Middle Schools
Third quarter sports are getting underway at SUSD’s middle schools. They include cross country, boys flag football and girls basketball. Don’t forget to get your athlete registered to play at https://www.susd.org/athletics/register-my-athlete! If your student has not yet participated in athletics this school year, please remember that a sports physical must be taken and paperwork submitted before being allowed to play. Find the form here.
The Q3 sports festival takes place Jan. 25 in and around Mountainside Middle School and Desert Mountain High School. The day’s competition schedule will be posted at https://www.susd.org/athletics soon!
High Schools
AIA winter sports – boys and girls basketball, soccer and wrestling – continue. Find competition schedules at azpreps365.com. State tournament competition gets underway in February.
Spring athletics teams are starting to assemble and mold at this time. Spring sports include baseball, softball, tennis, track and field, and beach volleyball.
December Athletics Banquet
The first of our three athletics banquets was held Dec. 9 at The McCormick. CBS Sports football analyst Adam Archuleta was the event’s keynote speaker. Student athletes who competed last fall on SUSD badminton, cross country, flag football, football, golf, swim and dive, and volleyball teams were honored. We are grateful to have the ongoing support of our programs from the SUSD Foundation, the Charro Foundation, HonorHealth, Arizona Sports Medicine Center, and Pro Sports Performance and Rehab.
Congratulations to Saguaro senior runner Evangeline Dunckley and Chaparral senior swimmer Ethan Reniewicki, recipients of the fall Charro Foundation Scholarships.
Evangeline has been a student in the Saguaro Learning Community since kindergarten, attending Kiva, Mohave and Saguaro. This is her 7th SUSD Athletics Banquet as either a cross-country runner or a track athlete. In her four years running cross country for the Sabercats, she has finished 7th, 4th, 4th and 9th at state championship cross-country meets.
Evangeline is also a tremendous student with an academic GPA of 4.875. As a senior, she is taking six AP and Honors courses. She is member of the Scottsdale Math and Science Academy (SMSA), will graduate in May with Academy Distinction honors, and has been selected for the Arizona 360 All-Academic Cross Country Team.
Evangeline serves her community in multiple volunteer capacities, including as a vacation Bible school camp counselor, and with the St. Vincent de Paul Family Dining Center and Feed My Starving Children organization. She plans to continue in athletics while completing her pre-med studies at Johns Hopkins University, then plans to attend medical school to become a cardiologist.
Ethan has been an SUSD student since kindergarten and has been a tremendous member of the Chaparral swim and dive team throughout his high school career, qualifying for state all four years. As a junior, Ethan was a member of the state championship 200 Free and 200 Medley relays. This year, as a senior, he was a team captain. At the Division I state meet, he won the state championship in the individual 200 Free and 100 Fly, as well as the 200 Free Relay.
Ethan is also an outstanding student, with a 4.9 academic GPA. He has not received a grade lower than an A in the multiple AP and Honors courses he has taken in high school.
Ethan is currently president of Chaparral’s National Honor Society. He is an Eagle Scout and volunteers his time providing swimming lessons to local youth. Ethan will attend Ohio State University this fall on both swimming and academic scholarships and plans to study Finance and minor in Art.
We could not be more proud of these fine examples of what it means to be an SUSD student athlete!
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High Schools
The books are closed on SUSD’s fall high school athletics seasons. Congratulations to all of our badminton, cross country, flag football, tackle football, golf, swim and dive, and volleyball student athletes and coaches who gave it their all since the new school year began, and even before that!
To summarize:
Badminton: #1 Chaparral was the runner-up in the Division II state team championship, falling 5-2 to #2 Ironwood on Nov. 2. Singles play was another matter, however, with Chaparral’s Hadley Huffman downing Ironwood’s top player to take the title.
Cross Country: In boys’ competition, Saguaro finished 23rd in the Nov. 2nd Division III state championship, with a time of 1:33:51. Page took the title.
On the girls side, Saguaro, led by Evangeline Dunkley, took 6th place, roughly seven minutes off the winning pace set by American Leadership Academy (Queen Creek). Individually, the Saguaro senior finished 9th.
In Division II, Desert Mountain’s girls team finished ninth with a time over the Cave Creek golf course route of 1:53:05. Sophomore Sylvia Harding turned in the top time for DM, finishing ninth. Chaparral finished 19th, with a time of 2:07:16. Flagstaff won the state title.
On the boys’ side, the Wolves combined for a third-place finish, with a time of 1:27:08, only 1:31 off the winning runs put together by Flagstaff. Arcadia finished 15th, with a time of 1:35:16. Desert Mountain senior Conor McGlynn put in the second fastest time, at 16:05:8. Arcadia’s top runner, junior Chase Braden, ran the race in 16:54.5.
