36 JUNE 2026 By AJ Stone Bella Vista Prep, a small high school basketball program tucked near 40th Street and Osborn, made a national statement in April. The team won the Chipotle High School Basketball Nationals, becoming the first boys’ high school squad from Arizona to bring home a national postseason title. The team secured the championship with a 69-65 victory over Florida’s Montverde Academy in a tightly contested final that showcased defensive intensity, depth, and late-game execution on both sides. Tournament MVP Miles Sadler led Bella Vista with 23 points and nine assists in the championship, guiding the offense and managing key possessions down the stretch. Director Matt Gordon noted that the championship game reflected the team’s growth and resilience over recent years, including a period when the program nearly shut down. He described several turning points as the result of defensive stops, transition scoring, and unselfish ball movement that helped the team separate from opponents in key moments. Bella Vista’s roster had several key contributors. Sadler controlled the pace from the point guard position with steady decision-making. Center Amadou Seini, a West Virginia University commit, provided interior defense, rebounding, and rim protection. Forward Paul Osaruyi contributed versatility on both ends of the floor, while guards Vaughn Karvala and Lyris Robinson added scoring, physicality, and effort plays in important situations. Gordon emphasized that the team’s depth was one of its defining strengths, allowing different players to step up depending on the matchup and game flow. He also credited the group’s composure under pressure, particularly in close games late in the tournament. “The team’s ability to stay organized and execute in critical moments stood out,” Gordon said, adding that Sadler’s leadership and overall performance were central to the team’s success. Programs like Bella Vista operate outside the Arizona Interscholastic Association, instead competing on national schedules against top prep academies across the country. This structure allowed the team to face high-level competition throughout the season, preparing them for the intensity of the national tournament. Defensively, the squad leaned on size, versatility, and communication, often switching effectively across multiple positions. Offensively, the team emphasized ball movement and tempo control. “The program is built on developing complete student-athletes – young men who are prepared for college, life, and leadership,” Gordon said. “Basketball is the platform, but the goal is to build young men who succeed long after the game. The championship is a result of that culture, not the starting point.” With the national title secured, Bella Vista concludes its season with a historic achievement for Arizona basketball and a strengthened profile on the national prep stage. Bella Vista makes Arizona history with national title By Mallory Gleich At 13 years old, Arcadia-area athlete Steven Slattery is already pushing past expectations – both in distance running and in determination. Competing in the demanding steeplechase, a race rarely seen at the middle school level, Slattery tested himself against older athletes at a meet hosted this spring by Grand Canyon University. “The steeplechase is a 3,000-meter race with four 36- inch barriers and a water jump each lap,” Steven explained. The event requires endurance, strength, coordination and fearlessness as runners leap barriers and splash through water obstacles lap after lap. For Steven, the preparation reflects the intensity. “You need to have good endurance to run 3,000 meters – that’s just under two miles. You also need to be very athletic to be able to hurdle the barriers and water jump,” he said. A cross-country runner and a member of the So Swift track club, he has built both speed and skill, recently adding hurdle training to his routine. That training paid off, when Steven competed in an open meet at GCU against high school and college athletes. Despite battling illness in the days leading up to the race, he delivered a performance that left a lasting impression. “I felt exhausted but proud. I had the flu the week leading up to the race, so I was coughing a lot, and it felt really hard. I turned 13 the week after the race so I wanted to go for it even though I was sick,” he said. A fitting birthday gift for the athlete! “I am really proud,” mom, Sara, said. “He showed a lot of determination still going for it not feeling 100 percent!” Steven is no stranger to competition. He was a back- to-back champion at the Scottsdale Unified School District middle school cross country championships, held at Chaparral Park, and also plays multiple sports, including football, baseball, basketball and swimming. While football remains his favorite – he plays wide receiver and linebacker for the Central Phoenix Colts, who won a state championship in 2025 – he said that track is quickly gaining ground. Outside of sports, Steven enjoys hanging outdoors with his family, from hiking Mount Humphreys to biking and off-roading. In the classroom, he gravitates toward math, crediting a supportive teacher for helping fuel his interest. Eventually, he’d like to compete at the collegiate and professional levels in either football or track and field, before eventually pursuing a career in business. For now, though, Steven is focused on the next race – and proving that age is just a number when it comes to chasing big goals. Running, jumping and water? No problem for this Arcadia tween (front) Amoi Dutt, Miles Sadler, Liam Mitikaro, Lyris Robinson. (back) Gildas Gimenez, Vaughn Karvala, Aliou Dioum, Amadou Seini, Paul Osaruyi, Jalen White, Mohammed Ndao. PHOTO: ISAIAH STRONG Competitors Joshua Nicholson, Steven, Jack Sindt and Cade Brenner. PHOTO COURTESY OF SARA SLATTERY I turned 13 the week after the race so I wanted to go for it!

