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Top-ranked
Corona del Sol BoysVarsity Basketball
held off the Yuma Criminals on route to
a 55-40 victory in the first round of
the state playoffs.
Senior Sean Imadiyi led the way for the
Aztecs with 22 points and several
spectacular dunks. By dispatching the
number 16 seeded Criminals, Corona
entered the quarterfinals of the state
playoffs facing
Dobson High School.
The Dobson Mustangs were led by junior
point guard Mickey McConnell in their
rematch against Corona. McConnell
recently gave a verbal commitment to the
University of New Mexico.
In their first meeting, the Aztecs were
able to pull out a 72-71 victory in
overtime. The second round matchup
between these two teams displayed the
large improvement the Aztecs have made
during the
season. Led by Imadiyi with 27 points
and senior Demetrious Earl with 14, the
Aztecs cruised to an easy 71-54 victory.
The semifinals for the Aztecs will an
extremely emotional game as they go up
against Central Region foe Mountain
Pointe. The Pride are the only team to
defeat the Aztecs this season and are
known for slowing
down the tempo of a game to a crawl with
their four corners offense.
Seniors T.J. Nemecek and Eric Hipolito
have carried the Pride to within one
game of the state championship. With the
abrupt resignation and then return of
head coach Sam Ballard during the
summer, the Pride are fueled by the
emotions of being the underdog.
The popularity of lacrosse has ballooned
around the nation and it is not just
guys who are playing it. Junior Ashley
Thibault is one of the captains for the
girls lacrosse team at Corona del Sol
High School.
While field hockey is the sport of
preference for female athletes in the
east, Arizona and other states have
popularized girls lacrosse. "The
positions are similar to soccer,"
Thibault said.
"It's so much fun to play. It requires
speed, endurance, and a lot of
coordination. It's a completely
different game than guy's lacrosse."
Last year was the first season of
competition for the Aztecs and it
contained a single win as well as a
steep learning curve. Head coaches
Andrea Yanok and Trent Elliot have seen
their patience pay off with a 2-0 record
to start this season.
Thibault started the team with the help
of the coaches after viewing a lacrosse
match.
"My cousin played and I thought that it
was really cool," Thibault said. "I saw
it on TV and wanted to start it at
Corona."
Although Thibault is only a junior, she
has high goals for both the team and
herself.
"I want to
average two goals per game, win 75
percent of groundballs, build up the
team, and have fun,"
Thibault said.
It may not be much longer before the
Aztecs are competing with lacrosse power
houses Chaparral and Gilbert to be the
best in Arizona.
The girls lacrosse team's next match
will be March 28th against Chaparral at
4:30 in Hanger Park.
Boys
Tennis at Corona is on the fast track to
state with a 5-0 start. By beating
highly regarded Red
Mountain High School the Aztecs gained a
boost in their power point rankings.
"We barely beat them 5-4," senior
Rishabh Date said. "Since we're ranked
by power points this win will take us a
long way."
This year's squad is led by youth in the
form of number one player freshman
Garret Dunn and number two player junior
Greg Werner.
"We have a lot of tournament players on
this team," Date said. "Mentally we are
all competitive and can handle the
pressure. We want to win as many matches
as we can."
Although Corona has yet to enter into a
difficult region schedule that includes
top ranked Mountain Pointe, for now
optimism is high that this years squad
can make a deep push into state.
"We want go out and beat some of our top
competitors," Date said.
Corona del Sol senior Brett Miller was
the cause of much concern after getting
hit in the head by the knee of an
opposing Yuma player during the first
round of the boys basketball state
tournament.
"I couldn't feel my legs until late that
night," Miller said. "It was by far the
scariest thing that has ever happened to
me."
Miller received a concussion as well as
having swelling around the back of his
neck. After being carried off the court
the Aztecs had to adapt to not having
one of their leaders for their second
round match up
against the Dobson Mustangs.
"I was real nervous," Miller said. "My
teammates said they'd win it for me, and
I had a lot of confidence in
them."Miller hopes to be able to aid the
Aztecs against Mountain Pointe at
Glendale Arena on
Wednesday.
"I'm trying to play Wednesday but I'm
still in a lot of pain," Miller aid.
Whether or not he is able to step on the
court, Miller believes that the key to
winning state will be to focus on
leadership.
"The team needs to rely on the seniors
since they've been there before," Miller
said. "Also we need an early lead so
that they can't
stall."
The Midget U16 Phoenix Polar Bear A
hockey team won the Presidents Day
tournament held at Desert Schools
Coyotes Center.
They played teams from Houston, Aspen,
Colo. and Ventura, Calif., along with
the AZ Ice Bandits. Corona del Sol
student Polar Bear team members include
Keith Utter, Ben Oskroba and Chris
Lamoree. |
