Editor's note
Online sports producer Drew McCullough is spending his summer digging through Star archives and compiling a list of every high school athlete of the year since 1999. Today: 2000-01.
High School Reunion: 2000-01 Athletes of the Year
Here's a look at the Arizona Daily Star's 2000-01 high school athletes of the year.
Editor's note
Football player of the year
Football player of the year
Name: David Coronado
School: Sunnyside
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Football
From the archives: Sunnyside High School's David Coronado led the Blue Devils to a runner-up finish in the Class 4A football playoffs. The 5-foot-10 senior linebacker and running back is No. 1, chosen as player of the year on the Arizona Daily Star's 2000 All-Southern Arizona football team.
Coronado rushed for 1,112 yards and 14 touchdowns as Sunnyside advanced to its first state championship game in football. He also was the team's leading tackler. — Star staff, 2000
Girls volleyball player of the year
Girls volleyball player of the year
Name: Mallorey James
School: Salpointe Catholic
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Girls volleyball
From the archives: Forgive Salpointe Catholic's Alicia Akporiaye for what happened to her in the Lancers' 15-10, 15-11 loss to Scottsdale Horizon in the second round of the 5A state tournament. She's just not used to it.
Akporiaye unleashed countless kill attempts that were rejected back to the Lancer side of the net by the Huskies' Dina Debernardi, Marissa Taryle and Mariko Crum, putting a damper on any consistent Salpointe scoring barrage.
"We just didn't play one of our stronger games," said Salpointe's Mallorey James. "And Horizon deserves credit because they are a great team and they beat us."
But it wasn't for James' lack of effort. The senior, who has committed to play next season at the University of Miami (Fla.), finished with team highs in kills (12), blocks (two) and also registered 14 digs to keep the Lancers (21-3) in both games until the end.
Horizon (35-9), the second-ranked team in the state and now responsible for two of Salpointe's losses, always seemed to have its players in the right place at the right time.
That, coupled with Jennifer Wagon's 30 assists and Debernardi's 10 kills and five blocks, proved to be the shot in the arm the Huskies needed to escape with a big road win.
James said Horizon's resounding success in the blocking department was unexpected. — Danny Van Klaveren, 2000
Boys cross country runner of the year
Boys cross country runner of the year
Name: Josh Robles
School: Rio Rico
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys cross country
From the archives: In the 3A boys race, Rio Rico's Josh Robles (16:28) finally beat his rival, Blaine Goklish (16:39) of Whiteriver Alchesay, to win the individual title and help the Hawks capture the team championship with a score of 53.
Last year Goklish beat Robles by 17 seconds to win the title, but the Rio Rico star was not about to let that happen again.
"I was so focused (that) no one could come up to me and try to tell me a joke or anything before the race to make me laugh," Robles said. "It would have had to been damn funny to make me laugh." — Dan Rosen, 2000
Girls cross country runner of the year
Girls cross country runner of the year
Name: Amanda Estrada
School: Mountain View
Year in school: Junior
Sport: Girls cross country
From the archives: Mountain View's Amanda Estrada (19:58), this year's 4A Kino champion, was the top local finisher in fifth. — Dan Rosen, 2000
Boys golfer of the year
Boys golfer of the year
Name: Ben Kreger
School: Catalina Foothills
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys golf
From the archives: All day long, as he nervously wore down the cart path, leading up to the clubhouse at Longbow Golf Club, Catalina Foothills boys golf coach Matt Cohen kept saying how he expected the Class 4A state tournament to come down to the last hole.
He was right, but not quite in the way he envisioned.
The 18th hole on the par-70 course in northeast Mesa proved to be the undoing of Foothills, which took second place with a two-day team score of 598, after trailing by only two shots entering the round.
"Eighteen definitely hurt us," Cohen said, whose five scorers combined to shoot six-over on the par four hole yesterday and 18-over for the tournament.
"It was the tee shot (that runs along the water)," said Foothills senior Ben Kreger, who fired a team-low 71 yesterday to finish at 146 in fourth place. "It takes a lot of guts to go for that shot. If you are not swinging your driver or your three-wood well you need to take a three-iron and lay up on the right side."
But the Falcons, who breezed through regular season competition in Tucson, and won the 4A Kino Region tournament at Rio Rico by 65 strokes, were never a team that chose to play it safe when they knew they had the ability to score low.
"It's not something I would ever discourage," Cohen said.
"We were happy to finish second, but were also disappointed because we knew we had the talent to win this thing."
"We knew we had a chance," Cohen said. "We definitely wanted to carry the banner for Tucson."
Phoenix Arcadia (594) repeated as 4A champs, but got a much tougher battle from Foothills than many people in Phoenix might have expected. The Falcons easily took second beating 1999 runner-up Scottsdale Chaparral (610) and Prescott (617) for the secondary trophy.
