Leyba sets multiple individual school records
By Raymundo Frasquillo
PARADISE VALLEY – Four Morenci girls competed in five different events and totaled 59 points to finish 18th of 34 teams scoring. Senior Isabella Leyba earned 25 team points, finishing 35th of 166 state meet competitors.
Leyba finished ninth (2:23.28F, 2:24.16P) in the 200 individual medley, 11th (1:15.87F, 1:16.27P) in the 100 breaststroke, and 20th (1:10.32) in the 100 butterfly after a 1:10.44 preliminary time; senior Emily Lewis tied for 24th (27.82) with Wickenburg junior Savanna Rutherford in the 50 freestyle preliminary, 29th (6:27.24) in the 500 Free preliminary, and 33rd (28.33) in the 50 Free preliminary; junior Giselle Nevarez 23rd in the 100 Fly (1:13.34) preliminary; and sophomore Avery Wiltbank 37th (1:16.76) in the 100 backstroke preliminary.
In the relays, the 200 Medley Relay of Wiltbank, Leyba, Nevarez, and Lewis was 11th (2:09.48), the 400 Free Relay of Lewis, Wiltbank, Nevarez, and Leyba was 15th (4:15.81), and the 200 Free Relay of Wiltbank, Leyba, Nevarez, and Lewis tied for 24th (2:25.75) with Florence.
Prior to the Division III state meet, the Renee Stills-coached Morenci swim team competed in four state qualifying meets. The most recent was the Southern Arizona final state qualifying meet at the Oro Valley Aquatic Center on Oct. 24-25.
The Wildcats also competed in Maricopa (Sept. 4), Florence (Sept. 11), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (Sept. 18) Canyon del Oro (Sept. 20), their own meet with Florence (Sept. 25), the Gilbert Williams Field Knight’s Invitational (Sept. 26-27), Globe (Oct. 7), Chandler (Oct. 11), and Paradise Valley Phoenix Country Day School (Oct. 14).
Division III Girls state meet, Nov. 7-8
The state meet was held at Phoenix Country Day School on Nov. 7-8.
Host Phoenix Country Day School emerged as the 2025 Division III state team champion with 276 points, American Leadership – Gilbert North was second (263.50), and Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep was third (242.50).
Pusch Ridge Christian junior Reagan Edquid earned three gold medals, while Yuma Catholic junior Ryan Webb, American Leadership – Gilbert North junior Cecilia Quihuiz, and Chandler Prep senior Molly Hendricks earned two apiece.
Individual event winners were 50 Free: Phoenix Country Day junior Olivia Singer in 23.57 PR; 100 Free: Surprise Paradise Honors senior Aubrielle Stevens in 51.17 PR; 100 Fly: Webb in 56.45; 100 Back: Webb in 57.68 PR; 100 Breast: Pusch Ridge Christian junior Reagan Edquid in 1:03.76 PR; 200 Individual Medley: Edquid in 2:04.53 PR; 200 Free: Cecilia Quihuiz in 1:53.85 PR; and 500 Free: Cecilia Quihuiz in 5:07.34 PR.
In the relays, champions were 200 Free Relay: Chandler Prep with sophomore Stephanie Schuler, junior Ingrid Hansen, junior Mikayla Dunmar, and Hendricks in 1:46.01; 200 Medley Relay: American Leadership – Gilbert North with freshman Joelle Vanderbank, senior Chloe Quihuiz, Cecilia Quihuiz, and senior Jill Jensen in 2:14.89; and 400 Free Relay: Chandler Prep with Schuler, Hansen, Hendricks, and Dunmar in 3:56.57.
Others scoring were Chandler Prep with 209 points for fourth, Gilbert Christian fifth (189), Yuma Catholic sixth (187), Surprise Paradise Honors seventh (187), Tucson Tanque Verde eighth (182), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian ninth (174.5), and Gilbert Classical 10th (169).
