Dawgs host Sabercats, Eagles host Titans on Thursday
By Raymundo Frasquillo
DUNCAN – The Kassi Mortensen-coached No. 23 Duncan Wildkats (5-8 ranking, minus 5.4139 rating) host the No. 10 San Simon Longhorns (10-2, 1.4137) on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
The Wildkats head to the 5-team San Simon tourney on Saturday, Oct. 18.
In Graham County, the Darcy Barney-coached 1A No. 11 Fort Thomas Apaches (9-3, 1.3895) visit No. 32 San Manuel (3-9, minus 13.3547) on Tuesday, Oct. 14 and host No. 29 Phoenix Valley Lutheran (3-9, minus 121.0208) on Thursday, Oct. 16; the Marcie Lopeman-coached 3A No. 16 Thatcher Eagles (6-5, 5.6663) visit No. 8 Empire (9-2, 9.5196) on Oct. 14 and host No. 42 Palo Verde Magnet (4-7, minus 11.3781) on Oct. 16; and the Makenna Farr-coached 3A No. 14 Safford Bulldogs (6-5, 6.4714) visit No. 15 Pusch Ridge (7-5, 5.8548) on Oct. 14 and host No. 37 Sabino (3-7, minus 9.2592) on Oct. 16.
1A No. 23 DUNCAN Wildkats (minus 5.4139 rating)
Duncan (4-12 overall, 4-6 seeding, 1-0 region) has seeding wins of 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19) over San Manuel (Sept. 4), 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-12, 25-7) over 1A South Region Elfrida Valley Union (Sept. 11), 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-8, 25-22) over Valley Lutheran (Sept. 13), and 3-2 (27-25, 24-26, 25-14, 25-13, 15-5) over Superior on Sept. 23 along with losses of 0-3 (17-25, 23-25, 19-25) to 2A East Region Pima (Aug. 27), 2-3 (17-25, 25-20, 17- 25, 25-11, 14-16) to 1A South Region San Simon (Sept. 2), 1-3 (23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 12-25) to Fort Thomas (Sept. 16), 0-3 (16-25, 7-25, 12-25) to Cicero Prep on Sept. 25, 0-3 to Ray on Sept. 30, and 0-3 to Fort Thomas on Oct. 2.
The Kassi Mortensen-coached Wildkats also went 0-6 during the 2-day Payson on Aug. 29-30.
Duncan has a 13-member roster with seven seniors, three juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman. The seniors include Karleigh Capel (10), Sierra Chamberlin (15), Madison Chatman (13), Lara Elmer (3), Emily Evans (9), Allyssa Garcia (12), and Brendy Paz (2); juniors Lily Ford (11), Sophia Harris (4), and McKenzie Jones (8); sophomores Haley Bigler (5) and Taylor Workman (14); and freshman Petron Hoglan (16).
The Wildkats are competing in the 8-member 1A East Region with the Fort Thomas Apaches, the Kearny Ray Bearcats, the Phoenix Valley Lutheran Flames, the San Manuel Miners, the Scottsdale Cicero Prep Centurions, the Superior Panthers, and the Winkelman Hayden Lobos.
1A East Region
Region member standings as of Oct. 11 were Scottsdale Cicero Prep (20-8 overall, 11-0 ranking, 4-0 region), Fort Thomas (12-7, 9-3, 3-1), Superior (8-5, 8-3, 2-1), San Manuel (3-9, 3-9, 2-2), Duncan (5-14, 5-8, 2-3), Phoenix Valley Lutheran (3-11, 3-9, 2-3), Kearny Ray (7-9, 4-8, 1-2), and Winkelman Hayden (2-10, 2-10, 1-5).