Kreger, one of three seniors on Foothills along with Ryan Humphreys and Jake Rogers, said the Falcons' second place finish should help further Tucson's gradual improvement in golf at the state level.
"Phoenix is such a big town and there are so many courses to play on, but things are starting to get better in Tucson," Kreger said. "With the (Tucson) Conquistadores and the Ricki Rarick (golf program), we're being given more of an opportunity to play."
Nogales tied for seventh at 636, while 4A Sonoran champ Sahuaro (652) took 11th and Palo Verde (661) took 12th.
Along with Kreger, Tucson was represented in the top 20 individually by 4A Sonoran medalist Ben Kern of Palo Verde (148) in ninth, Nogales' Michael Holler and Foothills' Humphreys (149) in a tie for 10th and Foothills' Dan Smith (150) in a tie for 13th. — Brian J. Pedersen, 2000
Girls golfer of the year
Girls golfer of the year
Name: Nicole DeGennaro
School: Palo Verde
Year in school: Sophomore
Sport: Girls golf
From the archives: Even the person responsible for such a dramatic lowering in her golf scores didn't have a really good explanation for it.
"I just practice really hard," said Palo Verde sophomore Nicole DeGennaro, Tucson's top individual finisher at yesterday's Class 4A state girls golf tournament. "This is something that I want to do so I just put everything to it."
A bold statement from a girl who shaved 55 shots off the score she carded at the 1999 state tournament. DeGennaro, completing her second season of competitive golf, finished the two-day event with a 13-over 155 at the par-71 Trilogy Golf Club.
The total, helped by a 4-over 75 yesterday, was good enough for fifth place. Her goal was to finish in the top five.
"I achieved that goal," DeGennaro said. "Next year at state I want to get at least into the top three."
PV coach Tom Wingert says much of the credit for DeGennaro's progression goes to her father, Nick, who taught her.
"He's gotten her in all the right programs," Wingert said. "He's gotten her so well prepared. She's definitely going to be one of the top contenders."
DeGennaro's showing put Tucson back onto the map of 4A golf, something it hasn't been on since the 4A began holding its own tournament in 1997. She and Sahuaro's Kate Day - who tied for seventh at 161 - were the only Tucsonans in the top 15.
DeGennaro said she enjoyed being considered an unknown as she climbed to the top.
"It's kind of like nobody knew who I was, and that made me work harder," she said. — Brian J. Pedersen, 2000
Boys swimmer of the year
Boys swimmer of the year
Name: Eric Hadley
School: Rincon
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys swimming and diving
From the archives: Hadley won the 100 butterfly in a time of 50.64, then finished up his double with a win in his specialty, the 100 backstroke, in 49.97. — Brian J. Pedersen, 2000
Girls swimmer of the year
Girls swimmer of the year
Name: Lacey Nymeyer
School: Mountain View
Year in school: Freshman
Sport: Girls swimming and diving
From the archives: The best young female swimmer produced in Tucson in many years, Nymeyer, a freshman at Mountain View, won the state 50 freestyle championship. — Greg Hansen, 2000
Boys basketball player of the year
Boys basketball player of the year
Name: Diego Vargas
School: Salpointe Catholic
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys basketball
From the archives: Salpointe senior Diego Vargas was the city's most consistent player. — Star staff, 2001
Girls basketball player of the year
Girls basketball player of the year
Name: Catherria Turner
School: Amphitheater
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Girls basketball
From the archives: Amphi senior Catherria Turner averaged a triple-double. — Star staff, 2001
Boys soccer player of the year
Boys soccer player of the year
Name: Chris Baker
School: Catalina Foothills
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys soccer
From the archives: Catalina Foothills senior Chris Baker, a Santa Clara signee, had 20 goals for the state champs as a midfielder. — Star staff, 2001
Girls soccer player of the year
Girls soccer player of the year
Name: Mallory Miller
School: Salpointe Catholic
Year in school: Junior
Sport: Girls soccer
From the archives: Salpointe junior Mallory Miller had 17 goals for the Lancer girls soccer team. — Star staff, 2001
Wrestlers of the year
Wrestlers of the year
Name: Nick Gallick
School: Sunnyside
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Wrestling
From the archives: Sunnyside senior Nate Gallick, an Iowa State signee, won his second straight 4A title, this one at 125 pounds. — Star staff, 2001
Name: Tanner Montgomery
School: Canyon del Oro
Year in school: Junior
Sport: Wrestling
From the archives: Canyon del Oro junior Tanner Montgomery won the 5A state title at 140 pounds. — Star staff, 2001
Baseball player of the year
Baseball player of the year
Name: J.J. Hardy
School: Sabino
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Baseball
From the archives: Sabino's J.J. Hardy, a University of Arizona signee, batted over .400, had eight saves as a pitcher and is considered a high draft pick. — Star staff, 2001
Softball player of the year
Softball player of the year
Name: Maren Christensen
School: Sahuaro
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Softball
From the archives: Sahuaro's Maren Christensen was third in the city with seven home runs and was 9-0 as a pitcher for the 4A state champs. — Star staff, 2001
Boys tennis players of the year
Boys tennis players of the year
Name: Chris Gessner
School: Canyon del Oro
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys tennis
From the archives: Canyon del Oro seniors Chris Gessner and Brian Ravesloot won the 5A state boys doubles title. — Star staff, 2001
Name: Brian Ravesloot
School: Canyon del Oro
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys tennis
From the archives: Canyon del Oro seniors Chris Gessner and Brian Ravesloot won the 5A state boys doubles title. — Star staff, 2001
Girls tennis players of the year
Girls tennis players of the year
Name: Kendra Strohm
School: Salpointe Catholic
Year in school: Junior
Sport: Girls tennis
From the archives: Salpointe Catholic junior Kendra Strohm and Catalina Foothills sophomore Hala Sufi repeated Saturday as state singles champions in high school tennis.