Tucson Sabino was 11th (167.5), Phoenix Shadow Mountain 12th (160), Glendale Trivium Prep 13th (94), Phoenix Veritas Prep 14th (91), Sahuarita Walden Grove 15th (89), Sahuarita 16th (88), Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin 17th (83), Morenci 18th (59), Tucson Desert Christian 19th (58) and, Queen Creek American Leadership 20th (52).
Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic was 21st (48), Maricopa Desert Sunrise 22nd (44), Tucson’s The Gregory School 23rd (42), Buckeye Odyssey Institute 24th (37), Phoenix Christian 25th (35), Winslow 26th (32), Fountain Hills 27th (25), San Tan Valley San Tan Charter 28th (23), Bullhead City Mohave 29th (22), and Chandler Seton Catholic 30th (22).
Florence was 31st (13), Wickenburg 32nd (8), Scottsdale Christian 33rd (6), and Kingman Academy 34th (2).
Chandler Valley Christian, Coolidge, Fort Mohave Desert Star Academy, Scottsdale Prep, Kingman Lee Williams, Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep, Tucson Palo Verde Magnet, Payson, Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic, Tempe Prep, Phoenix Horizon Honors, Yuma, Phoenix Cortez, and Glendale Cactus did not score.
Southern Arizona Regional Qualifier, Oct. 24
The Morenci girls netted 68 points to finish eighth of 31 teams competing in the Southern Arizona Regional Qualifier on Oct. 24.
Finishes for the Wildcats were 50 Free: Emily Lewis was 38th in 28.15F, Avery Wiltbank 58th in 30.75P, Jolie Anderson 91st in 36.91P, and Alannah Suarez 100th in 42.00P; 100 Free: Genesis Nevarez 85th in 1:22.90P, Anderson 86th in 1:24.00P, and Suarez 102nd in 1:35.68P; 100 Back: Wiltbank 55th in 1:17.59P and Nevaeh Estrada 79th in 1:37.85; 100 Breast: Isabella Leyba 15th in 1:16.27F, Giselle Nevarez 45th in 1:25.03P, and Cynthia Martinez 70th in 1:36.08P; 200 Free: *3:01.15P 79th in Genesis Nevarez; and 500 Free: Lewis 45th in 6:35.68P.
The relays had 200 Free Relay: Leyba, Giselle Nevarez, Wiltbank, and Lewis in 15th with *1:58.21; 200 Medley Relay: Wiltbank (Back), Leyba (Breast), Giselle Nevarez (Fly), and Lewis (Free) in 15th with 2:14.89; and 400 Free Relay: Giselle Nevarez, Lewis, Wiltbank, and Leyba in 18th with 5:39.69.
Tucson Salpointe Catholic placed first with 507 points, Tucson Catalina Foothills second (348), and Tucson Rincon/University third (246).
Individual event winners were 50 Free: Salpointe freshman Taylor Basken of 108 with 25.53, 100 Free: Salpointe junior Carissa Palomarez of 105 with 53.69, 100 Fly: Pusch Ridge junior Reagan Edquid of 61 with 56.86, 100 Back: Edquid of 87 with 57.27, 100 Breast: Salpointe sophomore Holland Nye of 91 with 1:06.39, 200 Free: The Gregory School junior Desiree Blute of 84 with 1:59.52, 200 Individual Medley: Nye of 45 with 2:10.41, and 500 Free: Catalina Foothills junior Isabella Geiger with 5:10.08.
In the relays, the winners were 200 Free Relay: Salpointe of 23 with Nye, senior Aniela Mieczkowski, Palomarez, and Kylamarie Goodman in 1:43.12; 200 Medley Relay: Salpointe of 21 with freshman Rachel Habib (Back), sophomore Scarlet Bonomolo (Breast), Goodman (Fly), and senior Morgan Maciulla (Free) with 1:56.02; and the 400 Free Relay: Catalina Foothills of 18 with freshman Chloe Hermann, sophomore Madeline Carney, senior Zoey Switzer, and Geiger in 3:43.54.
