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Ross Mason photo

Third baseman Ben Saunders and the rest of the Boulder Creek baseball team nearly made the state tournament
in their first year as a team.
(Click pictures for full size images)

Spring 2006 - A LOOK BACK

Boulder Creek wins right away: It didn’t take the Boulder Creek boys volleyball team long to become competitive at the state level. The Jaguars did not have any seniors, but that didn’t stop them from taking second in the Northwest Region and making the quarterfinals of the state tournament in just their first season.

Individual titles end big year

The Sandra Day O’Connor girls track team nearly picked up the state championship the cross country team came so close to claiming in the fall.

Thanks to a first‑place performance from Lindsay Prescott in the two‑mile race, the Eagles took third as a team at the 5A‑Division II state meet earlier this month.

Additionally, O’Connor earned two champions on the boys side as Spencer Morgan blew away the field in the 800, posting the best time in the state at all levels. Troy Hamblin won state in the discus for the Eagles.

In 4A track, Cactus Shadows’ boys and girls track teams each finished 10^th.

Cactus Shadows tennis wins it all

Bob Dice knew his 2006 boys tennis team at Cactus Shadows was going to be good. The Falcons showed their coach just how good by winning the 4A‑Division II state championship at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale.

The Falcons lost only one dual match all season and sent two players–Kevin Anderson and Brian Dales–to the semifinals in singles.

In 5A tennis, Boulder Creek emerged with a quarterfinal appearance on the girls side. The doubles team of Hannah Townsend and Vanessa Green, meanwhile, made it to the 5A Final Four.

Falcons No. 1!

Cactus Shadows completed its dream of winning a state championship earlier this month when the Falcons routed Arcadia 13‑7 at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Losing four talented pitchers from last year did not deter the Falcons, who won their first state crown at the 4A level. The team previously won a 3A title in 1999.

A talented group of young players, including Jerome Pena, Mike Basco and Matt Summers among others, led the Falcons to one of the more improbably baseball state championships this spring.

And a mostly young team returning in 2007, could this be the start of a baseball dynasty at the school?

Eagles goes far

The most successful season in Sandra Day O’Connor baseball history ended with the Eagles finishing 3‑2 at the 5A‑Division II state tournament.

O’Connor (20‑16 final record) finished third in the Northwest Region and won a state playoff game for the first time. And like Cactus Shadows, the Eagles fielded a mostly young team, meaning O’Connor could be set up for a good run over the next few years.

One run was all that separated coach Jeff Baumgartner and the Eagles and a shot at making the 5A state semifinals as the Eagles lost to Paradise Valley 9‑8 in the consolation championship. O’Connor beat Desert Ridge, San Luis and Sunnyside earlier in the tournament.

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