Strohm won her third consecutive Class 5A state championship, beating Glendale Mountain Ridge's Catherine Cochrane in the final for the second year in a row (6-1, 6-2) at La Camarilla Racquet & Fitness Club in Scottsdale. — Brian J. Pedersen, 2001
Name: Hala Sufi
School: Catalina Foothills
Year in school: Sophomore
Sport: Girls tennis
From the archives: Sufi won the Class 4A title for the second straight time by beating Phoenix Arcadia's Megan Marton 6-3, 6-2 in a rematch of the 2000 final. Her victory helped Foothills capture its second consecutive girls team championship at the Phoenix Tennis Center. — Brian J. Pedersen, 2001
Boys track athlete of the year
Boys track athlete of the year
Name: Christian Tellez
School: Desert View
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys track and field
From the archives: Desert View senior Christian Tellez scored all of the Jaguars' 21 points at state. — Star staff, 2001
Girls track athlete of the year
Girls track athlete of the year
Name: Kelly Burke
School: Catalina Foothills
Year in school: Junior
Sport: Girls track and field
From the archives: Catalina Foothills junior Kelly Burke won two events and placed in two others for the Falcons. — Star staff, 2001
Boys volleyball player of the year
Boys volleyball player of the year
Name: Andrew McFarren
School: Salpointe Catholic
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Boys volleyball
From the archives: Salpointe Catholic's Andrew McFarren, who will play for the UA club team next year, led the Lancers to the 4A/5A state final. — Star staff, 2001
More High School Reunions
Click the photo below to check out more athletes of the year in our "High School Reunion" series.
2000 girls volleyball player of the year
2000 girls volleyball player of the year
Name: Mallorey James
School: Salpointe Catholic
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Girls volleyball
From the archives: Forgive Salpointe Catholic's Alicia Akporiaye for what happened to her in the Lancers' 15-10, 15-11 loss to Scottsdale Horizon in the second round of the 5A state tournament. She's just not used to it.
Akporiaye unleashed countless kill attempts that were rejected back to the Lancer side of the net by the Huskies' Dina Debernardi, Marissa Taryle and Mariko Crum, putting a damper on any consistent Salpointe scoring barrage.
"We just didn't play one of our stronger games," said Salpointe's Mallorey James. "And Horizon deserves credit because they are a great team and they beat us."
But it wasn't for James' lack of effort. The senior, who has committed to play next season at the University of Miami (Fla.), finished with team highs in kills (12), blocks (two) and also registered 14 digs to keep the Lancers (21-3) in both games until the end.
Horizon (35-9), the second-ranked team in the state and now responsible for two of Salpointe's losses, always seemed to have its players in the right place at the right time.
That, coupled with Jennifer Wagon's 30 assists and Debernardi's 10 kills and five blocks, proved to be the shot in the arm the Huskies needed to escape with a big road win.
James said Horizon's resounding success in the blocking department was unexpected. — Danny Van Klaveren, 2000
2000 football player of the year
2000 football player of the year
Name: David Coronado
School: Sunnyside
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Football
From the archives: Sunnyside High School's David Coronado led the Blue Devils to a runner-up finish in the Class 4A football playoffs. The 5-foot-10 senior linebacker and running back is No. 1, chosen as player of the year on the Arizona Daily Star's 2000 All-Southern Arizona football team.
Coronado rushed for 1,112 yards and 14 touchdowns as Sunnyside advanced to its first state championship game in football. He also was the team's leading tackler. — Star staff, 2000
2000 girls cross country runner of the year
2000 girls cross country runner of the year
Name: Amanda Estrada
School: Mountain View
Year in school: Junior
Sport: Girls cross country
From the archives: Mountain View's Amanda Estrada (19:58), this year's 4A Kino champion, was the top local finisher in fifth. — Dan Rosen, 2000