Flag Football: This was SUSD’s first season of playing AIA girls flag football. Although they did not survive first round play, both Arcadia (4A) and Desert Mountain (5A) made the playoffs, which is quite an accomplishment We’re looking forward to great things next year from our flag football teams!
Football: The competition was tough in post-season play. In 4A, Arcadia won its first-round matchup against Seton Catholic Prep, 34-30, but fell 35-14 the following week to #2 AZ College Prep. Over in the Open Division, Desert Mountain lost a tough quarterfinal to #3 Arizona Leadership Academy-Queen Creek, 20-14.
Golf: In the Division II girls golf state championship, Chaparral, Arcadia and Desert Mountain finished third, eighth and 12th, respectively. Individually, the Firebirds’ Isabel Helgemoe shot a 143, to finish in fifth place. Logan Jenkins was Arcadia’s top golfer, tying for 25th place with Desert Mountain’s Caroline Hoang and two others with scores of 164. Saguaro’s only golfer was Aashni Sahai, who finished 37th with a 173.
In boys competition, Chaparral, Desert Mountain and Arcadia finished in third, fifth and ninth place, respectively. The Firebirds’ Aleksei Panek tied for second, shooting a 136. Saguaro’s Oliver Uribe tied for 6th place with two others who shot a two-day total of 138. Desert Mountain’s Conor Bringhurst finished 9th, with a 140. Arcadia’s Jackson Malatesta finished tied for 22nd with Desert Mountain’s Ryan Noll and one other at 146.
Swim and Dive: As reported last month, the Desert Mountain boys team captured first place in Division II competition, edging out Catalina Foothills to win its fourth state title since 2005. Declan Kelly and Peter Shi finished 1-2 in the 500-yard free. They teamed up with Ryan Le and Roman Malcolm to take the 400-yard free relay. Arcadia finished eighth overall and Saguaro 23rd.
Over in Division I, Chaparral finished fifth, with record-setting performances from senior Ethan Reniewicki in the 200-yard free and 100-yard fly, and Seth Crow in the 50-yard and 100-yard free races. They teamed with Brady Kormendy and Caden Oprandy to win the 200-yard free relay (also a record-setting time).
On the girls’ side in Division II, Catalina Foothills got the better of Desert Mountain this year. DM senior Ellie Horning put in first-place swims in the 100-yard fly and 100-yard back. Saguaro finished eighth overall, Arcadia, 13th. Chaparral’s girls finished third in Division I competition.
Volleyball: In 4A state championship play, Saguaro knocked off Sahuarita and #1 Flagstaff before falling in the semifinals to Mica Mountain. In 5A, Chaparral also succeeded until the semifinals when it met the eventual champions from Horizon, but not before downing Buckeye Union and Canyon View in the process.
We also want to congratulate the Coronado High School varsity volleyball team which was selected as this year’s recipient of the AIA Volleyball Sportsmanship Award for the 4A Conference. This award is handed out annually in each conference to the team that exhibits the highest level of sportsmanship, as voted on by the officials. Coronado’s players, coaches and admin were presented with award following the first set of the 4A state championship match Nov. 16 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
Top students from all of these sports, as determined by coaches, will be recognized Dec. 9 at the All-District Fall Athletics Awards Banquet.
And finally, well done, Chaparral High School! For the second year in a row, the Cheer team is the 2024-2025 Small D I-II Game Day State Champion; Pom was named 2024-2025 Small D I-II Game Day Dance Champion! Both events took place Nov. 22-23 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. The state championships take place Jan. 16-18, also at the Coliseum.
High School Winter Sports are boys and girls basketball, soccer and wrestling. All schedules can be found at azpreps365.com.
Middle Schools
Quarter 2 sports - boys and girls soccer, boys basketball and girls softball - wrap up at SUSD middle schools this week.
Quarter 3 sports are cross country, boys flag football and girls basketball. Don’t forget to get your athlete registered to play at https://www.susd.org/athletics/register-my-athlete! The Q3 sports festival takes place on Jan. 25. The schedule of play will be posted at https://www.susd.org/athletics as we get closer to that date.
Thank you for your support of our middle and high school student athletes this fall!
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Middle Schools
The Quarter 2 Middle School Sports Festival is coming up tomorrow, November 2 at 8 a.m. at three SUSD high schools’ gymnasiums and a local park. This season’s girls sports are softball and soccer. For boys, it’s basketball and soccer.
See the festival schedule click here.
For a Chaparral Park map, click here.
High Schools
Winter season tryouts start Monday, Nov. 4. Boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, as well as boys and girls wrestling are available at all five SUSD high schools. To register, go to https://www.registermyathlete.com/.
