’23 RECAP: Sports

GOOD SPORTS: Maricopa High School’s baseball team earned the AIA 6A Sportsmanship Award for a consistent display of integrity and good character. Every year, umpires vote on teams that exemplify outstanding conduct, fair play and respectful behavior. The award was validation that the team is doing something right. Last season, the Rams went 12-9 and finished fourth in their conference.

WINNING WAYS: The Heritage baseball team won its second-straight state baseball title. The Heritage boys also repeated as state wrestling champs. Heritage rode the crest of a 15-0 season to win its second state softball title in the Canyon Athletic Association D2 Sahuaro conference.

HOT STREAK: Maricopa High School’s softball team went 24-9 and finished the season third in its conference. The Rams caught fire midway through the season, going nearly a month without a loss. The Rams won 11 straight games during the streak, which started after a 9-0 loss to Millennium in mid-March. That same day, Maricopa responded with an 18-0 win over Agua Fria. Maricopa outscored its opponents 138-32 during the streak.

SOCCER STAR: Maricopa High School soccer standout Abigail Kuehnl signed a letter of intent to play at Division I University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

LOSING STREAK: Sequoia Pathway Academy’s football team started 0-4 and had to cancel the rest of its football season due to injuries.

SKID SNAPPED: Maricopa High’s football team snapped a 19-game skid when it beat Browne (Phoenix) 49-7 in its second game of the season. The Rams went on to win four games in 2023.

A FIRST: Desert Sunrise High snagged its first-ever football win in a 28-12 victory over Alhambra (Phoenix). Desert Sunrise, a school in its second year of operation, finished the season 1-9.

LEAGUE TITLE: Maricopa High won a girls’ soccer conference title with a perfect 5-0 record. The Rams won nine of their last 10 games to finish the season at 12-4-2.

SCORING MACHINE: MHS alum Jacob Cowing starred as one of the top receivers at the University of Arizona and earned a spot at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Cowing finished the regular season with 696 receiving yards, fewer than the 1,034 yards he racked up in 2022. However, Cowing has proven to be quite the scoring threat, scoring 11 touchdowns this year, an increase from the previous year’s total of six.
Cowing was second on the team in touchdowns, behind quarterback Noah Fifita, who had 25.

COLLEGE BOUND: Maricopa High School basketball players Andrew Hoxie and Triston Walters signed national letters of intent to play at the next level. Walters officially pledged to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hoxie, a Rams small forward, committed to Phoenix Prep. MHS’s Sapphira Reyes signed to play basketball at Benedictine College in Mesa, while Josh Garcia will play soccer at Paradise Valley Community College.

BIG PAPA PICKLE: Three teams from the Province 55-plus community earned Arizona Pickleball Players League state titles during a tournament at Dave White Park in Casa Grande. In women’s play, The Province Hot Shots won 23-20 in the state-championship match. The Red Hot Picklers won the championship match 24-23 after a 23-22 victory in the semis. On the men’s side, Province Gold won its championship with a 28-15 victory. During the season, 371 teams with nearly 4,000 players competed in the Arizona Pickleball Players League.

WELL-SPIKED: Maricopa High School’s girls’ volleyball team finished second in league play with a 6-4 record and were 13-14-2 overall. The boys finished second with a 6-4 record and were 19-6 overall.