Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Isabella Leyba qualified in two events for a second year, surpassing her 200 individual medley 2022 state preliminary mark (2:31.46) with a 2:28.76 clocking to place 16th and earn a point. The Morenci sophomore also finished 19th in the 100 Free preliminaries with 1:00.11, slightly slower than her 2022 state qualifying preliminary time (1:00.08).
By Raymundo Frasquillo
PARADISE VALLEY – During the 2022 state meet preliminaries, Class of 2026 member Isabella Leyba clocked in with 2:32.07 for the 200 individual medley, finishing as the second alternate at No. 18, and 1:00.11 for the 100 freestyle to finish as No. 19. She did not qualify for the finals in either event or score team points.
This season, the Morenci sophomore posted a 2:28.76 time in the 200 individual medley to finish 16th and scored a point. It was the first point scored by the Wildcats in five seasons. The previous placer and scorer was Class of 2019 grad Taylee Bayardo who placed second in the 100 free (53:48) and fourth in the 100 back (1:00.09) for 32 points.
Class of 2026 teammate Emily Lewis scored a 28.09 (50 Free) clocking during the final state meet qualifier this season.
2023 Division III State Champions
Chandler Arizona College Prep tallied 99 more points than runner-up Phoenix Country Day School, 362-263, to finish as the team 2023 Division III state champion.
Two of the winning relays were also from the Chandler school, the 200 Medley Relay (1:49.94) and 200 Free Relay (1:39.49). The 400 Free Relay (3:38.91) hailed from Phoenix Country Day School.
Members of the 200 Medley Relay were sophomore Ashley Tierney, junior Nicole Barnes Cortinas, sophomore Saylor Debnam, and sophomore Abigail Lawrence; the 200 Free Relay had Lawrence, freshman Surie Peng, sophomore Aida Peterson, and Cortinas; and the 400 Free Relay had Lelia Symington, Nancy Burns, Julia Lotz, and Olivia Singer.
The individual event winners were Mesa Eastmark senior Peyton Wunderlich in the 50 Free with 24:08 and in the 100 Free with 563.11; Gilbert North American Leadership senior Ariel Beltran in the 100 Fly with 56.33 and the 100 Back with 56.87; Arizona College Prep junior Nicole Barnes Cortinas in the 100 Breast with 1:05.01 and in the 200 IM with 1:08.72; and Phoenix Shadow Mountain senior Danielle Gleason in the 200 Free with 1:49.61 and in the 500 Free with 4:51.89. Gleason’s 200 Free clocking re-set a state record.
2023 Division III State Team Placements
Paradise Valley’s Phoenix Country Day School finished second with 263 points, Gilbert North American Leadership third (170), Surprise Paradise Honors fourth (150), Chandler Prep fifth (143), Tucson Salpointe Catholic sixth (133), Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep seventh (116), Yuma Catholic eighth (113), Mesa Eastmark ninth (111), and Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian 10th (99).
Phoenix Veritas Prep was 11th (88), Phoenix Shadow Mountain 12th (82), Scottsdale Prep 13th (70), Glendale Trivium Prep 14th (65), Tucson Tanque Verde 15th (55), Sedona Red Rock 16th (52), Gilbert Christian 17th (37), Chandler Seton Catholic 18th (33), Scottsdale Christian 19th (31), and Tucson’s The Gregory School 20th (29).
Goodyear Estrella Foothills was 21st (25), Maricopa Desert Sunrise 22nd (23), Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin 23rd (14), Tucson Sabino 24th (13), Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic 25th (12), Tucson Mica Mountain 26th (11), Buckeye Odyssey Institute 27th (8), Bullhead City Mohave 28th (6), Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep 29th (5), and Chandler Valley Christian 30th (4).
Morenci tied with Sahuarita Walden Grove and Gilbert Classical for 31st with one point apiece.
Morenci School Records
Class of 2019 grad Taylee Bayardo left with school record times in the 50 Free (26.54), 100 Free (53.48), 200 Free (2:16.43), and 100 Back (1:00.09).
Additionally, she swam the first leg of the 200 Free Relay (1:57.17) and third leg Fly of the 200 Medley Relay (2:14.46) during the final 2018 state meet qualifier, the Southern Arizona Regional Qualifying meet.
Joining Bayardo in both quartets were Class of 2021 grads Savanna Titone and Jadah Cortez as sophomores and Class of 2022 grad Zenayah Cortez as a freshman. The finishes were 11 of 23 in the 200 freestyle relay (1:57.67) and 13 of 21 in the 200 medley relay (2:16.42).
Lewis jumped to second in the program for the 50 Free (28.09) during the final state meet qualifier this season, surpassing the 2019 effort (28.30) by Zenayah Cortez.
Leyba also surpassed the 2019 efforts by Zenayah Cortez in the 100 Free (1:03.89) with her 2022 mark of 1:00.11, as well as the 100 Breast (1:28.92) mark of Savanna Titone in 2018. She also has a program-best 1:09.85 in the 100 Fly, set during the 2023 final state meet qualifier. Her final state meet qualifier time cemented first in the program for the 100 Fly (1:00.11) during the final state meet qualifier this season.
Renee Stills was the 2023 head coach, following Dana Bayardo (2019-22), and Eric Waanamen (2018).
The team numbered six in 2018 with a freshman, three sophomores, and two seniors; four in 2019 with three sophomores and a junior; four in 2020 with two juniors and two seniors; four in 2021 with four seniors; two in 2022 with two freshmen; and four in 2023 with a freshman and three sophomores.
Not all participants finished each season, and there have been no 4-year participants throughout the program’s history.
