Morenci girls set 15 best marks in Casa Grande
By Raymundo Frasquillo
BENSON – Morenci’s track and field girls are one of 17 teams slated to compete in Benson on Friday, April 11, beginning at 9 a.m. The Jerry Lee Invitational follows the Tucson Salpointe Catholic Thomas Meixner Lancer Invitational of the prior week for the Wildcats.
The teams listed to participate in Benson are Division III Douglas, Division IV Safford and Thatcher, and Division V Benson, Bisbee, Duncan, Elfrida Valley Union, Pima, Saint David, San Simon, Sells Baboquivari, Tombstone, Willcox, Tucson schools Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind, Desert Christian, and California Winterhaven San Pasqual.
The Wildcats follow the Benson meet with the 9-team Safford Rotary Invitational on April 17. It is the last meet before the Tucson Salpointe Catholic Lancer Lightning state qualifying meet on April 29.
71st Casa Grande Kiwanis Invitational
Surpassing previous times and distances is the purpose of track and field competition. The Wildcats bettered 10 running event times and five field event distances for personal best efforts in Casa Grande on April 4. Freshman Tracy Mianda had 6.5 points, junior Rozlyn Funari 4.5, junior Alicia Ahumada 1.5, sophomore Jayliana Guzzo 1.5, sophomore Layla Mendez-Garcia 1.5, and freshman Katerine Escalona 1.5.
Personal best running event times were turned in by junior Alicia Ahumada, 13.55 in the 100 for 13th; sophomore Hazel Salinas, 2:57.48 in the 800 for 19th on the heels of a 2:57.80 March 29 effort; sophomore Kaylee Wiggins, 19.67 in the 100 hurdles for 11th; Mianda, 19.41 in the 100 hurdles for 10th and 57.21 in the 300 hurdles for 12th; freshman Peyton Corbell, 1:12.48 in the 400 for 22nd and 3:08.44 in the 800 for 26th; Escalona, 2:52.84 in the 800 for 13th; Guzzo 29.14 in the 200 for 23rd; and the 4×100 relay of Mianda, Funari, Ahumada, and Mendez-Garcia in 51.89 for seventh.
Season-best distances were notched by junior Cynthia Martinez, 26-3.5 in the shot put for 15th; Mianda, 16-5.75 in the long jump for third; freshman Avanie Alvarez, 71-10 in the discus for 17th; and freshman Catalina Garcia, 26-1 in the shot put for 16th after a 24-9 (March 15) effort and 70-2 in the discus for 19th following a 65-8 (March 29) effort.
Sophomore Avery Wiltbank matched a season-best 21.57, clocking in 100 hurdles (March 29).
Funari had a 91-3 effort in the javelin following a 109-9 season-best March 29 throw; Martinez an 87-8 toss in the discus long after a season-best 90-0 March 8 toss; Guzzo a 14.03 run in the 100 for 27th after a season-best 13.92 March 29 clocking; Mendez-Garcia a 13.73 run in the 100 for 17th after a season-best 13.64 March 1 time; Salinas a 1:12.19 clocking in the 400 after a season-best 1:10.82 March 29 effort; Wiggins a 1:02.18 time in the 300 hurdles after a season-best 58.26 March 21 clocking; Wiltbank a 1:02.45 time in the 300 hurdles following a season-best 1:01.83 March 29 clocking; Escalona 30.17 in the 200 after a 29.34 (March 1) season-best clocking;
Ahumada also had 1:05.40 in the 400 for ninth, a fraction slower than a season-best 1:05.29 (March 21) and 4-6 in the high jump (March 29); Funari 91-3 in the javelin for fifth; and the 4×400 relay of Escalona, Guzzo, Ahumada, and Mendez-Garcia in 4:26.84 for seventh. The relay team’s best effort has been 4:24.28 (March 29).
Division I Queen Creek outscored Division II Vail Cienega by 73 points, 183.5110.5, for first place. Division III Tucson Sahuaro was third with 67 points, Division II Mesa Eastmark fourth (62.5), Division I Mesa Desert Ridge fifth (47), Division III San Tan Valley Poston Butte sixth (39), Division II Casa Grande Vista Grande seventh (38), Division II Maricopa eighth (37), Division II Casa Grande ninth (35.5), Division I Tucson Magnet 10th (22), Division V Morenci 11th (17), Division V Wickenburg 12th (13.5), Division III Maricopa Desert Sunrise 13th (9.5), and San Tan Valley San Tan Foothills 14th (5). Division IV Apache Junction and Division V Eloy Santa Cruz did not score.
Individual running event winners were Cienega sophomore Aliyah Hatchett in the 100 (12.43), Queen Creek junior Kylee Blair in the 200 (24.87), Queen Creek junior Nicole Ripperdan in the 400 (56.35), Tucson Magnet sophomore Safiya Stephens in the 800 (2:22.77), Eastmark sophomore Ruby Lambson in the 1600 (5:27.77), Queen Creek junior Hadlee Hardt in the 3200 (12:08.43), and Cienega junior Samantha Archuleta in the 100 hurdles (17.07) and 300 hurdles (49.32).
Queen Creek swept the relays, in 47.67 (4×100) with Blair, Nicole Ripperdan, junior Shaniah Gray, and freshman Amaya Rodgers; in 4:06.32 (4×400) with Nicole Ripperdan, Blair, Gray, and freshman Brinley Sessions; and in 10:08.66 (4×800) with sophomore Addison Gibson, sophomore Amellia Ripperdan, Hardt, and sophomore Mia Graham.
Field event winners were Sahuaro senior Montana Poe with 4-8 (HJ), Queen Creek junior Nya Campbell with 11-9 (PV), Maricopa junior Makayla Armstrong with 16-10.75 (LJ), Cienega senior Cayla Jones with 36-5 (TJ), Tucson Magnet sophomore Kemeko Daniels with 39-8.5 in the shot put, Sahuaro senior Liz Ugwu with 122-7 in the discus, and Queen Creek junioir Ava Chaney with 110-9 in the javelin.
