SPORTS

S’Niyah Cade shines in track championship

BY JAKE BROWN

Contributing Writer

After a long week of preliminaries, the track and field state championships concluded on Saturday with 19 track events across four divisions.

Desert Vista’s boys ended up winning the 2022 Division I title with 107 points. Perry’s girls won the Division I title with 87 points, edging five-time defending champion Chandler in the process.

But the Wolves were well represented at the state meet alongside other Chandler schools.

“I wasn’t expecting to win state, so it was exciting,” Chandler freshman S’Niyah Cade said. “My mentality is just to focus on what I have to do for the next three years.”

A freshman phenom, Cade burst onto the scene onto the scene at the Nike Chandler Rotary meet when she ran right past the competition in the 100.

Cade takes after her mother, Keri Suell, who was a track star herself at Chandler and ran an 11.69 in the 100 back in 2002. Suell said earlier in the season she believes Cade can be just as good, if not better than she was in high school.

She nearly made that happen Saturday as she won gold in the 100 with a time of 11.84 seconds. The five-time defending champion Lady Wolves were edged by district rival Perry on Saturday for the state title. It was the first championship for the Pumas, who were led by senior Taylor Loveall’s strong performances in distance events, which included a gold medal run in the 3200-meter last Wednesday.

Chandler’s boys also placed second at state just a year after winning the title.

The Wolves were led in part by Khaymin Westbrook’s second place finish in the 110 hurdles. The 4x100 relay team of Sammie Hunter, Geramiah Flunder, Otis Knapper and Michael King captured gold to help Chandler.

Chandler freshman S’Niyah Cade, “middle,” took the Arizona high school track community by storm this season after winning the 100-meter dash at the Nike Chandler Rotary. She followed up that race with a gold medal finish at the state track meet last Saturday at Mesa Community College. (Dave Minton/Staff)

seeTRACK page 30

Hamilton cruises to 6A baseball title win over Chandler

BY ZACH ALVIRA

Arizonan Sports Editor

Hamilton felt down and out in the quarterfinals when it lost by a run to a Queen Creek team that got hot at the right time.

Then, the Huskies were given a second chance.

An investigation by the Arizona Interscholastic Association found Queen Creek hadn’t used an approved device to count pitches during its matchup the previous Saturday against Chaparral. The Bulldogs recorded 55 pitches for their starter, Chaparral, using an approved device recorded 64. The difference required an extra day of rest, which would have made him ineligible to pitch against the Huskies. He came in to close and won them the game forcing Queen Creek to forfeit and allowed Hamilton to move on.

Huskies coach Mike Woods called it an “unfortunate” circumstance. But it gave his players new life which they utilized to make a run to the championship and cap it off with a 11-1 run-rule win over rival Chandler Tuesday night at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

“Crazy week to say the least,” Hamilton coach Mike Woods said. “But they responded so well when we got a second wind there. We played good baseball all year long. We were on top all year long. We have no apologies, we played well. Tonight was our night, it wasn’t Chandler’s night but give them credit, they had a great run.

“I’m just happy for the kids, man.”

Hamilton’s bats came alive early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Gavin Turley found home after he was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half of the

Hamilton’s baseball team was given new life last week when Queen Creek was forced to forfeit its win over the Huskies in the playoffs. Hamilton took advantage, winning two more games and the title over rival Chandler Tuesday night at Tempe Diablo Stadium led by starting pitcher Kole Klecker, “middle.” (Dave Minton/Staff) seeBASEBALL page 30

Valley Christian’s boys once again proved to be a dominant force in Division IV, capturing their fourth straight state title and 15th overall.

The Trojans were led by the 4x100 relay team of Austyn Gerard, Izaak Kubat, Kaden Majercak and Vincent Robles, who placed second overall. Gerard also medaled in the 100-meter dash. Jose Garcia, a junior, placed second in the 800-meter run for Valley Christian to help build the team’s lead.

North Canyon once again captured the girls’ Division II crown, while McClintock narrowly edged Gilbert for the championship on the boys’ side.

In Division III, Salpointe Catholic’s girls took the crown, beating secondplace American Leadership Academy – Queen Creek while Snowflake edged the Patriots on the boys’ side. St. John’s girls won the title in Division IV.

Several other standout performances took place at the meet, including Red Mountain senior Yan Vazquez finishing just .64 seconds short of the 300 hurdles record.

“I was just trying to get my steps right and get the state record,” said Vazquez, who is now third all-time with a time of 36.86.

Red Mountain shined as a whole, placing third overall. Sophomore TyValley Christian’s boys proved yet again they are a power in Division IV, winning their fourth straight championship and 15th overall as a program.

(Courtesy Valley Christian athletics)

ler Matthews won the 800m race while Vazquez, along with his win in the 300 hurdles, also won in the 110 hurdles.