A total of 17 region matches have been played to date, with results being Cicero Prep 3-0 (25-7, 25-7, 25-17) over Hayden on Sept. 16, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-12) over Fort Thomas on Sept. 18, 3-0 (25-16, 25-7, 25-12) over Duncan on Sept. 25, and 3-0 (25-5, 25-6, 25-19) over Ray on Oct. 2; Fort Thomas 3-0 over Hayden on Sept. 23, 3-0 over Duncan on Oct. 2, and 3-0 (25-19, 25-17,25- 16) over Superior on Oct. 7; Superior 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-11) over Hayden on Oct. 2 and 3-1 (13-25, 25-15, 25-14, 27-25) over Valley Lutheran on Oct. 9; San Manuel 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 12-25, 25-19) over Valley Lutheran on Oct. 2 and 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23) over Ray on Oct. 7; Duncan over Phoenix Valley Lutheran 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-8, 25-22) on Sept. 13 and 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-22) over San Manuel on Oct. 9; Valley Lutheran over Hayden 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-13) on Sept. 22 and 3-0 over Hayden on Oct. 7; Ray 3-0 over Duncan on Sept. 30; and Hayden 3-2 over San Manuel on Sept. 30.
This week (Oct. 13-18), region member pairings have Cicero Prep visiting Superior, Fort Thomas visiting San Manuel, Valley Lutheran hosting 2A Valley Region Phoenix NFL Yet, Ray hosting Hayden on Oct. 14; Duncan hosts 1A South Region San Simon and Hayden hosting the 1A South Region Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind on Oct. 15; Cicero Prep hosting San Manuel, Fort Thomas hosting Valley Lutheran, Superior hosting Ray on Oct. 16; Cicero Prep visiting Valley Lutheran on Friday, Oct. 17; and Duncan and Ray will be attending the San Simon tourney on Oct. 18.
Tourney results (accounting for overall records) were Cicero Prep ending 2-2 during the Horizon Honors tourney on Sept. 6, 4-2 during the 2-day Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin tourney on Sept. 19-20, and 3-4 during the Mesa Dobson tourney on Sept. 26-27; Fort Thomas ended 2-2 during the Willcox tourney on Aug. 30 and 1-2 during the Horizon Honors tourney on Sept. 6; Superior ending 0-2 during the Horizon Honors tourney; Duncan ended 0-6 during the 2-day Payson tourney on Aug. 29-30; Valley Lutheran ended 0-2 during the Horizon Honors tourney; Ray ended 3-1 during the Horizon Honors tourney; and both San Manuel and Hayden did not schedule a tourney.
1A State Rankings
The statewide rankings for the Top 16 of 37 1A teams as of Oct. 3 were Scottsdale Cicero Prep (11-0 seeding, 16.0838 rating) No. 1, North Phoenix Prep (9-2, 10.0159) No. 2, Saint David (9-3, 7.3588) No. 3, Joseph City (8-3, 5.8141) No. 4, Patagonia (11-2, 5.6615) No. 5, Saint Michael (9-1, 5.3632) No. 6, Phoenix Great Heart Anthem (10-4, 4.8876) No. 7, and Ash Fork (10-3, 4.7795) No. 8.
Williams (9-4, 2.0023) was No. 9, San Simon (10-2, 1.4137) No. 10, Fort Thomas (9-3, 1.3895) No. 11, Heber Mogollon (7-6, 1.2025) No. 12, Salome (6-5, 0.0750) No. 13, Tucson’s The Gregory School (6-5, minus 0.6474) No. 14, Colorado City El Capitan (6-5, minus 0.9788) No. 15, and Glendale Desert Heights Prep (5-6, minus 2.8248) No. 16.
3A No. 16 THATCHER Eagles (5.6663 rating)
Thatcher (10-13 overall, 6-5 seeding, 3-0 region) has played 11 ranking matches to date, with wins of 3-0 (25-12 thrice) over 4A Gila Region Tucson Amphitheater on Aug. 27, 3-1 (27-25, 21-25, 25-12, 25-17) over 3A Central Region Chandler Seton Catholic Prep on Sept. 2, 3-0 (25-8, 25-21, 30-28) over Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian on Sept. 9, 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-11, 15-13) over Tanque Verde on Sept. 30, 3-0 (25-9, 25-10, 25-15) over Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 6, and 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10) over Catalina on Oct. 9 along with losses of 1-3 (18-25, 13-25, 25-15, 30-32) to 4A Gila Region Sahuarita on Sept. 11, in 3-sets to 3A Metro region Payson (21-25, 17-25, 18-25) on Sept. 15, and 2-3 (17-25, 25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 13-15) to Safford on Sept. 23, and 0-3 (16-25, 19-25, 21-25) to 3A Central Region Chandler Valley Christian on Oct. 2.