Other teams competing, finish, and points scored were Tucson Tanque Verde and Chandler Prep tied for fourth (202), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian sixth (191), Tucson Sabino and Tucson Canyon del Oro tied for seventh (188 ), Marana Mountain View ninth (186), Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge 10th (157), Marana 11th (133), Sahuarita Walden Grove 12th (123), Tucson Mica Mountain 13th (102), Tucson Desert Christian 14th (80), Morenci 15th (68), Vail Cienega 16th (63), Tucson Magnet 17th (62), Yuma Gila Ridge 18th (55), Sierra Vista Buena 19th (46), Tucson’s The Gregory School 20th (45), Florence 21st (24), Douglas 22nd (17), Tucson Flowing Wells 23rd (12), and Tucson Sahuaro 24th (10).
Coolidge, Sahuarita, San Tan Valley, Poston Butte, and Tucson schools, Amphitheater, Palo Verde Magnet, Saint Augustine Catholic, and Santa Rita did not score.
Knights Invitational, Sept. 27
The Morenci girls totaled 134 points to finish eighth of 15 teams competing in the Knights Invitational on Sept. 27. The top three teams were American Leadership – Gilbert North with 313 points, Sandra Day O’Connor second (286), and host Gilbert Williams Field third (275).
Morenci individual times posted were 50 freestyle: senior Emily Lewis with 29.33 for 11th of 47, sophomore Jolie Anderson with a season best 36:22 for 36th, and senior Alana Suarez with 44.84 for 41st; 100 Free: Lewis with 1:07.62 for 14th of 43, junior Avery Wiltbank with 1:08.69 for 16th, and junior Genesis Nevarez with a season best 1:25.36 for 36th; 100 Butterfly: senior Isabelle Leyba with 1:07.96 for fifth of 20;
100 Backstroke: senior Nevaeh Estrada with 1:40.77 for 28th of 30 and sophomore Kamille Bernal with 1:54.60 for 29th; 100 Breaststroke: Leyba with 1:17. 19 for fifth of 30, Wiltbank with 1:34.43 for 20th, and senior Cynthia Martinez with a season best 1:43.19 for 27th; 200 Free: freshman Genesis Nevarez with 3:07.85 for 24th of 28 and Martinez with 3:43.07 for 28th; and 200 Individual Medley: junior Giselle Nevarez with 2:47.14 for eighth of 11.
In relays, Morenci turned in a season best 200 Freestyle Relay 2:26.67 for eighth of nine with Martinez, Anderson, Genisis Nevarez, and Estrada; a season best 200 Medley Relay 2:14.89 for seventh of 12 with Wiltbank, Leyba, Giselle Nevarez, and Lewis; and 400 Freestyle Relay 4:29.35 for fifth of 10 with Giselle Nevarez, Lewis, Wiltbank, and Leyba.
Individual event winners were 50 Free: Sandra Day O’Connor senior Kaylee Woodruff in 23.84, 100 Free: Woodruff in 53.18, 100 Fly: Williams Field sophomore Caroline Zifcak in 55.27, 100 Back: ALA – Gilbert North freshman Joelle Wandenbark in 58.02, 100 Breast: Mountain Ridge freshman Alyssa Kuper in 1:04.99, 200 Free: ALA – Gilbert North junior Cecilia Quihuiz in 1:51.39, 200 Individual Medley: Cecilia Quihuiz in 2:07.45, and 500 Free: Higley sophomore Hailey Schwendinger in 5:01.19.
Relay winners were 200 Free Relay: Williams Field with junior Zoe Fischbeck, senior Mallie McCullen, freshman KayeLee Fry, and Zifcak clocked in with 1:37.76; and both ALA – Gilbert North quartets, the 200 Medley Relay: with Vanderbark (Back), senior Chloe Quihuiz (Breast), Cecilia Quihuiz (Fly), and senior Jill Jensen (Free) in 1:49.54; and the 400 Free Relay: with Cecilia Quihuiz, Chloe Quihuiz, Vanderbark, and Jensen in 3:39.06.
Other teams scoring were Glendale Mountain Ridge (264), Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (207), Chandler Heights Casteel (144), Gilbert Higley (144), Morenci (134), Tempe McClintock (114), Gilbert Mesquite (81), Florence (76), Queen Creek Crismon (37), Avondale West Point (32), Avondale Agua Fria (28), and Payson (9).
