High school summer champions crowned at Skyline HS
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The first annual ABCA Summer State Basketball Championship crowned winners in three divisions this week, as the new summer event made its Arizona debut.
Scottsdale Christian Academy became the first boys varsity summer champs with a 43-39 win over Skyline High School. SCA players were given gold medals and a commemorative t-shirt and silver medals and t-shirts went to the runners-up.
Both teams recorded tight wins in the semis, enroute to the championship game. Scottsdale Christian defeated Flagstaff HS, 59-57, and Skyline squeeked past Williams Field HS, 45-44.
The Arizona Basketball Coaches Association (ABCA) teamed with the Grand Canyon State Games to come up with this new event. Teams qualified through their play in any of 33 different summer tournaments, summer leagues, or team camps around the state. The single-elimination tournaments were held at Skyline High School and Maricopa high school, with Skyline hosting the championship game.
In the freshman boys competition, Williams Field HS beat Cactus Shadows HS in the semis and then went on to down Desert Mountain HS, 59,43, in the finals. In the girls JV division, Highland High School (in photo above) beat Seton Catholic HS in the semis and then went home with this year's crown via a lopsided 36-4 win over Maryvale HS in the championship game.
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Junior Sunbelt squad finishes 3rd in Oklahoma
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The Arizona Junior Sunbelt Team has returned from its title defense at the 13th annual Junior Sunbelt Classic in McAlester, Okla., with some success - but not the repeat championship it was looking for. Last year’s Junior Sunbelt team was the first Arizona team since the state joined the tournament in 1997 to win the event.
Team Arizona, which included players from 13 different high schools, finished third after defeating Team Tennessee, 9-7, in the prestigious10-team event that included teams from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Canada, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Missouri, and  Ohio.
This year’s title went to Team Georgia, which scored 12 runs in the second inning of the championship game against Team Texas, and then went on to a 21-2 route in just five innings of play. The final was played at Eastern Oklahoma State College.
In addition to Mountain Ridge pitcher, Cody Gray, pictured here (photo by Porky Falcon, McAlester News-Capital) the Arizona roster included: Josh Alexander, p/of, Mountain Pointe HS; Austin Arias, c, Centennial HS; Jaycob Brugman, p/of, Desert Vista HS; Kasey Coffman, 1B/3B, Brophy Prep; Jake Cole, p/1B, Sahuaro HS; Joey Danner, p/1B, Horizon HS; Zach Davies, p/If, Mesquite HS; Taylor Erwin, p/1B, Willow Canyon HS; Dillen Everett, If, Horizon HS; Travis Flores, p/3B, Desert Ridge; Rocky High, p/of, Mesquite HS; Jacob Hunter, p/If, Salpointe HS; Tyler Kamtz, p/of, Gilbert HS; Taylor Lindsey, If/of, Desert Mountain HS; James McDonald, If, Chaparral HS; Jake Peevyhouse, p/of, Pinnacle HS; D.J. Peterson, If, Gilbert HS; Greg Ryan, p/of, Corona del Sol HS; Jose Sierra, c, Tolleson HS.
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Baseball's 'Chosen One' wants to skip high school for MLB
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 Bryce Harper, a 16-year old aspiring professional baseball player, has set his sights on getting to the big leagues as soon as possible - by skipping his last two years of high school and inking a pro contract. He obviously wants to upgrade his locker selection next year.
Harper was referred to recently in a Sports Illustrated issue as "the Chosen One" for his phenomenal skills on the field. He was actually featured on the cover of the June 9 issue of SI and compared to LeBron James of the NBA Cavaliers, who went right from high school to the pro game.
While playing for Las Vegas High School last year, the 6'3" catcher had a .626 batting average, hit 14 home runs, and added 55 RBIs. And, oh yeah... he also burned up the base paths, stealing 36 bags.
He has signed a letter of intent to play for the College of Southern Nevada, but would prefer to embark on his new game plan: take a high school equivalency test and throw his name into the 2010 or 2011 draft. MLB rules would allow it since a player becomes eligible to enter the draft at age 16, as long as he has completed his high school studies.
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Determination is often key to athletic achievement
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 Persistence is one of the most important life skills, whether on the athletic field or off. Quinton Watson learned that early.
Watson is the most recent Play It Smart National Student-Athlete of the Month selected by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF). He's an honor roll student and three-sport star in football, basketball, and track.
But it took overcoming a serious setback for Watson, who just finished his junior year at Huguenot High School in Richmond, Va., to get where he is today. And he wants other high school athletes to learn from his experiences.
As a freshman, Watson had better than a 3.0 grade average, was an honorable mention athlete, and a budding football star for Huguenot. Then he broke his left femur in his sophomore year and was sidelined from sports. "When I broke my leg, I was really upset, and completely shut down. I didn't know how to deal with the injuries," he says now.
