Corona del Sol athletics proved to
be successful in 2006, for both the
team and for the individual.
“We had a very exciting year,”
Athletic Director Dan Nero said.
“Starting with the run boys’
basketball had, then to girls’
soccer, the past year has been
great.”
The year encompassed numerous region
titles. Varsity football, boys
basketball, boys and girls golf,
girls cross country, girls soccer,
softball and wrestling all came away
with a region trophy to make 2006
one of the most successful in Aztec
history.
Along with the region victories,
Corona had one 5A State Champion in
girls soccer and three state
finalists in boys basketball,
softball and girls volleyball.
Also, individual champions over the
past year included graduated seniors
Robert Holbrook in wrestling
and Dave Phipps in diving.
“All the kids worked so hard,” Nero
said. “All the sports were great,
including JV and the freshman
teams.”
Nero also mentioned how impressed he
was with the number of students
involved in the Corona athletic
program.
“I love to win championships,” Nero
said. “But last year we had more
kids out for sports than ever. Over
800 kids were involved; that is what
I am most proud of.”
However, what might be more
impressive than last year’s results
are the number and quality of
individual athletes who graduated in
2006 who were able to extend their
sporting futures into competitive
colleges.
Collegiate-bound athletes in 2006
Matt Mosley – Washington State
Nate Telep – Louisiana State
University
Katie Cartwright – UC Berkeley
Casey Schreiner – Northern Arizona
University
Sean Imadiyi – New Mexico
Brett Miller – Yavapai College
Matt Ortiz - MCC
Cameron Smith – SCC
Ronnie Romo – Kansas Wesleyan
Casey Barnes – Kansas Wesleyan
Brandon Adams – Colorado Christian
University
Robert Holbrook – Duke
Lisa Helmers – Loyola Marymont
Collegiate-bound athletes in 2007 to
date
Samantha Maxwell – Notre Dame
Phil Feinberg – Louisville
Maya Janousek – Northern Arizona
University
Michelle Hein – Christian Brothers
in Memphis
Brittany Cole – University of
Arizona
Winter Sports Update
Soccer
The Lady Aztecs, over five days of
play, fought hard to come away with
the Diablo Tournament title.
Starting the tournament with
impressive victories over Chandler
and North Canyon, the Aztecs set
themselves up to have a rematch of
last years championship against
region rival Mountain Pointe in the
semi-finals. This time, however, the
results were different.
The Aztecs did not need overtime to
defeat the Pride. The Aztecs won 4-0
in regulation and went on to beat
Desert Vista 1-0 in the championship
game. Winning goal was scored by
senior Alexa Daiutolo, who also set
the Aztec record earlier in the
tournament with six assists in one
game.
“We are really excited,” Daiutolo
said. “We had some huge wins this
past week and I think that this
tournament helped us grow as a
team.”
The boys’ soccer team made it to the
semifinal game in the Diablo
tournament as well. However, a late
comeback by Mountain Pointe led to
an Aztec loss in pk’s. The boys’
team is ranked in the top-5 in the
state according to power-points.
Basketball
The boys’ Varsity team went 1-1 the
previous week, defeating the Skyline
Coyotes and losing to the Gilbert
Tigers. This loss was another close
contest, however being outscored by
nine points in the second half led
to the Aztec’s 4th loss
of the season. The team also lost
another close game to Shadow
Mountain last Tuesday, only losing
by four points.
“We’ve lost three really close games
that could have gone either way,”
junior Nick Timpone said. “We have a
ton of potential, but the ball just
aren’t bouncing our way right now,
but they will.”
Wrestling
Wrestling is off to another great
start this season. This year’s team
is trying to three-peat in region
and seems poised to do just that.
The team won its first three matches
in impressive form. A victory over
Caesar Chavez (69-4), Highland
(42-18) and Westwood (47-18) leave
the Aztecs with an undefeated match
play record. The team also finished
fourth in the Westwood Warrior
Classic.