The Marcie Lopeman-coached Eagles also went 2-4 during the 2-day Mesa Westwood tourney on Sept. 5-6 and 2-4 during the 2-day Snowflake tourney on Sept. 19-20.
Thatcher has a 14-member roster of five seniors, five juniors, and four sophomores. The seniors are Tyla Bryce (1), Shaylee Hughes (10), Lanie Larson (6), Makenzie Lunt (11), and Kylia Nelson (9); juniors Tessa Bryce (5), Marlee Farris (7), Matti Gallett (8), Taylor Henrie (14), and Lillie Welker (4; and sophomores Allie Johnson (2), Jocelyn Lunt (12), Payten Lunt (3), and Brinlee Skousen (13).
The Eagles are competing in the 9-member 3A South Region with the Safford Bulldogs, along with Tucson schools, the Empire Ravens, the Andrada Polytechnic Mavericks, the Catalina Trojans, the Palo Verde Magnet Titans, the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions, the Sabino Sabercats, and the Tanque Verde Hawks.
3A No. 14 SAFFORD Bulldogs (6.4715 rating)
Safford (14-10 overall, 6-5 ranking, 2-0 region) has played 11 seeding matches to date with wins of 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-10) over 4A Gila Region Rio Rico on Sept. 2, 3-1 (30-28, 25-14, 17-25, 25-14) over 4A Gila Region Sahuarita on Sept. 3, 3-0 (25-7, 25-18, 25-10) over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 15, 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 18-25, 25-18, 15-13) over Thatcher on Sept.23, 3-0 (20-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-19) over 3A Metro Region Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood on Sept. 25, and 3-0 over Catalina on Oct. 2 along with losses of 0-3 (11-25, 18-25, 21-25) to 3A East Region Lakeside Blue Ridge on Sept. 4, 2-3 (25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 21-25, 12-15) to 5A Sonoran Region Tucson Canyon del Oro on Sept. 8, 0-3 (12-25, 9-25, 11-25) to 3A Central Region Chandler Valley Christian on Sept. 16, 1-3 (9-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-25) to 3A East Region Snowflake on Sept. 30, and 2-3 (25-11, 24-26, 25-20, 8-25, 13-15) to Empire on Oct. 8.
The Makenna Farr-coached Bulldogs also went 2-3 during the San Tan Valley Combs tourney on Sept. 12-13 and 6-2 during the Snowflake tourney on Sept. 19-20.
Safford has a 13-member roster of eight seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores. The seniors are Marina Balistreri (11), Kai-Lee Cordova (5), Alana Foxworth (6), Jerzi Hawkins (8), Rhylie Klajda (4), Mia Peru (12), Bianca Quintero (7), and Alexis Rope (10); juniors Mackenna Macario (9), Jazzlyn Mortensen (3), and Lanae Shurtz (13); and sophomores Kassidy Anderson (2) and Jadyn Coy (1).
The Bulldogs are competing in the 9-member 3A South Region with the Thatcher Eagles, along with Tucson schools, the Empire Ravens, the Andrada Polytechnic Mavericks, the Catalina Trojans, the Palo Verde Magnet Titans, the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions, the Sabino Sabercats, and the Tanque Verde Hawks.
Farr is in her initial season as the head coach, following a 4-year tenure (2021-24) by Robert Abalos (103-52-1 overall, 49-19 seeding, 27-9 region, 23-13 at home, 1-4 state playoffs, 2-0 play-in round).
3A South Region
Region member standings as of Oct. 11 were Tucson Empire (13-2 overall, 9-2 ranking, 3-0 region), Thatcher (10-13, 6-5, 3-0), Safford (14-10, 6-5, 2-1), Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (14-9, 7-5, 2-1), Tucson Tanque Verde (13-11, 6-3, 1-1), Tucson Sabino (5-12, 3-7, 1-2), Tucson Andrada Polytechnic (6-3, 6-3, 0-1), Tucson Palo Verde Magnet (4-17, 4-7, 0-2), and Tucson Catalina (0-10, 0-10, 0-4).
