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Sports Notebook
Aztecs on a roll
By Ethan Holly

March 4, 2006

Top-ranked Corona del Sol BoysVarsity Basketball held off the Yuma Criminals on route to a 55-40 victory in the first round of the state playoffs.


Senior Sean Imadiyi led the way for the Aztecs with 22 points and several spectacular dunks. By dispatching the number 16 seeded Criminals, Corona entered the quarterfinals of the state playoffs facing
Dobson High School.


The Dobson Mustangs were led by junior point guard Mickey McConnell in their rematch against Corona. McConnell recently gave a verbal commitment to the University of New Mexico.


In their first meeting, the Aztecs were able to pull out a 72-71 victory in overtime. The second round matchup between these two teams displayed the large improvement the Aztecs have made during the
season. Led by Imadiyi with 27 points and senior Demetrious Earl with 14, the Aztecs cruised to an easy 71-54 victory.


The semifinals for the Aztecs will an extremely emotional game as they go up against Central Region foe Mountain Pointe. The Pride are the only team to defeat the Aztecs this season and are known for slowing
down the tempo of a game to a crawl with their four corners offense.


Seniors T.J. Nemecek and Eric Hipolito have carried the Pride to within one game of the state championship. With the abrupt resignation and then return of head coach Sam Ballard during the summer, the Pride are fueled by the emotions of being the underdog.


The popularity of lacrosse has ballooned around the nation and it is not just guys who are playing it. Junior Ashley Thibault is one of the captains for the girls lacrosse team at Corona del Sol High School.
While field hockey is the sport of preference for female athletes in the east, Arizona and other states have popularized girls lacrosse. "The positions are similar to soccer," Thibault said.
"It's so much fun to play. It requires speed, endurance, and a lot of coordination. It's a completely different game than guy's lacrosse."


Last year was the first season of competition for the Aztecs and it contained a single win as well as a steep learning curve. Head coaches Andrea Yanok and Trent Elliot have seen their patience pay off with a 2-0 record to start this season.


Thibault started the team with the help of the coaches after viewing a lacrosse match.
"My cousin played and I thought that it was really cool," Thibault said. "I saw it on TV and wanted to start it at Corona."


Although Thibault is only a junior, she has high goals for both the team and herself. 

"I want to average two goals per game, win 75 percent of groundballs, build up the team, and have fun,"
Thibault said.


It may not be much longer before the Aztecs are competing with lacrosse power houses Chaparral and Gilbert to be the best in Arizona.
The girls lacrosse team's next match will be March 28th against Chaparral at 4:30 in Hanger Park.

 

Boys Tennis at Corona is on the fast track to state with a 5-0 start. By beating highly regarded Red
Mountain High School the Aztecs gained a boost in their power point rankings.
"We barely beat them 5-4," senior Rishabh Date said. "Since we're ranked by power points this win will take us a long way."


This year's squad is led by youth in the form of number one player freshman Garret Dunn and number two player junior Greg Werner.
"We have a lot of tournament players on this team," Date said. "Mentally we are all competitive and can handle the pressure. We want to win as many matches as we can."


Although Corona has yet to enter into a difficult region schedule that includes top ranked Mountain Pointe, for now optimism is high that this years squad can make a deep push into state.
"We want go out and beat some of our top competitors," Date said.

Corona del Sol senior Brett Miller was the cause of much concern after getting hit in the head by the knee of an opposing Yuma player during the first round of the boys basketball state tournament.
"I couldn't feel my legs until late that night," Miller said. "It was by far the scariest thing that has ever happened to me."


Miller received a concussion as well as having swelling around the back of his neck. After being carried off the court the Aztecs had to adapt to not having one of their leaders for their second round match up
against the Dobson Mustangs.
"I was real nervous," Miller said. "My teammates said they'd win it for me, and I had a lot of confidence in them."Miller hopes to be able to aid the Aztecs against Mountain Pointe at Glendale Arena on
Wednesday.
"I'm trying to play Wednesday but I'm still in a lot of pain," Miller aid.
Whether or not he is able to step on the court, Miller believes that the key to winning state will be to focus on leadership.
"The team needs to rely on the seniors since they've been there before," Miller said. "Also we need an early lead so that they can't
stall."

The Midget U16 Phoenix Polar Bear A hockey team won the Presidents Day tournament held at Desert Schools Coyotes Center.
They played teams from Houston, Aspen, Colo. and Ventura, Calif., along with the AZ Ice Bandits. Corona del Sol student Polar Bear team members include Keith Utter, Ben Oskroba and Chris Lamoree.

 

 

Photo by Kris Cartwright

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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