Watson says Play It Smart, an eductional program developed by NFF and targeted at high school football players from economincally disadvantaged environmens, helped him realize that things don't always work out with sports, and it's important to have a back-up plan. So he began working with his academic coach (provided by Play It Smart) and teachers to improve his time management and study skills, which enabled him to renew his focus and raise his GPA back to a 3.4 this past year. He also got back on the football field and racked up three touchdowns and 230 yards. (continued next page...)
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Hard to believe a 1-2 pitching punch like this!
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 Imagine being able to build a softball team around two pitchers that are arguably the best in the state - and one hits home runs for you in her spare time!
That was the case when Hayley Temple and Kenzie Fowler played on the same club team. And now, in their final year of high school ball, each earn the coveted 'Player of the Year' honor at different schools. Fowler was named the Arizona Republic's Big Schools Player of the Year for an outstanding senior year at Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, and Temple snagged the Small Schools Player of the Year playing her last year at Valley Christian High School.
Fowler, who has decided she will play for the University of Arizona, had an unbelievable 0.048 ERA, which means she allowed just one earned run the whole season! Temple, who signed with Wichita State, notched three no-hitters as she compiled a O.60 ERA - and also contributed to the offense with five home runs and a .624 batting average!
Joining Fowler on the All-Arizona team is the complete battery from Basha High School: Sam Parlich, pitcher, and Desiree Meija, catcher. Also: Dallas Escobedo, pitcher, St. Mary's HS; Katie Asher, infield, Canyon del Oro HS; Brigette DelPonte, infield, Sunrise Mtn HS; Sierra Rodriguez, infield, Basha HS; Kelsey Rodriguez, infield, Seton Catholic HS; Mel Aphayrath, outfield, Xavier Prep; Lisa Tarnowski, outfield, Mountain View HS; Kayla Ensminger, outfield, Red Mtn HS; MacKenzie Popescue, DP, Chaparral; Jamie LaBovick, UT, Sunrise Mtn HS.
First-team and Second-team selections... (continued next page)
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Free physicals for athletes who will play JUCO
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This year, the Team of Physicians for Students (T.O.P.S.) program gave free physicals to 2,328 Arizona high school athletes from 68 different schools. And on July 18 the free physicals will be offered for junior college athletes at Midwestern University in Glendale.
 Program representatives estimate that each physical would cost about $1,000 if administered by private physicians. This is the 44th year for the program and this year there were about 250 medical students and a similar number of physicians participating. All volunteered their time, as did the cardiologists from the Arizona Heart Institute who read the ECGs.
What’s important to note is that roughly 25%of all those tested showed abnormal electrical activity in the heart! More than 100 athletes tested had high blood pressure… and almost 600 had abnormal electrical heart activity. The program is even credited with saving at least one athlete’s life when, several years ago, the physicals uncovered a life-threatening genetic disorder in one participant!
Each year the TOPS program gains in popularity and attendance. This year, many students stood in lines for five hours to receive the free physicals.
For more information about the program: www.aztops.org or 602-336-7840.
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Desert Ridge gets lion's share of All-Arizona picks
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 Desert Ridge HS not only won the 5A-II state baseball title this year, but the was the only team to place more than one player on the All-Arizona Team. The Big Schools Player of the Year Jake Barrett, Desert Ridge's senior pitching sensation, joined with teammate, Alex Villar, a senior outfielder who hit .505 in his final season, on this year's All-Arizona roster.
Barrett had 96 strike-outs this season - but also contributed big-time at the plate, with a .510 batting average and 20 home runs (highest in the state). And add to that 66 RBIs in 104 trips to the plate!
It was a different story in the 'small school' division, where Jay Baumgardner, the Small Schools Player of the Year, was the only representative of Scottsdale Christian Academy on either the first or second team All-State rosters. The outfielder racked up 11 home runs and 60 RBIs (10 of those in one game).
While the All-State teams are made up of the best players from each conference, the All-Arizona team represents those considered the best, regardless of the conference in which they play. Sports writers at the Arizona Republic make the selections for both squads.
In addition to Barrett and Villar, the All-Arizona roster includes: Joey DeMichele, Arcadia HS, infield; Mike Felton, Corona del Sol HS, infield; Trey Ford, Chaparral HS, infield; Taylor Lindsey, Desert Mtn HS, infield; Jaycob Brugman, Desert Vista, outfield; Tony Vocca, Mingus HS, outfield; James Pazos, Highland HS, pitcher; Andrew Walter, Cactus HS, pitcher; Tom Joseph, Horizon HS, catcher; Sergio Burruel, Trevor Browne HS, DH; and Jordan Luvisi, Notre Dame Prep, UT.
Selections to the All-State teams included... (continued next page)
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