Citizen Staff Writer
HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK
GEOFF GRAMMER
ggrammer@tucsoncitizen.com
Southern Arizona football players don’t always find their way up to Flagstaff to play college ball.
But Northern Arizona University landed a trio of quality Tucson players this winter who will compete for playing time next fall.
Sabercat offensive linemen Kyle Walker and Stuart Tawney will join safety Scott Brown on Feb. 4 in signing national letters of intent to play for the Lumberjacks.
NAU had four southern Arizona players on its roster last fall: long snapper Ben Bachelier (Nogales, 2007), tight end Brian Riley (Catalina Foothills, 2007), wide receiver Preston Saunders (Sierra Vista Buena, 2004) and linebacker Frank Wojtasiak (Santa Rita, 2005).
National signing day for football is Feb. 4.
Among those Tucson-area seniors who have already announced their college football plans are Santa Rita’s J.J. Holliday (Arizona State) and Ironwood Ridge’s Jake Fischer (University of Arizona).
Palo Verde star Adam Hall, the most sought-after local recruit, is still deciding between Arizona, California, Oregon and Oregon State.
Leverenz shines
Caitlin Leverenz didn’t match the time she posted Nov. 1 in the Class 4A Division I state swimming championships in Tempe, but her win Monday in the 200 IM at the Long Beach (Calif.) Grand Prix showed she’s back on the fast track to elite-level international competition.
The Sahuaro senior, who is part of a stellar recruiting class for the University of California-Berkeley, touched the wall Monday in 1 minute, 59.39 seconds.
Last fall in Tempe, she broke her 2006 state record in the 200 IM with an eye-popping personal best time of 1:57.95.
Home-grown talent
Eleven Tucson-area baseball and softball players will be staying home for college, and bolstering the Pima Community College athletics department at the same time.
Pima softball coach Armando Quiroz got commitments Wednesday from Tucson High sisters Vanessa and Allisondra Arandules, Rincon/University’s Mercedes Garcia and Ironwood Ridge’s Alyssa Welch.
Pima baseball coach Edgar Soto received commitments from Ironwood Ridge teammates Derek Boris and Kyle Kilgore, Sabino’s Marcus Aguilar, Pueblo’s Robert Ravago, Empire’s Scotty Watson, Sahuaro’s Tommy King and Salpointe’s Jacob Llamas.
Have some news or notes for the Prep Notebook? E-mail ggrammer@tucsoncitizen.com