Eight area qualifiers placed, none as champions
By Raymundo Frasquillo
PHOENIX – Nine area qualifiers were among the 192 competing for the top slots in the 2-day girls Division II state wrestling meet. A total of 80 schools were represented, with 29 having a lone qualifier and one having nine, at the Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 20-21. There were six from each of the 12 weight classes, for a total of 72, first through sixth.
Morenci sophomore Peytin Corbell (126, 3-1, 2 pins) was second and senior Cynthia Martinez (185, 4-1, 3 pins) third; Thatcher junior Addison Stone (100, 3-2, 3 pins) and freshman Alannah Simoneaux (107, 3-2, 1 pin) both placed fourth; Morenci freshman Lailani Strong (100, 4-2, 4 pins) and sophomore Taytum Porter (138, 3-2, 1 pin) along with Pima junior Maelee Woods (185, 2-2, 1 pin) fifth; and Pima sophomore Josie McEuen (126, 2-1, 2 pins) sixth.
The lone area non-placer was Willcox freshman Katelyn Millenaar (120, 1-2).
Martinez (185, 3-0, 3 pins) and Simoneaux (107, 3-0, 3 pins) entered the state meet as unbeaten Section IV champions; Stone (100, 2-1, 2 pins) and McEuen (126, 2-1, 2 pins) as section runners-up; Strong (100), Millenaar (120, 5-1, 3 pins), Corbell (126, 3-1, 3 pins), and Porter (152, 3-1, 3 pins) were each third; and Woods (185, 2-2, 1 pin) fourth.
Qualifying meets were held on Feb. 7, with Section I at Avondale Agua Fria, Section II at Phoenix Moon Valley, Section III at Winslow, and Section IV at Tucson Amphitheater.
Division II State Top 3 (Feb. 21)
The top three teams were Queen Creek Crismon first, Somerton second, and Morenci third. Queen Creek Crismon captured the Division II team title with 154 points. Six of eight Rattlers placed, three in first, one as a runner-up, and two in fourth; and all eight contributed to the team scoring.
Somerton was second with 105.5 points, with 5-7 Toros placing, one as a champion, three in third, one in fifth, and 6-7 scored; Morenci third with 70 points; 4-4 Wildcats placed, one as a runner-up, one in third, and two in fifth; and all four scored.
Morenci – 3rd (70 points, 4/4 placed)
Morenci earned 70 points to finish in third place as a team, and all four Wildcats placed in the state meet.
Sophomore Peytin Corbell (126, 3-1, 2 pins) was second, senior Cynthia Martinez (185, 4-1, 3 pins) third, and both freshman Lailani Strong (100, 4-2, 4 pins) and sophomore Taytum Porter (138, 3-2, 1 pin) were fifth. All four Wildcats earned team points with Corbell contributing 22 points, Martinez 19.5, Strong 16.5, and Porter 12.
Individually, Corbell (126, 3-1, 2 pins) pinned Bullhead City Mohave junior Helena Marin in 3:50 during the first round and Round Valley junior Taizly Newman in 5:19 during the quarterfinals, decisioned Pima sophomore Josie McEuen during the semifinals, and was pinned by Queen Creek Crismon sophomore Tynlee Peterson in 3:40 to end as the runner-up.
Martinez (185, 4-1, 3 pins) decisioned Phoenix Greenway sophomore Kacey Mickelson 12-5 during the first round, pinned Fort Defiance Window Rock sophomore Gracey Brave-Rock Morris in 37 seconds during the quarterfinals, was pinned in 1:28 by Glendale Cactus junior Isabella Giza during the semifinals, pinned Pima junior Maelee Woods in 1:21 during the consolation semifinals, and posted a 17-2 second period technical fall over San Tan Valley Poston Butte junior Claire Waddell for third place.
Strong (100, 4-2, 4 pins) pinned Round Valley junior Hunter Bliss in 26 seconds during the first round, was pinned in 2:13 by Yuma Catholic senior Khyla Lipumano during the quarterfinals, pinned Flagstaff junior Krysta Delgadillo in 2:52 during the consolation second round, posted an 18-6 second period technical fall over Crismon freshman Kourtney Azuri during the consolation third round, was pinned in 2:42 by Lee Williams senior Mya Mazon during the consolation semifinals, and pinned American Leadership – Gilbert North sophomore Sophia Mohamed in 2:14 for fifth place.
Porter (138, 3-2, 1 pin) pinned Williams sophomore Bristol Skinner in 5:44 during the first round, recorded a 6-3 sudden victory over Winslow junior McKenna Hardy during the quarterfinals, was pinned in 1:39 by Mesa Eastmark junior Brylee Colwell during the semifinals, was decisioned 1-7 by Phoenix Thunderbird senior Ivy Odle during the consolation semifinals, and posted a 14-5 major decision over Tucson Sahuaro senior Karlie Schneider for fifth place.