37 JUNE 2026 By Mark Hays Another successful spring for area high school track and field programs resulted in championship performances across multiple divisions. From district sweeps and historic State titles to nationally ranked individual marks, Arcadia, Brophy, PCDS, Veritas and Xavier closed the 2026 season with strong showings at the AIA championships and beyond.  The Titans swept the Scottsdale Unified School District Championships, winning both the boys and girls team titles behind a dominant distance program. “The most significant moment was undoubtedly securing the SUSD District Championship for both the boys and girls’ teams,” Head Coach Tyler Moore said. “It’s a rare double that speaks to the depth of the entire program.” Senior Chase Braden delivered one of the season’s top performances at the Northeast Valley Championships, narrowly missing a long-standing school record in the 3200 meters. Moore credited team captains Sam Gagnon and Brady Lord, along with junior Evra Therien, for helping establish the culture that carried Arcadia through injuries and lineup changes during the season. “Our absolute engine this year was our distance group,” Moore said. “From the 800m up to the 3200m, those runners consistently delivered the points needed to secure our titles.” Arcadia qualified 17 athletes for the Division III State Championships.  Veritas sent one of its largest State contingents ever, qualifying 15 athletes across 20 individual entries and two relay teams. “The 2026 Falcons had a terrific track and field season,” Head Coach Sawyer Koops said. “We built real depth this year – athletes competing in sprints, distance, hurdles, jumps, and throws – and the team got better as the season progressed, which is the goal.” Sophomore Ana Liles emerged as one of the State’s top all-around performers, setting school records in the 100, 200 and triple jump. She placed second in the triple jump and sixth in the 200 at State after also finishing ninth in the 100. The boys 4x800 relay, comprised of Ethan Heil, Santiago Soto, Kingston Travis and Declan Travis, set a school record. They finished sixth at State, and the boys 4x400 team placed 10th. Junior Mila Stege broke school records in the javelin and shot put and finished seventh in the shot put at State. Koops also praised the program’s depth and development throughout the roster. “End-of-season personal bests, competitive mindsets, and State qualifiers are the measuring stick, and this group delivered,” Koops said.  Head Coach Jarret Eaton pointed to team chemistry and growth as defining themes of the season, especially after the annual trip to the Tiger Invite in California. The team closed out the State Division I Championships at Red Mountain with strong performances across the board. The Gators’ 4x400m relay team of LilyGrace Anderson, Nina Rao, Avaani Lallian and Claire Hertzberg improved on its preliminary time, running a 4:01.10 to place seventh overall and add two points to Xavier’s team score. Senior Kennedy Frakes earned eighth place in the 1600m final, capping an impressive week that also included a third- place finish in the 3200m. Freshman Avaani Lallian continued her solid postseason by running the second-fastest 800m time of her season at 2:20.27, finishing as the second-fastest freshman in the field. In field events, junior Susannah Root narrowly missed a personal-best clearance in the pole vault after several strong attempts at 10-6. Junior Kate Callahan recorded the second- best triple jump of her career at 34-6.5. Junior Maggie Raddatz added a solid 32-6 jump. In the javelin, sophomores Addie Bandura and Evelyn McGuire both turned in top performances, with Bandura throwing 97-5 – the third-best mark of her career – and McGuire recording a 93-4 throw in just her first season competing in the event.  Brophy placed 12th at the AIA Division I Championships at Red Mountain with 22 points, highlighted by elite field-event performances and a record-setting freshman. Senior Tanner Bice took third in the high jump with a personal-best 6-6, becoming the third-best performer in school history in the event, while sophomore Henry O’Riley placed fifth at 6-3. Garrett Larsen added a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters in 48.53 seconds, and the 4x800 relay team of Colin St. Hilaire, Spencer Nick, Shane Smith and Josiah Colburt placed eighth in 8:08.86. Freshman Hudson Hensley threw a 191-5 to win the AIA State javelin title and push the Broncos to an 18th-place finish with 16 points in the final event of the season at Mesa Community College. The mark moved him to second all-time in Brophy history behind Darius Alberty.   Phoenix Country Day School made history as the girls track and field team captured the Division IV State Championship, the first title in program history. Emma Butler won the 3200 meters, Abby Roth claimed State titles in the 200 and 400, and the 4x800 relay team of Rachel Coviello, Elsa Termansen, Adeline Ward and Butler also took first. For the boys, Turner Ashby placed third in the 3200M, Caleb Sosnowitz seventh in high jump, and the 4x800 relay team finished eighth. Track and field teams finish with records, titles, state wins BROPHY PREP PCDS ARCADIA HIGH VERITAS PREP XAVIER PREP