Quick Hitters
Shamrocks score 20 goals
The Yuma Catholic girls soccer team beat Palo Verde (Calif.) 20-0 on Monday at Ricky Gwynn Stadium.
Ariana Leamons had five goals, Natalie Camarena and Isela Estrada both had hat tricks, while Savannah Rush, Angelica Pimentel and Katie McArdle each had two goals.
Arizona State’s N’Keal Harry to skip Las Vegas Bowl
TEMPE — Arizona State receiver N’Keal Harry will skip the Las Vegas Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft.
Sun Devils coach Herm Edwards issued a statement Monday saying the decision was made after Harry met with the coaching and administrative staffs.
Harry announced last month he is skipping his senior season to enter the draft, where he’s expected to be a first-round draft pick.
Harry is third in Arizona State history with 213 career receptions and 2,889 yards. He averages 5.76 receptions per game, third among the NCAA active career leaders.
Despite facing double teams most of the time, Harry leads the Sun Devils with 73 receptions, 1,088 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.
Kareem Hunt unclaimed on NFL waivers on Monday
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kareem Hunt went unclaimed on NFL waivers Monday, three days after a video was released that showed the star running back shoving and kicking a woman in an incident that ultimately led to his release by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Police did not charge Hunt with a crime, but the Chiefs released him for being untruthful with them about what happened during the February incident. Hunt currently is on the commissioner’s exempt list and cannot play even if another team signs him. The NFL says it is continuing its investigation.
Also on Monday, a police report surfaced in which a suburban Kansas City man told police that Hunt was among a group of men that assaulted him during a nightclub altercation in January.
The incident happened Jan. 11 at Mosaic, a club in downtown Kansas City. The 38-year-old victim was treated at a hospital for a broken rib, broken nose and other injuries. But as was the case in the assault captured on a Cleveland hotel security camera, no criminal charges were filed in the case.
Last fall, Cibola’s Aylin Quintero just barely missed out on the 2017 Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year award.
She lost a few races to teammate Ashley Valenzuela by only seconds, and that was the difference in Valenzuela getting the honor and not Quintero.
This year, Quintero and Valenzuela were both back for the Raiders as juniors — and this time, it was Quintero who delivered the area’s strongest season.
Quintero, the 2018 Yuma Sun/ Yuma Rotary Club Girls CrossCountry Runner of the Year, was the Raiders’ highest finisher this season at every meet she ran in except one.
Given that Cibola boasted the next three best girls runners in the area — Valenzuela and fellow juniors Fernanda Escobedo and Kenia Zepeda — that was no easy accomplishment.
Quintero’s head-to-head matchup with Valenzuela — a truly friendly competition — was again very close at times, with Quintero edging Valenzuela by one-tenth of a second at the Division I state meet on Nov. 10 and one second at the YUHSD Championship on Oct. 17, and Valenzuela posting the faster time by 1.2 seconds at Nike Desert Twilight on Sept. 28.
But Quintero set herself apart with superior showings at several other meets, most notably an 11thplace finish overall at the Division I Section III meet on Oct. 31 and personal-best times of 16:40 (2.5 miles) at the South Bay Invitational on Sept. 21 and 20:31.2 (5K) at the Titan Invitational on Oct. 12.
“We were excited to see her have a really solid year,” Cibola coach Kris Norton said. “Coming in we knew she was going to challenge Ashley. I thought she’d train hard and have a chance to be Runner of the Year, and to see her do that and come through and stay healthy was fun to watch.”
Norton felt that Quintero’s best performance came at sectionals, where she was the Raiders’ highest finisher by 11 places and about 50 seconds. Her 11th-place finish in 20:52.22 helped Cibola finish fourth as a team in a field that included eventual top-four state finishers Highland and Desert Vista.
“It was a pretty tough race and she showed what she’s capable of doing with two of the better teams in the state,” Norton said. “That was exciting to see.”
Two weeks later, Quintero finished 58th at the Division I state meet — one spot ahead of Valenzuela.
Quintero, a two-time Yuma Sun/ Yuma Rotary Club all-region selection in track, was coming off a spring that saw her rank second locally in the 1,600 meters and third locally in the 3,200 meters — with Valenzuela ranking first in both events.
“I felt for some reason coming out of track season (Quintero) had just stepped up her confidence and was finding a nice balance of being OK with being competitive with Ashley once the races started and trying to beat her without worrying about it being competitive once the race was over,” Norton said. “Once she processed that and realized they were still going to be best friends, that allowed her to be freer.
“And a lot of that came from Ashley, because she was just so supportive, too.”
With two track seasons and another cross-country one still to come before she graduates, Quintero should continue to improve — with Valenzuela pushing her as well.
“I expect her and Ashley to run a little freer and a little less restrained,” Norton said. “They come in with a conservative approach to their training and being healthy and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I think both are going to step up and hit it hard next year.”