “I’m most proud of our work ethic and sportsmanship. It was not the best season, but we played hard and held our heads high, and won the 6A Sportsmanship Award for our sport,” Coach Michael Patterson said. “Our goals are to improve and polish the little things.” Cross Country The Gators enjoyed a fun win at the Division 1 Southwest sectionals before heading to State in November. They rolled into the championships ranked tenth and were led by junior Ella Wadsworth and seniors Kaitlyn Markham and Maggie Mostoller; all State meet veterans. They took fourth place with 168 points. Ella and Kaitlyn were the top runners, finishing 13th and 23rd. They were one of the best duos in the state with personal records of 18:58 and 19:08 in the 5K. LilyGrace Anderson and Evelyn Montes finished in the top 10 of every in-state freshmen and JV race they ran in. Other highlights included a second-place result for varsity and a first-place finish for JV at the Peaks Invitational, as well as strong showings at the Western Equinox Invitational, Woodbridge Classic, Twilight Invitational and Glendale Showcase. Both varsity and JV won at the John Gleeson Lancer Invitational with Xavier sweeping the top six places. “By showing up every day and enjoying the process and work, they are all training at a much higher level than they previously have and improved immensely,” Head Coach Nissa Kubly said. “Half of our team is new to the sport, yet we had the second-best JV team in the state. Our varsity team averaged 45 second improvements over their times last year. We trained like we loved the sport and raced confidently, which led to us taking fourth at State.” Swim & Dive The Gators were named AIA Division 1 Champions, capping off an undefeated season with their first State title in eight years. They scored 398 points, putting them 31 points in front of Arizona College Prep. Freshman Adelyn Burns claimed two State titles as a freshma both lifetime bests in the 200 IM and 1:02.85 (a new scho record) in the 100 breaststroke. In the opening 200 medle relay, Genevieve George, Adelyn, Carter Cook, and Audre McEwen set the tone for the meet, winning in 1:45.63. The Xavier girls placed highly in all three relays, taking thi in the 400 free relay and fourth in the 200 free relay. Genevie also made it onto the podium in two events, taking second in th 100 fly (new school record) and 100 butterfly. In total, Xavi had 12 athletes score in individual events to secure their title On the diving platform, senior Maya Superfon placed six overall, producing 17 points for Xavier’s team score. She w joined by freshman Genny Fischer as they competed against 4 of the top high school girl divers in Arizona. Genny was seede 34th and finished in 30th place, a strong start for a dedicate diver with three high school seasons to go. “The ladies set a goal of top three as a team at the beginnin of the season with the true goal of being No. 1,” Coach Dav Smithers said. “They worked through the ‘hard’ at every practic slowly moving toward their goal. They always stuck to Coa Glen’s saying: ‘swim fast, smile a lot and have fun.’” Golf After going 11-0 in matches this season, Xavier made histo once more, securing a 39th State golf title. No other Arizon high school has more than eight. As defending State Champion Xavier entered the final tournament as the top-ranked team Division 1, and they lived up to expectations despite a tig battle between Pinnacle and Casteel. When the dust settle their score was +18, with second place sitting +26. Sophomore Alexis Lamadrid had scores of 68 and 69 and w in a close race for the individual title, ultimately coming awa as a medalist with a one-stroke win. Isabella Piazza tied for eighth place and Natalia Lamadr tied for tenth to earn medalist status. Ellie von Kolen and Soph Pe Benito-Brooks tied for 13th and 19th place out of 82 golfer respectively. “I’m most proud of how the whole team came together to he us win. All of the top five finished in the top 20,” Head Coac Tui Selvaratnam said. The Gators also won the Aguila Invite, came runner up the Brophy Rodeo, and third place in the Brophy Invite. The winning streak has been extended to 305 matches and zero lose Volleyball The Gators set their sights on their first State title since 201 and their 28-4 overall record put them in a good position. The entered playoffs ranked No. 1 in the 6A Division, earning hom advantage through quarterfinals and semifinals. Xavier beat No. 16 Valley Vista 3-0 and No. 8 Queen Cree 3-0 in the first two rounds of the playoffs. They finished 3-0 ov Sunnyslope in the semifinals, heading next to the championsh with Corona del Sol, in which the Gators prevailed 3-1 to brin home the title. “I’m proud that we won 6A Central Region as first ye members of the new conference,” Head Coach Lamar-Ren Bryant said. “Vivian Hickman, Tessa Larkin, Selah O’Conno Elle McCreery, Mattea Saunders were all key contributors.” Xavier golf Xavier cross country s cross country