To date following 12 region matches, it was Empire 3-2 over Pusch Ridge on Sept. 30, 3-0 (25-10, 29-27, 25-8) over Sabino on Oct. 2, and 3-2 (11-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-8, 15-13) over Safford on Oct. 8; Safford 3-0 (25-7, 25-18, 25-10) over Palo Verde Magnet on Sept. 15 and 3-0 over Catalina on Oct. 2; Thatcher 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-11, 15-3) over Tanque Verde on Sept. 30, 3-0 (25-9, 25-10,25- 15) over Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 6, and 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10) over Catalina on Oct. 9; Pusch Ridge 3-0 over Sabino on Oct. 1 and 3-0 over Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 2; Tanque Verde over Catalina (25-9, 25-12, 25-4) on Sept. 23; and Sabino 3-0 over Catalina on Sept. 30.
This week (Oct. 13-18), Tanque Verde visits Palo Verde Magnet on Oct. 13; Empire hosts Thatcher, Safford visits Pusch Ridge, and Sabino visits Andrada Polytechnic on Oct. 14; Empire visits Andrada Polytechnic and Pusch Ridge hosts 5A Southern Region Tucson Pueblo on Oct. 15; and Thatcher hosts Palo Verde Magnet, Safford hosts Sabino, Pusch Ridge visits Tanque Verde, and Andrada Polytechnic hosts Catalina on Oct. 16.
Tourney results (accounting for overall records) were Empire ending 4-0 during the Horizon Honors tourney on Sept. 6; Thatcher ending 1-4 during the 2-day Mesa Westwood tourney on Sept. 5-6 and 3-4 during the 2-day Snowflake tourney on Sept. 19-20; Safford ending 2-3 during the 2-day San Tan Valley Combs tourney on Sept. 12-13 and 6-2 during the Snowflake tourney; Pusch Ridge ending 3-3 during the 2-day Payson tourney on Aug. 29-30 and 4-1 during the 2-day Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin tourney on Sept. 19-20; Tanque Verde ended 5-3 during the 2-day Tucson Magnet tourney on Aug. 29-30 and 2-5 during the 2-day Salpointe Catholic tourney on Sept. 19-20; Sabino ended 2-5 during the Tucson Magnet tourney; Palo Verde Magnet ended 0-5 during the Tucson Magnet tourney and 0-5 during the 2-day Tucson Amphitheater tourney on Oct. 10-11; and both Andrada Polytechnic and Catalina did not schedule a tourney.
3A State Rankings
The statewide rankings for the Top 24 of 45 3A teams as of Oct. 11 were Chandler Valley Christian (12-0 ranking, 24.0717 rating) No. 1, Phoenix Northwest Christian (9-1, 18.6315) No. 2, Gilbert Christian (9-3, 13.7101) No. 3, Snowflake (9-2, 13.6315) No. 4, Kayenta Monument Valley (11-2, 11.8264) No. 5, Florence (9-1, 11.5661), No. 6, Show Low (9-2, 11.4477) No. 7, and Tucson Empire (9-2, 9.5196) No. 8
Payson (9-2, 8.5373) was No. 9, Yuma Catholic (11-1, 8.3233) No. 10, Buckeye Odyssey Institute (9-3, 7.8995) No. 11, Chandler Seton Catholic Prep (7-4, 7.3800) No. 12, Lakeside Blue Ridge (6-5, 6.5737) No. 13, Safford (6-5, 6.4715) No. 14, Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian (7-5, 5.8448) No. 15, and Thatcher (6-5, 5.6663) No. 16.
Fort Defiance Window Rock (7-2, 5.0170) was No. 17, Tucson Tanque Verde (6-3, 4.4439) No. 18, Surprise American Leadership – West Foothills (5-3, 4.4088) No. 19, Tuba City (5-5, 3.3467) No. 20, Ganado (8-4, 2.3802) No. 21, Queen Creek American Leadership – Ironwood (5-6, 2.2372) No. 22, Winslow (5-6, 1.2369) No. 23, and Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (4-7, 0.3408) No. 24.
