Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: The 2024 Morenci Wildcats earned third consecutive Division IV – Section IV title, the ninth under 11-year MHS head coach Casey Woodall. Morenci tallied 225 points or 59 more than runner-up Willcox (166) on Feb. 10. It was the first sectional held in Wildcat Memorial Gymnasium. Team members proudly show off the hardware as 11 of 14 qualified for the state meet, eight were finalists, and six ended as section champions. The state meet begins in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Friday, Feb. 16.
Six Wildcats leave meet as section champions
By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – The Morenci Wildcats earned the Division IV – Section IV title, totaling 225 points or 59 more than runner-up Willcox (166) on Feb. 10. It is the ninth section title in 11 seasons under head coach Casey Woodall and the initial section meet held in Wildcat Memorial Gymnasium.
The Greenlee County boys qualified 11 of 14 entrants for the state meet beginning on Feb. 16. The meet was postponed and canceled in 2014 due to health concerns regarding skin disease and in 2021 because of the COVID-19 global health crisis.
Previously, 12 of 14 (2015) entrants, 13 of 14 (2016-18), 9-13 (2019), 12-13 (2020), 13-14 (2022), and 11-13 (2023) had qualified under Woodall. During the seasons without a section meet in 2014 and 2021, there were 13 and 14 Wildcats entered at the state meets, respectively.
Eleven Wildcats qualified for the state meet by placing in the top four, six as section champions, two as runners-up, one as a third placer, and two as fourth placers.
Seniors John Provencio (138, 3-0, 3 pins), Noah Torres (150, 3-0, 3 pins), and Breck Williams (157, 3-0, 3 pins), junior Hollis Corbell (190, 2-0, 2 pins), and sophomores Merrick Williams (120, 3-0, 3 pins) and Kiano Torres (132, 3-0, 3 pins) each placed first; juniors Trent Nelson (113, 2-1, 2 pins) and Omar Torres (144, 2-1) placed second; freshman Mason Clark (106, 0-1) placed third; and sophomore Isaiah Cook (285, 2-2, 1 pin) and senior Austyn Nelson Porter (215, 1-2, 1 pin) both placed fourth.
Non-placers included sophomores Matthew Hernandez (126 2-2), Stosh Vineyard (165, 0-2), and freshman Joel Baca (175, 3-2, 3 pins).
Thirteen of 14 Wildcats contributed to the team scoring total. Merrick Williams, Noah Torres, and Breck Williams added 26 points apiece, Provencio and Kiano Torres 25.5 each, Corbell 22, Nelson 18, Omar Torres 16, Cook 11, Baca 10, Clark and Porter seven apiece, and Hernandez five.
Individually, Provencio (138, 3-0, 3 pins) drew a first-round bye, pinned Pima freshman Adam Bryce in the quarterfinal first period and Thatcher junior Talin John in the semifinal third period, and posted a 17-1 technical fall over Benson senior Zeke Crowley for the title.
Noah Torres (150, 3-0, 3 pins) drew a first-round bye, posted pins over Benson senior Xavier Castagno in the quarterfinal first period, Bisbee junior Spencer Anthony in the semifinal first period, and Pima junior Kodi Ferguson in the championship second period.
Breck Williams (157, 3-0, 3 pins) drew a first-round bye, pinned Valley Union sophomore Ivan Rosales in the quarterfinal first period, Willcox senior David Allred in the semifinal first period, and Thatcher sophomore Josiah Matagaono in the championship first period.
Corbell (190, 2-0, 2 pins) drew a quarterfinal bye and pinned San Manuel junior Alfonso Celaya in the semifinal third period and Valley Union junior Marshall Larson in the championship third period.
Merrick Williams (120, 3-0, 3 pins) drew a first-round bye, pinned Tombstone freshman Roland Enos in the quarterfinal first period, Pima freshman Kyler Reed in the semifinal first period, and San Manuel senior Raymond Garcia in the championship third period.
Kiano Torres (132, 3-0, 3 pins) drew a first-round bye, pinned Santa Rita junior Damian Gill in the quarterfinal first period, Saint David senior Jeffrey Savage in the semifinal second period, and Willcox sophomore Joseph Sanchez by a 17-1 technical fall for the title.
Nelson (113, 2-1, 2 pins) pinned Thatcher freshman Hunter Burkett in the quarterfinal first period and San Manuel Nico Molina in the semifinal second period, and was decisioned 1-2 by Tombstone sophomore Brock Santa Maria to place second.
Omar Torres (144, 2-1) drew a first-round bye, had a 7-5 quarterfinal sudden victory over Andrada Polytechnic junior Jake Kinser, decisioned Globe junior Riley French 11-4 during the semifinal, and was decisioned 4-11 by Pima senior Hayden Blair to place second.
Clark (106, 0-1) fell by a 0-15 technical fall to Benson freshman Solomon Crowley during the semifinal and received a third-place bye.
Cook (285, 2-2, 1 pin) drew a first-round bye, had a 4-2 quarterfinal sudden victory over Willcox junior Travis Larson, was pinned in the semifinal second period by Pima junior Brock Haws, pinned San Carlos senior Harding Haozous Jr. in the consolation semifinal third period, and was pinned in the first period during the third place bout.
