Falcons make splash at state

Prep Sports Roundup

NORTH VALLEY – The Cactus Shadows girls and boys swimming teams came up big at last week’s 4A‑Division II state meet at Arizona State University.

The Falcons’ girls team finished third as a team Oct. 28, thanks to solid performances by Chloe Hedden, Jackie Puschak, Barbie Snyder, Lesley Pfeiffer and Skotia Wood. The boys, meanwhile, took fourth with solid swims from Kevin Hildebrandt, Rod Preston, Erik Pfeiffer, Drew McCulloch, Kylaas Flannagan, Jordan Wilkins, Bud Bennett and Graham Haak.

Puschak piled up a good number of points for the girls team with second place showings in the 200‑ and 500‑yard freestyle. She was also a member of the winning 200 freestyle relay team and the 400 freestyle relay team, which took third. Other members of the winning 200 team included Wood, Hedden and Snyder.

For the boys, Hildebrandt took second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 butterfly. Pfeiffer finished second in the 500 freestyle.

A week earlier in the Wells Fargo 2 Region championships, the girls took second and the boys finished third. Puschak was named the girl Athlete of the Meet.

Here is a roundup of other local prep sports news:

CROSS COUNTRY

Patrick Cronin won the individual title at the Wells Fargo 2 Region championship meet Oct. 26, leading the Falcons to a team championship. Cronin finished the 2.95‑mile course at Thunderbird Park in 15 minutes, 26.8 seconds to help the Falcons win the team title with 31 points. He also claimed the region’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year.

Cactus Shadows’ girls team finished third in the meet and was led by Marta Reichenbach, who turned in a second‑place performance with a time of 19:26.0.

Both Falcons teams will race in the 4A‑Division II state championships Nov. 4 at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix. The boys start at 9:30 a.m., while the girls run at 10:20 a.m.

GIRLS GOLF

Cactus Shadows reached its goal of a sub‑600‑stroke total Oct. 24‑25 at the East Sky Region championships. Esther Choe’s two‑day round of 134 was second at the tournament, which the Falcons won by 70 strokes over second‑place Notre Dame. The Falcons also received a third‑place finish from Lauren Weaver (142).

The win avenged an early‑season loss to Notre Dame, which turned out to be the only defeat Cactus Shadows suffered all season. The team will next try to defend its 4A‑Division II state title at this year’s state event, held Nov. 6 and 7 at the Dell Urich Golf Course in Tucson.

BOYS GOLF

Thanks to three golfers finishing in the top four, Cactus Shadows won the Wells Fargo 2 Region tournament last week by 17 strokes over second‑place Notre Dame.

Dylan Raines compiled a two‑day total of 139 Oct. 24‑25 at Dove Valley Golf Course to win the tournament by 2 strokes over Nick Losole of Notre Dame. Cactus Shadows’ Mike Basco (142) and Tyler Woolridge (146) took third and fourth, respectively.

Raines was named region Golfer of the Year, while Mike Olson was selected the Wells Fargo 2 Region’s Coach of the Year.