Middle School Athletics’ Quarter 3 season is up and running at nine schools. 

A few reminders for everyone when it comes to all athletic events at our high schools and middle schools:

• Only clear bags are permitted at indoor and stadium sporting events.
• Every person on every campus should be wearing an ID or visitor badge.  Please make sure your children wear their ID every day.

This quarter’s sports are girls basketball, flag football and cross country. Our Quarter 3 Festival is set for Saturday, January 28, with event schedules yet to come. For competitive season schedules, click here.

Basketball, soccer and wrestling are in the middle of their seasons at SUSD’s high schools. For schedules, go to https://aiaonline.org/sports.

Before winter break, SUSD Athletics honored 46 student athletes who played key roles on their schools’ badminton, cross country, football, golf, swim and dive, and volleyball teams last fall. Chaparral badminton player Elena Bucher and Coronado football player Edwin Oliva Banos were named the recipients of the Charro Foundation’s $500 fall college scholarships, presented by Charro John Arnold. Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega was the keynote speaker. SUSD’s Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Dr. Milissa Sackos, received the event’s Appreciation Award for her steadfast support of SUSD Athletics. Many thanks also to the SUSD Foundation, whose financial support makes our three, annual athletics banquets possible.

Finally, as we head into a new quarter of athletics competition, please remember that we permit only clear bags at indoor and stadium sporting events. Thank you.

Read more at The SUSD Source  

The Middle School competitive season is up and running at eight of our schools with grades 6-8.   Sports that are ongoing are boys and girls soccer, boys basketball and girls softball.   For schedules, click here.

We are extremely proud of our football teams that have advanced to state semifinal action.  Desert Mountain is in the 5A semifinals and Saguaro has moved into the Open Division semifinals. 

The schedule is as follows, with links for tickets on GoFan. No tickets are sold at the gate.

DM hosts Higley, Friday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m.

https://gofan.co/app/school/AZ12776?activity=Football

Saguaro v. Liberty @ Mountain Ridge, Saturday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m.

https://gofan.co/app/school/AZ21908?activity=Football

 

The high school basketball, soccer and wrestling seasons have begun.   Find the schedules on the AZPreps365 website.

As you may have heard, or read elsewhere in The SUSD Source, our high school swim and dive teams swam away with state championship titles last month!

• For the first time in Arizona history, the same Division I school won both the boys and girls state titles.  That achievement goes to Chaparral High School’s teams.  Furthermore, it was the girls team’s 9^th consecutive state title! Read more here.
• Over in Division II, it was the Desert Mountain girls swim and dive team taking its second consecutive state championship by a whopping 31.5 points over Campo Verde. Junior Gabrielle Primiano was named the division’s Swimmer of the Year and Crystal Strimple was named its Coach of the Year. The Desert Mountain boys team finished second to Millennium. Wolves senior Mathew Iverson received boys’ Swimmer of the Year honors.

In volleyball, Arcadia’s Lady Titans played for the 4A state championship. While they fell just short of the ultimate goal, they knocked off the state’s #1-ranked team on their way to the finals. Read about the four-set state title match against Goodyear’s Estrella Foothills here.

And in the state cross country championships last month, Desert Mountain’s girls and boys cross country teams fared very well in their 5K Division II state championship races. Read about it here.

Read more at The SUSD Source

The second quarter middle school athletics season is underway!  Tier 1 teams are getting acclimated to their new sports.  Boys are playing basketball and soccer; girls are playing soccer and softball.  Tier 2 competitive teams will be chosen after the Nov. 19 festival. 

Middle School Festival Schedules - Nov. 19, 2022

6th Grade Basketball

7th Grade Basketball

8th Grade Basketball

Boys Soccer

Girls Soccer

Softball

See the 2^nd quarter schedule here.

*Please note that the SUSD high school clear bag policy will be in effect for the Nov. 19 boys basketball games, which take place in the Coronado, Desert Mountain and Saguaro High School gyms.  The clear bag policy will be extended to middle school sporting events in January.  Read more about it in this month’s School Safety blog.

The first-quarter season wrapped up last month, with Copper Ridge taking the Varsity girls volleyball title. Desert Canyon Middle School’s girls won the JV title.  In boys baseball, Desert Canyon’s Varsity team finished first.  Cocopah’s baseball team won the JV title.  Congrats, all middle school student athletes!

 

Most fall athletics seasons are headed into their final weeks, with some state championship tournaments taking place this week.  Let’s take a look at them, in alphabetical order.