Canyon del Oro Classic, Sept. 20
The Morenci girls totaled 51 points to finish 14th of 22 teams competing in the Canyon Del Oro Classic on Sept. 20. The top three teams were Phoenix Desert Vista with 431 points, Tucson Salpointe Catholic second (328), and host CDO third (190).
Individual times were 50 Free: Lewis with 29.32 for 25th of 72, Wiltbank with 30:35 for 32nd, Anderson with 36:69 for 61st, and Genesis Nevarez with 37.95 for 64th; 100 Free: Genesis Nevarez with 1:27.97 for 53rd of 62 and Estrada with 1:36.63 for 59th; 100 Fly: Giselle Nevarez with 1:13.12 for 23rd of 27 and Anderson with 1:50.72 for 27th; 100 Back: Wiltbank with 1:22.12 for 29th of 52, Lewis with 1:22.64 for 30th, and Bernal with 1:53.46 for 53rd; 100 Breast: Martinez with 1:43.99 for 40th of 53; 200 Individual Medley: Leyba with 2:26.79 for sixth of 28; and 500 Free: Leyba with 6:01.15 for seventh of 26 and Martinez with 8:14.87 for 24th.
In relays, Morenci turned in 200 Free Relay: 2:28.74 for 20th of 24; 200 Medley Relay: 2:15.33 for 15th of 19; and 400 Free Relay: 4:28.57 for 10th of 21.
Individual event winners were 50 Free: Desert Vista senior Holland Stocker in 23.84, 100 Free: Stockler in 53.18, 100 Fly: Desert Vista freshman Marley Spray in 55.27, 100 Back: CDO freshman Naomi Weibel in 58.02, 100 Breast: Pusch Ridge junior Reagan Edquid in 1:04.99, 200 Free: Spray in 1:51.39, 200 Individual Medley: Edquid in 2:07.45, and 500 Free: Weibel in 5:01.19,
Desert Vista swept all three relays, the 200 Free Relay: with sophomore Alexa Largent, freshman Delaney Holm, sophomore Katarina Plank, and senior Myra Streit in 1:37.76; the 200 Medley Relay: Spray (Back), Plank (Breast), Largent (Fly), and Stocker (Free) in 1:49.54; and the 400 Free Relay: with Largent, Holm, Plank, and Streit in 3:39.06.
Other teams scoring were Tucson Rincon/University (177), Yuma Catholic (163), Tucson Sabino (109), Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge (98), Tanque Verde (98), Tucson Magnet (90), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (79), Vail Mica Mountain (76), Sahuarita Walden Grove (67), Marana (53), Morenci (51), Tucson Desert Christian (47), Tucson’s The Gregory School (40), Vail Ceniega (25), Sierra Vista Buena (21), Douglas (20), and San Tan Valley Poston Butte (6). Fountain Hills and Tucson Palo Verde Magnet did not score.
Morenci Girls School Records (2018-25)
Class of 2019 member Taylee Bayardo holds four individual event school records and two relay team records. Her times of 26.54 (50 Free), 53.48 (100 Free) for state runner-up, and 1:00.9 (100 Back) for fourth at state, have been the bar for ensuing team members to ascend.
Bayardo, Class of 2021 members Savanna Titone and Jadah Cortez, along with Class of 2022 member Zenayah Cortez, finished 11 of 23 in the 200 Free Relay (1:57.67) and 13 of 21 in the 200 Medley Relay (2:16.42) during the Southern Arizona Regional State Qualifier on Oct. 26, 2018. She swam the first leg of the 200 Free Relay and the third leg of the 200 Medley Relay.
Others setting school and season records are Class of 2025 member Isabella Leyba with 1:26.69 (100 Breast), breaking Titone’s 2018 mark of 1:28.92 as a sophomore in 2022.