Fall Seasons Wrapping Up
Congratulations to Chaparral senior Hadley Huffman, who claimed the Division II state badminton championship last month! Hadley was the #1 seed and defeated the #2 seed, Madison Nguyen, of Ironwood High School, 21-11, 21-19, to take the title.
Golf
Congratulations to the Desert Mountain boys golf team ‒ Connor Bringhurst (67), Ryan Noll (70), Jonathan Ljungberg (71), Landon Rogala (72) and Ethan Rockwell (72) ‒ which took top honors at the 2023 SUSD Championship tournament at McCormick Ranch last month.
In addition, congratulations to our SUSD Top 4 Medalists: Jonathan, Ryan, Connor and Hudson Ross (Chaparral, 68) who will represent their schools at the Fall SUSD Athletic Banquet.
Fall season sports are wrapping state championships are starting up and for more information see below:
- Football
- Volleyball
- Girls Flag Football
- Cross Country
- Swim and Dive
- Boys Golf
- Girls Golf
Coach of the Month
Congratulations to Saguaro High School varsity boys basketball coach Lucas Ramirez, who was honored at the Suns/Lakers game on Oct. 28 as Coach of the Month! Coach Ramirez elevates excellence every day on his teams and in his classrooms and is most deserving of this recognition! When he’s not on the court, Mr. Ramirez can be found teaching American/Arizona Government and History, World History/World Geography and imparting leadership skills to Saguaro’s student government organization. Thanks, Coach!
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Middle Schools
Quarter 2 is fast approaching, so please sign up your student for boys/girls soccer, boys basketball or girls softball. To register, please go to Register My Athlete. Mark your calendars now for the winter sports festival on Nov. 2!
High Schools
The badminton, cross country, golf, swim and dive, and volleyball seasons are heading into their final weeks and month. Here are some important SUSD upcoming dates:
- Oct. 15: District cross country meet, 10 a.m., El Dorado Park, 2311 N. Miller Rd., Scottsdale
- Oct. 16: District boys golf tournament, 12 p.m., Silverado Golf Club, 7605 E. Indian Bend Rd., Scottsdale
- Oct. 19: District swim & dive championship, Cactus Aquatic & Fitness Center, 5 p.m., 7202 E. Cactus Rd., Scottsdale
Kick-off: SUSD Girls’ First Flag Football Season!
This is SUSD’s first year of fielding high school girls flag football teams and it is already a big hit! The Chaparral game against Copper Canyon on Sept. 26 was the Arizona Cardinals’ Game of the Week and was shown on the Arizona’s Family Sports network. We are happy to be able to provide this new avenue of opportunity to our female student athletes.
To find all high school sports schedules, go to https://azpreps365.com/. Flag football, football and volleyball tickets can be purchased in advance at https://gofan.co/.
Cards Honor Dons Coach
The Arizona Cardinals paid a visit to Coronado High School recently to recognize football coach Rick Benjamin as their High School Coach of the Week for the week of Sept. 16th for his outstanding coaching, team performance and dedication to the game of football. Retired Cardinals defensive end Olsen Pierre presented with a certificate signed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill and head coach Jonathan Gannon, as well as a $2,000 check for the Coronado football program. Thank you, Coach Benjamin, for your superb leadership and mentorship of the Dons team!
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After all of the training, workouts, scrimmages and practices, SUSD’s middle and high school fall athletics seasons are in full swing (no pun intended, golf enthusiasts!).
Middle Schools
It all started last Saturday, August 24, with our Middle School Fall Sports Festival. More than 900 6th, 7th and 8th baseball and volleyball players participated in “Tier I,” no-score, practice games and matches at local parks and SUSD high schools.
The festival precedes those sports’ competitive, “Tier 2” seasons that run through this month. Teams comprised of 12-15 student athletes were chosen last week and will play against each other in a competitive season that ends September 30. See the schedule here.
Scottsdale Unified School District is pleased to offer athletic opportunities to its middle school students in eight sports throughout the school year: baseball, basketball, cross country, flag football, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. All students are invited to learn and develop skills in a new sport or improve existing skills.
High Schools
At SUSD’s five high schools, our teams have begun competing against their counterparts from around the Valley and state in Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) play. Fall sees the most number of sports seasons underway at the same time, with badminton, cross country, flag and tackle football, golf, swim and dive, and volleyball all taking place. Check your favorite team’s schedule on the AIA’s AZPreps365 website.
We ask that all spectators please follow our Game Day Guidelines and remember that SUSD enforces its Clear Bag policy at all home sporting events.
Game tickets can be purchased on the GOFAN website.
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