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Corona equipment manager OK after kidney transplant

By Brian Gomez

Nearly six months after undergoing a life-saving kidney transplant, Corona del Sol High School equipment manager Rick Ramirez is feeling well and has shown no signs of complications, Corona Athletic Director Dan Nero said.

Ramirez, who has diabetes and was on dialysis before the transplant, received the kidney in February from his wife Elaine. He spent more than a month recuperating in Tucson, where the surgery took place.

Nero estimates that Corona’s faculty and student body has raised more than $10,000 for Ramirez through a jog-a-thon and other activities. The money is helping offset Ramirez’s mounting medical expenses.

“He has had to go back in for some follow-up stuff, just to make sure everything is going well,” Nero said. “As far as the kidney, everything I’ve heard is very positive, no rejection or anything like that.”

Ramirez returned to Corona after spring break and has continued working over the summer. He is expected to be on campus in the fall when the first wave of sports start.

To make a donation to Ramirez through the Tempe Schools Credit Union, contact Corona at (480) 752-8888.

Lawson headed to El Paso

Anchored by Waggoner Elementary School fifth-grader Alex Lawson, players from the Ahwatukee Tennis Club and Kiwanis Tennis Center will compete Aug. 6-8 in the sectional finals of the USA Team Tennis tournament.

The team, called the KATS, needs to finish first or second to advance to the regional finals in October. It got there last year and finished second behind a team from Hawaii.

Lawson is ranked 11th in the boys 12-and-under division of the United States Tennis Association’s Southwest Section. His sister Kelsey, a seventh-grader at Kyrene Middle School, is seventh in the girls 12-and-under division.

Martinez leaves Dana

Former Marcos de Niza quarterback Alfonso Martinez has left Dana College’s football program. Martinez, a junior last season, was stuck behind a pair of freshmen on a team that fielded seven quarterbacks.

Xtreme cracks top 20

In the latest Arizona Baseball Network poll, the Tempe Xtreme 14-and-under baseball team is ranked 19th with eight points. The Tucson Wildcats are No. 1 with 78 points.

Jr. Polar Bears tryouts

The Chandler Jr. Polar Bears youth ice hockey team will hold tryouts next month. The tryout fee is $195 if the registration form is postmarked by Aug. 10. It’s $215 for walk-up tryouts and for registration forms postmarked after Aug. 10.

A look at the schedule for tryouts:

Mite A and Midget 16-and-under AA: Aug. 14-16; Midget 16-and-under A and Midget 17-and-under AA: Aug. 14-17; Midget 17-and-under A: Aug. 14-18; Squirt A & AA, PeeWee A & AA and Bantam A & AA: Aug. 19-22.

For more information, visit www.jrpolarbears.com/chandler.

Corona fall sports info.

Corona will hold its annual all-athletes assembly from 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 14 inside James C. Love Auditorium. All athletes and their parents are urged to attend, Nero said.

In order to be eligible for fall sports, student-athletes must turn in a white physical card, a blue emergency card, an activity fee receipt and a copy of a birth certificate to the athletics office.

Both cards must be notarized, meaning they need to be signed in front of a school administrator or a notary. The $25 activity fee can be paid in the bookstore.

Yellow equipment cards will be issued in the athletics office, starting Aug. 2.

Physicals will be offered at Corona from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 5 and 6. For more information, contact Nero at (480) 752-8769.

How about a tryout?

A look at when Corona’s fall sports teams will hold tryouts, practices and meetings:

Junior varsity and varsity football: Practice starts Aug. 9 after school at Hascall Henshaw Stadium; Freshman football: Practice starts Aug. 11 after school at the stadium; Girls volleyball: Tryouts start Aug. 9 at 2:45 p.m. at Sammy Duane Gymnasium; Boys golf: Tryouts start Aug. 16 at 2:45 p.m. at Ahwatukee Country Club; Girls golf: Meeting on Aug. 9 at 2:30 p.m. in room E080; Boys and girls swimming and diving: Meeting on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. in room E081 and practice starts Aug. 9 after school; Badminton: Open gym on Aug. 9 from 2:30-5 p.m. in the small gymnasium and tryouts start Aug. 16 at 2:30 p.m., also in the small gym; Boys cross-country: Meeting on Aug. 9 at 2:30 p.m. in room A357; Girls cross-country: Practice starts Aug. 9 after school at the track; Boys and girls freshman tennis: Tryouts start Aug. 23 after school at the tennis courts.

Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@wranglernews.com.

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