Leyba set and reset five season records, from 2:24.26 as a freshman to 2:16.89 in the 200 Free as a sophomore, from 1:09.85 as a sophomore to 1:09.38 as a junior to 1:07.96 in the 100 Fly as a senior, from 1:26.69 as a sophomore to 1:17.64 as a junior to 1:15.87 in the 100 Breast as a senior, from 2:31.46 as a freshman to 2:30.20 as a sophomore to 2:27.98 as a junior to 2:23.28 in the 200 IM as a senior, and from 6:19.19 as a junior to 6:01.15 in the 500 Free as a senior.
The 400 Free Relay of Leyba, Lewis, Giselle Nevarez, and Wiltbank broke its own 2024 mark of 4:28.71 with 4:15.81 this season.
The 25 team points scored by Leyba this season surpassed the 23 scored by Bayardo during the 2018 state meet.
Division III Boys state meet, Nov. 7-8
The Morenci boys did not score team points, finishing 24th (1:47.04) in the 200 Free Relay with senior Maxwell Clancy, sophomore Landon Curtis, sophomore Matthew Goodman, and sophomore Christian Kudadiri.
Individually, Goodman ended 35th (6:21.87) and Clancy 36th (6:23.91) in the 500 Free, and Kudadiri 34th (2:11.38) in the 200 Free and 36th (1:08.58) in the 100 Fly,
Tucson Tanque Verde was the 2025 Division III Boys state team champion with 257 points, Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep second (254), and Gilbert Classical third (244).
Pusch Ridge Christian junior Reagan Edquid earned three gold medals, while Yuma Catholic junior Ryan Webb, American Leadership – Gilbert North junior Cecilia Quihuiz, and Chandler Prep senior Molly Hendricks earned two apiece.
Individual event winners were 50 Free: Shadow Mountain junior Kadyn Hysong in 21.18; 100 Free: Trivium Prep senior Al Alexandrovich in 51.17 PR; 100 Fly: Hysong in 51.63; 100 Back: Notre Dame Prep Alex Minarich in 51.28 SB; 100 Breast: Trivium Prep senior Al Alexandrovich in 57.40 PR; 200 Individual Medley: Minarich in 1:56.77 PR; 200 Free: Alexandrovich in 1:42.23 SB; and 500 Free: Phoenix Country Day Marcus Rawner Scannapieco in 5:07.34 PR.
In the relays, champions were 200 Free Relay: Chandler Prep with sophomore Stephanie Schuler, junior Ingrid Hansen, junior Mikayla Dunmar, and Hendricks in 1:46.01; 200 Medley Relay: American Leadership – Gilbert North with freshman Joelle Vanderbank, senior Chloe Quihuiz, Cecilia Quihuiz, and senior Jill Jensen in 2:14.89; and 400 Free Relay: Trivium Prep with Alexandrovich, sophomore Abisai Morales, senior Ethan Lu, and junior Luke Jones in 3:18.00.
Other teams’ scores were Trivium Prep with 229 points for fourth, Chandler Prep fifth (228), Paradise Honors sixth (195), American Leadership – Gilbert North seventh (181), Phoenix Country Day eighth (167), Queen Creek American Leadership ninth (165), and Pusch Ridge 10th (163).
Scottsdale Prep was 11th (135), Shadow Mountain 12th (123), Mohave 13th (122), Walden Grove 14th (118), Odyssey Institute 15th (106), Tempe Prep 16th (94), Florence 17th (77), Sabino 18th (69), Desert Christian 19th (48), and Saint John Paul II 20th (48).
Gilbert Christian was 21st (46), Phoenix Christian 22nd (43), Desert Sunrise 23rd (42), Sahuarita 24th (40), Horizon Honors 25th (34), Saint Augustine 26th (27), Veritas Prep 27th (24), The Gregory School 28th (23), Wickenburg 29th (17), and Cactus 30th (17).
Benjamin Franklin was 31st (12), Valley Christian 32nd (6), Fountain Hills 33rd (4), Kingman Academy 34th (2), and Rancho Solano Prep 35th (1).
Seton Catholic, Coolidge, Winslow, Cortez, Scottsdale Christian, Morenci, Desert Star, Yuma, San Tan Charter, Lee Williams, Palo Verde Magnet, Payson, and Yuma Catholic did not score.