It was the fourth consecutive state meet for Martinez (14-5, 11 pins), also going 4-0 with four pins in 2025 for first (D-II), 3-1 with three pins in 2024 for second (D-II), and 3-3 with one pin in 2023 for sixth (D-I). Corbell is 5-3 with four pins and Porter 4-4 with one pin during two state meets.
Thatcher – 17th (31.5 points, 2/2 placed)
Thatcher placed 17th with 31.5 points, placed both qualifiers in fourth, and both Eagles contributed to team scoring.
Junior Addison Stone (100, 3-2, 3 pins) and freshman Alannah Simoneaux (107, 3-2, 1 pin) both placed fourth. Stone tallied 18 points and Simoneaux 13.5.
Stone (100, 3-2, 3 pins) pinned Chinle sophomore Tenelle Tenorio in 32 seconds during the first round and Coronado senior Hadeel Saleh in 48 seconds during the quarterfinals, was pinned in 37 seconds by Yuma Catholic senior Khyla Lipumano during the semifinals, pinned ALA – Gilbert North sophomore Sophia Mohamed during the consolation semifinals, and was pinned in 2:48 by Lee Williams senior Mya Mazon to finish fourth.
Simoneaux (107, 3-2, 1 pin) posted a 17-2 third period technical fall over Lee Williams freshman Isabelle Brown during the first round, decisioned ALA – Gilbert North sophomore Payslie Gissel during the quarterfinals, was pinned in 5:23 by Yuma Catholic sophomore Abigail Barfield during the semifinals, decisioned Somerton sophomore Ariana Villafana 3-1 during the consolation semifinals, and was pinned in 3:46 by Alhambra sophomore Leby Montez to place fourth.
Pima – 23rd (25 points, 2/2 placed)
The Roughriders placed 23rd with 25 points as both qualifiers placed.
Junior Maelee Woods (185, 2-2, 1 pin) placed fifth, and sophomore Josie McEuen (126, 2-1, 2 pins) placed sixth. Woods contributed 14 points and McEuen 11.
Woods (185, 4-2, 3 pins) was pinned in 1:10 by Cactus junior Isabella Giza during the first round, pinned Round Valley freshman Jodie Irigoyon in 3:47 during the consolation first round and Blue Ridge senior Eliyah Pahe in 3:58 during the consolation second round, decisioned Greenway sophomore Kacey Mickelson 5-2 during the consolation third round, was pinned in 1:21 by Morenci senior Cynthia Martinez during the consolation semifinals, and pinned Arizona Lutheran senior Octavia Goudeau to place fifth.
McEuen (126, 2-3, 2 pins) pinned Flagstaff senior Kayla Gonzales in 2:51 during the first round and ALA – Gilbert North freshman Scarlet Richards in 2:39 during the quarterfinals, was decisioned 3-6 by Morenci sophomore Peytin Corbell during the semifinals, and fell by a 0-15 third period technical fall to Lee Williams sophomore Jenna Wayman and was pinned in 4:00 by Monument Valley junior Carli Jones to finish sixth.
Willcox – tied for 59th (3 points, 0/1 placed)
Willcox finished tied for 59th with three points, and the lone qualifier did not place.
Freshman Katelyn Millenaar (120, 1-2) scored three points and did not place.
Millenaar (120, 1-2) posted a 19-11 major decision over Snowflake junior Sara Shumway during the first round, was pinned in 1:50 by Prescott junior Gianna May during the quarterfinals, and fell by a 0-12 major decision to ALA – Gilbert North freshman Miley Bell during the consolation second round.
Team Placements
Queen Creek Crismon captured the Division II team title with 154 points. Six Rattlers placed, three in first, one as a runner-up, and two in fourth; and all eight contributed to the team scoring.
Somerton was second with 105.5 points with five of seven Toros placing, one as a champion, three in third, one in fifth, and 6-7 scored; Morenci third (70 pts., 4/4 entrants placed), Yuma Catholic fourth (68, 3/5, 1st, 2nd, 5th), San Tan Valley Poston Butte fifth (59.5, 3/3, 2nd, 3rd, 4th), Gilbert American Leadership – Gilbert North sixth (58, 4/6, 3rd, 5th, 2-6th), Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (54, 3/4, 1st, 4th, 6th) and Eagar Round Valley (54, 2/7, 1st, 5th) tied for seventh, and Flagstaff Coconino (43, 3/3, 3rd, 2-5th), and Vail Mica Mountain (43, 2/2, 2-2nd) tied for 10th.