Porter (215, 1-2, 1 pin) drew a quarterfinal bye, was decisioned 3-5 by Pima senior Pepper Hughes in the semifinal, pinned San Carlos senior Darren Chimoni Jr. during the consolation semifinal first period, and was decisioned 3-4 by San Manuel senior Aiden Lozoya to finish fourth.
Hernandez (126 2-2) had a 10-2 first-round major decision over Valley Union freshman Manny Rojas, a 6-4 quarterfinal sudden victory over Thatcher senior Cohen Soto, was pinned by Globe junior Gary Perkins in the semifinal third period, and was pinned by Willcox freshman Mark Wilson in the consolation semifinal second period.
Vineyard (165, 0-2) drew a first-round bye, was pinned by Benson senior Bodie Blalock in the quarterfinal second period, received a consolation second-round bye, and was pinned by Tombstone senior Aiden Walker in the consolation third-round second period.
Baca (175, 3-2, 3 pins) pinned Valley Union senior Elijah Riesgo in the first round second period, was pinned by Willcox senior Kash Macumber in the quarterfinal first period, pinned Catalina junior Magnet Fernando Mesquita in the consolation second round first period, pinned San Manuel freshman Markus Nye in the consolation third round second period, and fell by a 2-10 consolation semifinal major decision to Benson freshman Tyson Kilpatrick.
Division IV – Section IV Champions
The other eight section champions numbered four each from Sahuarita and Walden Grove, three from Salpointe Catholic, and two from Mica Mountain.
Junior Daniel Guerrero (120, 2-0), junior Jordan Rael (138, 3-0, 2 pins), freshman Nathaniel Gallardo (150, 4-0, 4 pins), and junior Gabriel Gallardo (157, 3-0, 3 pins) of Sahuarita; senior Zachary Bates (126, 3-0, 2 pins), junior Pedro Mendoza (132, 4-0, 3 pins), junior Enzo Morales (165, 3-0, 2 pins), and junior Sal Nieves (285, 3-0, 2 pins) of Walden Grove; junior Che Jenkins (113, 2-0, 1 pin), junior Nathaniel Higgins (144, 3-0, 3 pins), and senior Orlando Gonzalez (215, 3-0, 1 pin) of Salpointe; and junior Tyler Shumway (175, 3-0, 2 pins) and senior Zach Shumway (190, 2-0, 1 pin) of Mica Mountain.
Division IV – Section IV State Qualifiers
A total of 143 participants from 16 different schools attended, with Morenci fielding a full team, Pima 13 entrants, Thatcher and Tombstone 12 apiece, Benson and San Manuel 11 each, both Tucson Catalina and Willcox 10, Tucson Andrada Polytechnic nine, Elfrida Valley Union and Globe seven, Saint David six, Bisbee and San Carlos five, Tucson Palo Verde Magnet three, and Tucson Santa Rita one.
Morenci qualified 11 of 14, Willcox 8-10, Benson 7-10, Pima and Tombstone both 5-12, San Manuel 7-11, Thatcher 4-11, Globe and Bisbee both 2-4, Valley Union 2-7, Saint David 1-6, Santa Rita 1-1, Catalina and Andrada Polytechnic both none of eight, Saint Augustine Catholic none of six, San Carlos none of four, and Palo Verde Magnet none of three.
Girls Division II – Section III
Cynthia Martinez continued to pen her chapter in the annals of Morenci sports history. The 165-pound sophomore earned her second section title, pinning four opponents in a field of 10.
Her pins were over Ganado senior Rori Manybeads in 3:51 during the first round, over Snowflake sophomore Emilyta Tso in 29 seconds during the quarterfinals, over Page freshman Logan Rivers in 5:03 during the semifinals, and over Round Valley junior Makyah Slade in 2:58 in the championship bout.
Martinez earned 28 team points to tie for 14th with San Manuel and is the school’s sixth and seventh section champion. The previous section titlists were Class of 2023 grad Ariana Sarrett (6-0, six pins) with four section titles and Class of 2019 grad Nesa Martinez (2-0, 1 pin) with one.
Neighboring schools, Thatcher, Pima, Willcox, Globe, and Miami totaled 20 entrants. Thatcher placed 1-2 with freshman Addison Stone (107, 3-1, 3 pins) in third; Pima 2-5 with freshmen Breanna Taylor (100, 2-1, 2 pins) in second and Nia Berume (107, 4-2, 2 pins) in fourth; Willcox 2-6 with senior Karissa Riggs (114, 3-1, 3 pins) and junior Abi Tingle (152, 3-1, 3 pins) both in third; Globe none of three; and Miami none of four.
The top three team finishers were Eagar Round Valley first with 154 points and six of 10 placers, two champions, three runners-up, and a third place; Snowflake second (138) with six of 11 placers, two champions, a runner-up, two third placers, and a fourth place; and Kayenta Monument Valley with six of 11 placers, two champions, two third placers, and two fourth placers.