Citizen Staff Writer
TC Varsity
GEOFF GRAMMER
ggrammer@tucsoncitizen.com
Canyon del Oro and Cienega are both included in ESPN’s Preseason Fab 50 national softball rankings.
For CDO, ranked No. 2 in the country, the national polls are nothing new. For Cienega, however, the Bobcats’ spot at No. 50 is their first national ranking.
While several Phoenix-area teams are also in the Fab 50 poll, there are some other southern Arizona schools that may find their way into the rankings by season’s end. A couple of area candidates to make a run at a top-50 ranking might be Sierra Vista Buena and Cienega’s 4A Kino region rival, Sahuaro.
Basketball
Phoenix St. Mary’s senior guard Demetrius Walker scored 19 of his game-high 30 points in the first half and led his team to an easy 83-58 win over Sierra Vista Buena in the Class 5A Division I semifinals in Glendale’s Jobing.com Arena on Wednesday.
Walker, an Arizona State recruit, and No. 2 St. Marys move on to play in Saturday’s 5A-I championship against No. 1 Gilbert Highland.
No. 6 Buena (24-8) had three players score in double figures – Anthony Miller (12 points), Derek Lane (12) and Cole Colvin (11).
Baseball
Catalina’s baseball team is off to a hot start under new coach Tony Gabusi.
The Trojans jumped out to a 4-1 start in last week’s Phoenix Union School District tournament that included an 8-3 win over Scottsdale Coronado, ranked No. 4 in the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association preseason poll.
Catalina pitchers Jesus Lemas and Anthony Romero combined to throw a no- hitter in a 10-0 win over Lake Havasu in the tournament’s third-place game. The Trojans were led throughout the weekend by a pitching staff that also included Robert Pearson and Nicco Blank. Pearson also got it done at the plate with 10 hits and 10 RBIs in the five games. Frankie Daniel had a two-homer game against Phoenix Trevor Browne.
Cactus Classic
The 16-team Cactus Classic baseball tournament, hosted by Ironwood Ridge, begins at sites in Tucson on Thursday. The field includes Amphi, Canyon del Oro, Catalina Foothills, Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, Cholla, Douglas, El Paso (Texas) Eastwood, El Paso (Texas) Riverside, Flowing Wells, Ironwood Ridge, Palo Verde, Peoria Centennial, Rincon/University, Santa Rita, Sierra Vista Buena and Sunnyside.
Track and field
The Sahuaro boys and girls track teams dominated their opponents Wednesday.
On the boys side, the Cougars (185) defeated Amphi (52), Academy of Tucson (6) and Green Fields (6).
Kevan Howe took first place in three events for Sahuaro – the 110 meter hurdles (15.06 seconds), shot put (47 feet, 11.5 inches) and the discus (128-9).
On the girls side, Kathy Fisher took first in the 100-meter dash (12.75), the 300-meter hurdles (47.21) and the long jump (16-4).
Sahuaro won the girls meet with 205 points. Amphi (20) was second, followed by Academy of Tucson (6) and Green Fields (4).