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EV wrestlers have strong performances at state

BY REECE ANDREWS

Tribune Contributing Writer

Wrestlers from across the East Valley came to play last weekend at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, as 81 finished as state placers – including 12 first-place winners – expanding across all four divisions from boys and girls.

The East Valley nearly doubled their first-place medals from two years ago with big performances in the heavier weight classes in Division I. Had it not been for Sunnyside’s dominance across Division I, taking home eight of 14 possible titles, there could’ve been more success on the East Valley’s side.

Division II was dominated by Casteel, earning four golds to go along with its 12 placers. Head coach Bob Callison was extremely proud of his team and explained Casteel’s unique situation.

“This group is special because Casteel High School is a seventh through twelfth Westwood wrestler Taliyah Armstrong captured her second state championship Saturday, Feb. 19 at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, the site of the AIA wrestling state meet.

(Reece Andrews/Tribune Contributor) grade school and I’ve had these seniors since I’ve been there,” Callison said. “I’ve been there six years and so we’ve built this from the ground up. They are the base of our program and I’m really proud of all of their effort and all they’ve put into it.”

It was the second straight year Casteel’s boys took home the team title. Desert Ridge and Desert Vista came in third and fourth, respectively in Division I. American Leadership Academy – Gilbert North placed third in Division III.

On the girls’ side, Westwood placed second overall with Casteel third. Hamilton, which represented Chandler alongside Casteel, placed fourth in girls thanks to Trinity Howard’s win at 120 pounds.

There were no East Valley gold winners in Division III and Seton Catholic Prep’s Lucas Eviston was the only state placer in Division IV. He won gold at 132 pounds.

Where the East Valley lacked in Division III titles, the girls picked up the slack by taking home five gold medals. Overall, East Valley girl wrestlers accounted for 19 medals.

Wrestling is an extreme and physically

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Skyline baseball hungry for a shot at postseason

BY ETHAN BRIGGS

Tribune Contributing Writer

After coming within one place of making the playoffs, the Skyline Coyotes are looking for redemption this year and one group in particular is hungry for this season.

The seniors of the Skyline Coyotes varsity baseball team have been working since September to get to a playoff this year and they believe that it is definitely possible even with a team of only 11 players. There are five seniors: Elias Harrington, Ryan Mioni, Madek Katzenmeier, Johnathan McBee and Dillon Nels. According to head coach Brian Gregory, it is a group which is almost half of the team and brings a lot of maturity to the field.

“They understand the game and the thing that’s going to carry them is their maturity. Their maturity has been From left: Ryan Mioni, Dillon Nels, Johnathan McBee, Elias Harrington, Madek Katzenmeier are all part of a new-look Skyline baseball team eager to make a splash in the postseason this

year. (Ethan Briggs/Tribune Contributor) through the roof and for them to be here five days a week is a mature thing to do,” Gregory said. “It got them through the fall and through the winter and I think that’s what is going to carry us through the season.”

This group has been through hardship. Whether that be the pandemic or their head coach resigning. They also lost three players to either transfer or a loss of interest in the game.

However, that hasn’t led them to falter up this point and to a certain extent it makes their desire to get to and win a playoff game even greater. There is a sense of confidence and excitement for this upcoming season with this group despite all they have gone through and having a smaller team. For some of them, it brings a sense of comfort. The thing that is most comfortable though, is having each other to rely on.

“I think it helps a lot,” Katzenmeier said. “We’ve all mostly played together from junior high until now, so we all know each other pretty well.”

THE MESA TRIBUNE | FEBRUARY 27, 2022

Kaylee Landa leading for Desert Ridge

BY ALYSSA ESQUIVEL

Tribune Contributing Writer

Only in her second year of high school, Kaylee Landa has already made her presence known on the Desert Ridge track and field.

From attending his practices and watching her older brother at his meets, Landa saw her passion for track and field grow and knew it was something she wanted to be a part of someday.

As a freshman, Landa would go on to have a very successful season and make it to state, one of the biggest meets she has ever done. She placed sixth as a thrower and ninth in the shot put. An accomplishment she could not be prouder of.

“It was pretty exciting to go for me because I didn’t even realize that not a whole lot of freshmen make it to state alone,” Landa said. “It was pretty cool to go there and compete against the best people in the state.” While track and field has always been part of her family, the individual aspect was another side that drew Landa in. It is the kind of pressure that she is used to putting on herself and what has allowed her to be so successful thus far.

