Two Morenci girls return from 18th-place finish
By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – Four Morenci girls competed in five different events and totaled 59 points to finish 18th of 34 teams scoring during the 2025 Division III state meet. Senior Giselle Nevarez and junior Avery Wiltbank return for the 2026 season. Nevarez finished 23rd in the 100 Fly (1:13.34) preliminary and Wiltbank 37th (1:16.76) in the 100 backstroke preliminary.
Also returning without state meet experience are junior Jolie Anderson and sophomore Giselle Nevarez. First-time program members include senior Alandra Dalton, sophomore Annael LeBris, and freshman Elizabeth VanDan.
Class of 2026 member Isabella Leyba earned 25 team points to finish 35th of 166 state meet competitors. She 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.
The other Class of 2026 member 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;
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.
The Renee Stills-coached Morenci swim team will compete in four state qualifying meets, the Chandler Croswhite Invitational (Sept. 12), the Canyon del Oro Classic (Sept. 19), the Gilbert Higley/Williams Field Knight’s Invitational (Sept. 26), and the Southern Arizona final state qualifying meet at the Oro Valley Aquatic Center on Oct. 24-25.
The Wildcats begin competition in Coolidge on Thursday, Sept. 4. Morenci hosts three meets on Sept. 17, 24, and Oct. 15, as well as attending one in Paradise Valley with Phoenix Country Day School on Sept. 29.
Morenci Girls School Records (2018-25)
Class of 2019 member Taylee Bayardo retains four individual event school records and two with relay teams. 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.
Other setting school and season records is 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 last season surpassed the 23 scored by Bayardo during the 2018 state meet.
2026 Morenci Boys
The Morenci boys did not score team points during the Division III state meet last season, finishing 24th (1:47.04) in the 200 Free Relay with Maxwell Clancy (2026), and Class of 2028 members Landon Curtis, Matthew Goodman, and 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,
Goodman and Curtis return for 2026, along with junior Caleb Hancock. First-time members include junior Carson Hobbs as well as freshmen Ben Clancy, Christopher Marble, and Jaxon Sullivan.