Badminton

Congratulations to the Chaparral girls badminton team which competed last month in the Division II State Championship.  Unseeded Myra Duncan finished 4^th in singles, making her way through a play-in match and three more matches to reach the semifinals.  The Firebirds’ 5^th- ranked doubles team of Ellie Bucher and Chi Chi Bracken also made it to the semifinals, before falling to the eventual state champs from Sunrise Mountain.  Ranked #4 in team play, Chaparral reached the semifinals.

Saguaro senior Carmen Kathol also competed, winning a play-in match, but was bested in the first round by the eventual 3^rd place winner.  Congratulations, SUSD badminton players!

 

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Cross Country

Our high school teams are competing in sectional meets this week that will determine who goes to the state meet on Nov. 12 at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix.

At the district meet Oct. 19 at El Dorado Park, Desert Mountain senior Brady McCaskill led the Wolves varsity team to a first-place team finish, clocking in with an impressive 16:49:4.  Saguaro’s Nathaniel Dunkley crossed the finish line second, 44.3 seconds later at 17:33.7, followed by Chaparral’s Riley Preston at 17:48.9. 

Team scores were as follows:

1. Desert Mountain	31
2. Chaparral	45
3. Saguaro	65
4. Arcadia	83

 

 

On the girls’ side, it was Saguaro sophomore Evangeline Dunckley leading the way with a time of 19:11.6, followed by senior teammate Simone Stephens 40.3 seconds later at 19:51.9 and Desert Mountain’s Kaia LaHann at 20:19.1.

Team scores were as follows:

1. Desert Mountain	30
2. Saguaro	53
3. Chaparral	69
4. Arcadia	76

 

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Boys Golf
The Division I Boys State Golf Championship was held last week at Tucson National.  Chaparral High School’s team of Hudson Ross, Austin Plunkett, Tyler Anderson, Cameron Summerhays, Dylan Wong and Nicholas Van Laarhoven finished in 5^th place with a team score of 584.  Brophy took the team title.  See all of the results here.

The Division II Boys State Golf championship is underway today and tomorrow, also at Tucson National.  Good luck, Arcadia, Desert Mountain and Saguaro!

In the Oct. 18 SUSD Boys Golf tournament at McCormick Ranch, the top four players were:

Oscar Uribe (Saguaro)	71
Oliver Smith (Arcadia)	75
Thomas Caffarelli (DM)	75
Austin Plunkett (Chaparral)	76*

*won scorecard playoff with a birdie on hole 18.

 

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Girls Golf
The Division II Girls Golf State Championship wrapped up yesterday down in Tucson, with Desert Mountain shooting 680 to take 4^th place, Chaparral finishing 6^th with a team score of 695 and Arcadia placing 10^th, shooting 718.  Scroll to the second page here to see all of the results.

It’s been a long time since the girls picked up their clubs and started officially working together back in August.  Please join us in congratulating our teams:

Arcadia: Mackenzie Bream, Payton Connelly, Logan Jenkins, Annie Spiekerman, Katie Cross and Maggie Bogart

Chaparral:  Julia Carlisle, Isabel Helgemoe, Tatum Partridge, Kaitlin Kim and Giavella Leto

Desert Mountain:  Madie Hepner, Ellie Shirley, Caroline Hoang, Giabella Fortino and Victoria Streeton

 

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Swim and Dive

It’s a big week for SUSD swimmers and divers as they get ready to make a splash (pun intended!) in this week’s culminating AIAS Swim and Dive Championships.

Our Division I team (Chaparral) and Division II swim teams (Arcadia, Desert Mountain, Saguaro) travel to Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa for their events on Friday and Saturday.  Dive events for both divisions take place at Phoenix Country Day School, with Division II competing on Thursday and Friday and Division I on Friday and Saturday.

Competing as combined swim/dive teams in the SUSD meet on Oct. 22, the results were as follows:

1. Chaparral	1,214
2. Desert Mountain	968
3. Saguaro	464
4. Arcadia	458
5. Coronado	47

 

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Volleyball
The brackets are just out for the AIA Girls Volleyball State Championship tournament that takes place Nov. 3 – 12! 

#5-ranked Arcadia hosts Arizona College Prep on Nov. 3 in first-round 4A Conference play.  Saguaro lost its play-in match earlier this week to Arizona Leadership Academy, Queen Creek.

Over in 5A, Chaparral and Desert Mountain, winners of their play-ins against Raymond S. Kellis and McClintock, respectively, have some tough first-round matchups.  #11 Chaparral visits #6 Sunrise Mountain Nov. 3; #13 Desert Mountain takes a trip down the hill to #4 Notre Dame, also Nov. 3.  Let’s do this, SUSD!

 

Read more at The SUSD Source