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Brian Carr and the Sandra Day O’Connor baseball team made a huge leap during the 2007 season as the Eagles earned the top seed of the 5A‑Division II state tournament before losing.
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High school teams come of age
State titles highlight sports year
by Jason Stone

NORTH VALLEY – If you were an athlete at Boulder Creek, Sandra Day O’Connor or Barry Goldwater high schools during the 2006‑07 season, chances are you set a personal record or were part of a history‑making team.

The three North Valley high schools north of Loop 101 all came of age during the school year, despite the fact that the developing rivalry between Boulder Creek and O’Connor ended before it even had a chance to begin.

Next fall’s region realignment means the two Deer Valley Unified School District sister campuses won’t be in the same region or conference–at least for the next two years. It was only two years ago that a huge chunk of O’Connor students transferred to the Anthem school when its doors opened in 2004.

But with each school adding championship trophies to the display case for the first time, rivalries were of little consequence in the end.

Boulder Creek played its first year with seniors and won its first state championships as a team and individually. O’Connor, meanwhile, continued to dominate the running sports and became state contenders in multiple sports.

Barry Goldwater, meanwhile, made big news in the fall when its football team did something a team hadn’t done in almost 20 years–win in the playoffs.

O’Connor exited from 5A competition–it will play in 4A‑Division I next year–with some individual state championships, one team title and a huge helping of progress in most of the team sports.

The highlight came in the fall when Lindsay Prescott led the girls cross country to the school’s first team title. Prescott took first among four O’Connor runners who finished in the top six overall. Camille Olson finished second for the Eagles.

Among the Eagles’ team sports, the boys basketball team carried a No. 3 seed into state and won a game in the tournament for the first time. O’Connor’s baseball and softball teams each spent portions of the season ranked No. 1 in 5A‑II, and both teams nearly carried out their dreams of winning it all.

For Boulder Creek, history was made in the fall when the Jaguars’ boys golf team dominated the 5A‑II field for the school’s first state championship in any sport. The Jags won state by almost 30 strokes and could have a dynasty brewing in Anthem. Plus, the girls team took third in the state.

The Jaguars also picked up an individual state championships during the spring season in track when Daniel Lovell won in the distance events and the school’s 4x800 relay team was crowned the state’s best.

For Goldwater, the football team certainly highlighted the year. The Bulldogs finished in a tie for the Northwest Region championship, advanced to the 5A playoffs for the first time, and won a playoff game for the first time since 1988. Most members of this year’s team weren’t even alive the last time it happened.

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