Girls: Kaitlyn Roskopf, Chino Valley, soccer

In 2021, Roskopf and senior Madison Foster combined for one of the state’s deadliest duos at any level. Together, they scored 75 goals and recorded 29 assists in just 22 games.

With Foster’s graduation, Roskopf is now carrying Chino Valley’s hopes of a repeat state championship on her shoulders. So far, she’s doing so with aplomb. The Cougars dropped their first points of the season on Tuesday in a 1-0 loss to Northland Prep, but through 15 games, Roskopf still has a ridiculous 37 goals and nine assists. On the season, she has eight hat tricks.

Last week, Roskopf tied Chino Valley’s all-time career goals record with four goals in a win over Camp Verde. “Kaitlyn is a hard worker whose job is scoring goals and getting assists,” Chino Valley coach DJ Daniels said. “She has really stepped up as a leader and will try to help her team win back to back state titles.”

Academic: Samiyah Ross, Cesar Chavez, Cheer

In four years of high school, Ross has built up an incredible resume.

She’s the captain of the cheer team and has been a four-year member of the team, through Zoom practices during the pandemic year. Academically, she holds a 3.75 unweighted (4.0 weighted) GPA and is currently in all AP and honors classes. She’s also part of the National Honors Society, she’s the secretary of a campus club and she’s on a committee to help freshmen in their transition to high school.

All the while, Ross works at Starbucks, balancing work, school, cheer and her other extracurriculars.

“With her, I can always count on hard work with a few laughs mixed in,” Cesar Chavez cheer coach Charlene Cunningham said. “I know in my heart that once she graduates, Samiyah will continue to excel in academics and will be involved in campus activities at whichever college is lucky enough to have her.”