Raiders and Hawks take YUHSD titles
Cibola’s Ayden Dusek and Emma Amon earn Most Valuable Athlete awards
The favorites won again at the Yuma Union High School District swimming championship on Saturday at Valley Aquatic Center.
For the eighth consecutive year, the Gila Ridge boys won the YUHSD team title. In the girls division, the Cibola Raiders won for the third straight season.
Cibola senior Ayden Dusek was named the Male Most Valuable Athlete while Cibola’s Emma Amon was announced as the Female Most Valuable Athlete
Boys
Gila Ridge swimmers won six of the nine individual events and the 200 Free Relay team race. The Hawks finished with 620 points to defeat Cibola (483, 2nd) and Kofa (132, 3rd) to win another YUHSD title.
“This was our goal at the beginning of the year,” Gila Ridge coach Greg Brown said. “We wanted to win the district region championship. That’s always our first
goal and putting out a time to get to state.”
That future is bright for the Hawks too. All but one individual winner is an underclassmen.
Standing out for the Hawks was freshman sensation Keian Evans, who placed first in the 50 free and 100 fly events.
“We had a strong group of freshmen come in,” Brown said. “(Keian) has certainly helped our boys team.”
Nathan Kempton (one meter), Erik Palacios (200 free and 500 free) and Antonio Montes (200 IM) won individual events for Gila Ridge on Saturday.
Cibola had a strong performance as well. The Raiders won the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay events.
The Raiders also won three individual events in the meet. Brenden Van-Winkle placed first in the 100 breast while Ayden Dusek won the 100 free and 100 back events.
Dusek, one of the best swimmers in the state, potentially positioned himself for an individual qualifying spot.
However, the playoff format will look differently in 2020 due to the unusual season. The district meet is the only time YUHSD teams will be using for qualifying.
Results for the playoffs will be announced this week.
Cibola and Gila Ridge are optimistic a swimmer or two can receive an individual berth.
“There’s a really good shot based on times from last year and where our kids are at now,” Cibola head coach Brad Broschat said.
Girls
Amon and Payton Doak are two of the better swimmers in the area and it was almost a clean sweep for the Raiders on Saturday at the YUHSD championship meet.
The Raiders won eight of the nine individual events and all three team races.
Cibola’s performance propelled them to first place with a score of 612 points, while Gila Ridge posted 487 points and Kofa came in third with 265.
“It was a pretty good team effort,” Broschat said. “We had a number of good swims today.”
Winners on Saturday for the Raiders were: Miah Duarte (50 free), Amilia Valenzuela (100 free), Payton Doak (100 fly and 100 back), Amon (100 breast and 200 individual medley), Felicity McCallen (200 free) and Sidney Quinn (500 free).
“It was a great final week for our kids and hopefully we will know more Sunday on who makes it to state,” Broschat said.
Broschat believes all three of his relay teams and several individuals will qualify for a postseason spot.
Gila Ridge’s Taylor Poole was the only non-Raider in the girls division to win a race on Saturday.