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Goldwater sophomore Shelby Nowak follows through on a breast stroke during the Bulldogs’ Oct. 12 meet against O’Connor at Deer Valley Park in Phoenix. Goldwater, O’Connor and Boulder Creek are now preparing for next week’s Northwest Region meet.
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Falcons runner takes Thunderbird Invite
Regionals, state meets upcoming for local teams

Patrick Cronin is turning it up at the right time of year for Cactus Shadows. The senior runner won the open individual championship Oct. 14 at the Thunderbird Invitational at Cave Creek Park in Phoenix.

Cronin ran the 2.8‑mile course in 14 minutes, 5 seconds, which was 20 seconds ahead of second‑place Jim Walmsley of Horizon and only two seconds off the course record. In the novice race earlier in the day, four Falcons medaled: boys racers Kyle Short (third), Austin Miles (18th) and Keith Omundson (30th), and girls runner Marta Reichenbach (fourth).

The Falcons are now preparing for the Wells Fargo 2 Region meet, to be held Oct. 26 at Thunderbird Regional Park at 59th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road. The boys race starts at 3:40 p.m., while the girls competition begins at 4:10.

Here is a roundup of other local prep sports news:

MORE CROSS COUNTRY

O’Connor’s girls team has been one of the best in Arizona all year and now the Eagles are one of the nation’s top teams. O’Connor cracked the Nike team Southwest region rankings at No. 6 recently, joining teams from Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah.

The Eagles will also get national recognition Oct. 21 when the team travels to the prestigious Mt. Sac Invitational in California.

Goldwater’s Annette Sotello, Taylor Webb and Rachel Adams each turned in solid performances at the Thunderbird Invitational. Sotello took third overall (16:17.49), while Webb finished seventh and Adams took 14th.

The Deer Valley Unified School District meet is set for Oct. 18 at Thunderbird Park. Boulder Creek, Goldwater and Sandra Day O’Connor are among the teams competing for the boys and girls district crowns.

BOYS GOLF

The dream season for Cactus Shadows continued last week when the Falcons put the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season and claimed the championship at the Bradshaw Mountain Invitational.

The Falcons easily topped Sunnyslope, O’Connor and Deer Valley Oct. 10, then swept Thunderbird, Buckeye and Cortez two days later to end the regular season slate 30‑0 in dual competition.

The team then capped off the week with a win in the tournament at Prescott Country Club. Cactus Shadows shot 304 as a team to beat second‑place Apache Junction by 17 strokes. Mike Basco shot a round of 74 to beat teammate Dylan Raines for the individual championship.

The Falcons will be off until Oct. 24 when it hosts the 4A Wells Fargo 2 Region tournament at Dove Valley Golf Course. The two‑day event is the final match before the state tournament in Tucson Nov. 6‑7.

The 5A super‑regional tournament is set for Oct. 23‑24 at a site to be announced. Boulder Creek (21‑1 regular season) is one of the favorites to win the tournament, which will also include Goldwater and O’Connor.

GIRLS GOLF

Cactus Shadows’ unbeaten record came to an end Oct. 10 when Notre Dame topped the Falcons by 13 strokes (170‑183). Ellie Conser shot a match‑best round of 40 for the Falcons, but it was not enough to overcome Notre Dame. Cactus Shadows had won 14 straight dual matches to open the season.

The Falcons, who are part of the East Sky Region in girls golf, will play in next week’s East Sky tournament at Las Colinas Golf Course. The two‑day tournament will be held Oct. 24‑25.

Estrella Golf Course is the site for the 5A Northwest Region tournament Oct. 23‑24. Tee times start at noon each day. Boulder Creek and O’Connor enter regionals with winning records in dual matches. The 5A girls state tournament is set for Nov. 8‑9 at Aguila Golf Course.

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