“I was really excited that my gameplan paid off,” Matthews said. “My plan was to go out a little bit slower than Brian [Fair Jr., who] got ahead of ahead of the rest of everybody and then to slowly catch him on the second lap.”

In Gilbert, Campo Verde and Williams Field excelled in Division II, especiall on the girls’ side.

Williams Field junior Saira Prince and Campo Verde sophomore Lea Spindell won the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash, respectively.

Despite hitting a few hurdles on the way, Prince said that she doesn’t let those mistakes bother her. “I was definitely feeling the pressure, but I was prepared,” Prince said. “I was ready.”

For Spindell, she didn’t have much preparation for the 400 because she had just competed in the 4x100 relay. She finished fourth alongside teammates Ni’yah Pratt, Zaria Ayoola and Amber Thompson.

“We’re all so excited,” Spindell said. “And honestly, I just had to get up and run my best race.”

ALA-Queen Creek’s Logan Hubler played a key role in the Patriots’ second place finish as he swept the hurdles competition for the second year in a row.

Also a standout quarterback for the team, he was happy with the way he capped off his career.

“I went back-to-back this year,” Hubler said. “So, it feels good that all the hard work we put in this off-season is paying off.”

Both Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe found success at the meet coming out of Ahwatukee. Led by senior Noah Jodon’s two first place finishes in distance events, the Thunder cruised to the Division I boys’ title.

Former Chandler sprinter Trinity Henderson placed second in the 100 and 200-meter races, the latter of which widely considered to be an upset by Pinnacle’s Mckenna Watson. Henderson was also part of the Pride’s 4x100 team that took second. She was joined by Ianna Goode, Brilyance Miller and Alexis Emerson-Berryhill.

Mountain Pointe’s boys were led by junior Jayden Davis, a transfer from Casteel.

Davis placed third in the 200-meter dash and was part of the fourth place 4x400 team along with Jhaylin Palmer, Isaiah Brown and Jacques Jones. He also took part in the solo 400 where he won gold.

“I knew my spirit is gonna get me across that finish line,” Davis said.

BASEBALL from page 29

first inning. He came around the bases after a Prince DeBoskie double. Two batters later, he scored after a single by Ryan Kucherak.

A single by Hamilton starting pitcher Kole Klecker brought in the third run of the inning, which put pressure on Chandler pitcher Kyle Sleconich and the rest of the Wolves as they immediately found themselves in a hole against the top seed in the tournament.

Hamilton didn’t slow down from there.

Turley, an Oregon State signee, blasted a two-run shot to left-center in the second inning to put two more on the board for the Huskies. They went on to score two more runs in the third, fourth and in the bottom of the fifth off the bat of DeBoskie to end the game in walk off fashion.

“I knew going up there I didn’t want to play another two innings,” Turley said. “This is phenomenal. The feeling of going through everything we went through as a team and getting to do this is unreal. It’s something I’ll remember forever.”

Along with his contributions on the mound, Klecker’s two RBI gave him some breathing room on the mound. Woods said putting up runs early in a high-pressure situation calmed his team, especially after the whirlwind of a week they went through getting bounced from the tournament and back in.

But once they were reinstated, every player refocused on the task at hand. They had spoken about winning a title all season. And they were given a second wind, they found a rhythm at the right time.

To make the title game, Hamilton was forced to beat Chaparral twice. The Huskies did that with ease Friday, May 13 in the form of a 10-2 victory to force a second matchup on Saturday. Runs didn’t come as easy then, as the Huskies squeaked by with a 3-1 victory.

But nonetheless, they took advantage of the opportunity given to them.

“It was a jam-packed week, for sure,” said Klecker, who pitched against Queen Creek. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for four years. I was told I was being given the ball tonight and I knew everyone was going to be behind me. The boys came together and we won it.”

Chandler managed to record four hits against Klecker but mustered only one run, which came in the fourth. The Wolves left multiple runners on but couldn’t capitalize to keep the game within reach through the early innings.

The run by the Wolves was fueled by good pitching, hot bats and a stellar defense behind the mound. But miscommunication on defense led to routine fly balls being dropped and wild pitches and throws to catch a Hamilton base runner stealing hindered Chandler’s ability to be productive in a winner-take-all situation.

The Wolves ended the game with four errors compared to Hamilton’s one. They were forced to go to a freshman arm early in the third Jameson Harris. They brought in another freshman to close out the game in the bottom of the fifth.

Head coach David Lopez had trust in his two young arms, but Hamilton’s ability to put up runs early put his team in a tough situation. Despite the outcome, Lopez said it doesn’t take away from the special season his team had making a run to the title game for the first time since 1972.

“I’m extremely proud,” Lopez said. “These guys have shown the grit and determination and loved on each other until the very end. We had to play our best baseball and when you have four errors in a championship game you put yourself in a difficult spot.

“That doesn’t take away from everything we accomplished. We brought the Chandler community together. Even though it ended the way it did, these guys should be proud.”