“At the end of the day what you do mainly impacts you, so I think that’s kind of cool,” Landa said. “You can’t just blame it on anyone else if something goes wrong.”

This kind of leadership mentality is what has caught the attention of many individuals including first-year head coach Sam Johns. He could not be more impressed with what he has seen out of Landa so far and is optimistic about her future going forward.

“As a sophomore, she is only going to get better and better,” Johns said. “Not only can she throw the shot and disc a country mile, but she is also a state champion Olympic lifter in the Snatch and in the Clean and Jerk. She leads by example.”

With the upcoming season only weeks away, Landa understands the importance of setting goals as it helped contribute to her successful season last spring. However, she still wants to emphasize the importance of not getting too caught in those goals and not losing her overall focus … working on technique and feeling good.

“I want to still improve marks for sure, but I also want to focus on things like technique and avoid worrying so much about the distance,” Landa said. “Having fun is a big thing as well.”

Along with working on her personal goals on the track and field, Landa is defining the meaning of a true studentathlete by maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.94 and taking honors geometry and English, a task she will continue to take on during the season. The track and field season is set to start March 4, where Landa hopes to continue to lead by example on the field. ■ Desert Ridge sophomore Kaylee Landa had an impressive showing in her freshman season competing in shot put. Now, she hopes to take her skill to the next level. (Courtesy

Kaylee Landa)

WRESTLING from page 31

demanding sport, which makes it all the better when a wrestler ends his or her high school career as a state champion.

For Westwood senior Taliyah Armstrong, it was exactly that.

“It just feels like I deserve it,” Armstrong said. “For all the hard work that I put in and for the four years I’ve been wrestling. I feel like I deserve it and it feels good.”

In the state championships, all four divisions and the girls wrestled at the same time at their respective weight classes. So when it came time for the heavyweights (285 pounds), it should have been no different. Except it was.

Divisions II through IV and the girls had all concluded their matches by the time Hamilton’s Jonathan Lozano and Desert Ridge’s Nathaniel Meza hit their second period. So, all eyes were on them.

“I was thinking, ‘don’t mess up,’” said Lozano.

The crowd was silent. Move after move, an eruption. A late escape from Meza SKYLINE from page 31

This group is led by Ryan Mioni and Elias Harrington who have the most experience at the varsity level and have helped the brought the match 4-3 with a Lozano advantage but he was hit with a stalling call in the dying second making it 4-4 and

sending the match into overtime. “I remembered last season when he (Meza) beat me in the quarterfinals almost in the exact same way as I just won,” said Lozano. Time kept ticking and no moves were hit. Both wrestlers were extremely nervous. One slip up and that could be it. Lozano took advantage. He slipped by a move from Meza and spun behind for two. The crowd exploded, “TWO!” That was it. The state meet was the last for Mesa wrestling coach David Screams, flexes, thrown DiDomenico, who announced his retirement at the end of headgear, a few griddys the season. He set his clipboard in the middle of the mat and and sobs of joy had hapwalked off to cheers, signaling the end of his long career. pened all night, but some(Reece Andrews/Tribune Contributor) thing was special about Lozano’s scream into the crowd. He had done it. He ended the night and his high school career atop the wrestling mountain.

other three develop as much as they have. Nels, one of the most athletic kids on the team, says he owes a lot to guys like Elias and Ryan. He conceded that he would not be as good of a hitter if it were not for those two.

“I wouldn’t be as good of a hitter as I am if it weren’t for Elias or Ryan,” Nels said. “I took a lot of experience from Ryan watching him hit and seeing how much power he has for being so skinny and tall.

“Elias is one of the best pitchers I have ever faced and seeing his movement has made me much better in the box and much better at reading baseballs.” ■

It was an emotional night all around for the winners, losers and fans.

But one last thing to highlight was Arizona wrestling losing one of the most prestigious head coaches in the past 32 years in Mesa’s head coach David DiDomenico.

He won seven state titles and was a four-time Arizona Coach of the Year. He was named the 2008 East Valley Tribune Coach of the Year and won 292 career dual meets. He received huge hug from each of his wrestlers after their seven placements and a moment of honor where he left his clipboard in the middle of the mat and walked off one last time.

It was a special moment for all to see, and a perfect way to cap off the 2021-22 season. And it was exactly what DiDomenico had expected in January when thinking about his final state championship meet. Now, he gets to enjoy what he said are his “five B's.”

“Baseball, books, beach, my babe, my wife Pauline, and beverages,” DiDomenico said. “I’m pleased we’ve been able to achieve success.” ■