Buckeye Odessey Institute was 11th (42.5, 2/5, 2nd, 6th), Kingman Lee Williams 12th (42, 2/3, 3rd, 4th), Mesa Eastmark (36, 1/4, 1st) and Show Low (36, 1/4, 1st) tied for 13th, Snowflake 15th (33, 1/9, 3rd), Sahuarita 16th (32.5, 2/3, 4th, 5th), Thatcher 17th (31.5, 2/2, 2-4th), Tempe Marcos de Niza 18th (30.5, 1/2, 1st), and both Rio Rico (30, 1/1, 1st) and Sahuarita Walden Grove (30, 1/1, 1st) tied for 19th.
California Winterhaven San Pasqual was 21st (27.5, 1/2, 2nd), Kayenta Monument Valley 22nd (26, 1/6, 5th), Pima 23rd (25, 2/2, 5th, 6th), Fort Defiance Window Rock 24th (24.5, 1/4, 4th), Queen Creek American Leadership (24, 1/1, 3rd), Glendale Cactus (24, 1/1, 2nd) and Wickenburg (24, 1/2, 2nd) tied for 25th, Teec Nos Pos Red Mesa 28th (23.5, 1/1, 2nd), Arizona Lutheran 29th (23, 2/5, 2-6th), and Fountain Hills (22, 1/1, 3rd) and Prescott (22, 1/1, 2nd) tied for 30th.
Phoenix Thunderbird was 32nd (21.5, 1/3, 4th), Miami 33rd (20, 1/1, 4th), Phoenix Alhambra (18.5, 1/1, 3rd) and Tucson Salpointe Catholic (18.5, 1/5, 6th) tied for 34th, Globe 36th (18, 1/2, 4th), Flagstaff 37th (17, 0/4), Maricopa Desert Sunrise (13, 1/1, 5th) and Phoenix Greenway (13, 0/3) tied for 38th, and Coolidge (11, 0/3), Winkelman Hayden (11, 1/1, 6th), Tucson Sahuaro (11, 1/2, 6th), and Tombstone (11, 1/1, 5th) tied for 40th.
Phoenix Cortez was 44th (10, 1/2, 6th), Scottsdale Coronado 45th (8, 0/2), Winslow 46th (7.5, 0/3), and Florence American Leadership – Anthem South (7, 0/1), Phoenix Carl Hayden (7, 0/1), Chinle (7, 0/2), and Chino Valley (7, 0/2) tied for 47th, Parker 51st (6, 0/1), Benson (5.5, 0/1) and Tucson Catalina Foothills (5.5, 0/1) tied for 52nd, Eloy Santa Cruz 54th (5, 0/1), and Lakeside Blue Ridge (4, 0/1), Vail Empire 15th (4, 0/2), Bullhead City Mohave (4, 0/2), and Phoenix Moon Valley (4, 0/1) tied for 55th.
Whiteriver Alchesay (3, 0/2), Tucson Amphitheater (3, 0/1), Florence (3, 0/2), Gilbert Mesquite (3, 0/1), Phoenix Christian (3, 0/3), Mohave Valley River Valley (3, 0/4), Tuba City (3, 0/1), Chandler Valley Christian (3, 0/1), Willcox (3, 0/1), Williams (3, 0/1), and Yuma (3, 0/1) tied for 59th, and El Mirage Dysart (2, 0/1) and Lake Havasu (2, 0/1) tied for 70th.
Bagdad (zero, 0/1), Camp Verde (zero, 0/1), Scottsdale Chaparral (zero, 0/1), Goodyear Estrella Foothills (zero, 0/1), Holbrook (zero, 0/2), Joseph City (zero, 0/2), Page (zero, 0/2), Payson (zero, 0/1), and Saint David (zero, 0/1) tied for 72nd.
2026 Division II Individual State Champions
The dozen Division II individual state champions were Yuma Catholic senior Khyla Lipumano (100, 4-0, 4 pins), Show Low sophomore Ruthie Wilhelm (107, 4-0, 3 pins), Round Valley freshman Brisa Gonzalez (114, 4-0, 2 pins), Crismon senior Roxy Robinson (120, 4-0, 2 pins), Crismon sophomore Tynlee Peterson (126, 4-0, 4 pins), Marcos de Niza senior Ariana Thomas (132, 4-0, 2 pins), Eastmark junior Brylee Colwell (138, 4-0, 2 pins), Walden Grove sophomore Isabella SantaMaria (145, 4-0, 4 pins), Crismon senior Madison Maselli (152, 4-0, 4 pins), Benjamin Franklin junior Madelyn Oliver (165, 4-0, 4 pins), Somerton freshman Annette Preston (185, 4-0, 3 pins), and Rio Rico senior Jessence Octavio-Callejo (237, 4-0, 4 pins). Snowflake had the most qualifiers with nine, and 29 schools had the fewest with one apiece.
