All-Region sports banquet back to live event
Top athletes, coaches to be honored Monday
“Back to normal” could be the theme of the 20212022 Yuma Sun/Yuma Rotary Club sports awards program.
After a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program, honoring the Yuma-area athletes who were named to the fall, winter and spring all-region teams, returns to a live, in-person banquet affair Monday night at the Yuma Civic Center.
In 2020 and 2021 the awards were presented virtually.
The 2022 program will kick off at 5:30 p.m. and will climax with the announcement of the 2021-2022 Coach of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year.
The event is open to the public along with family and friends. Tickets at the door are $10.
Finalists for the top honors are:
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR • Mario Martinez
Yuma Catholic
Senior
Mario was a three-sport athlete in 2021-2022, making the biggest name for himself in football where, as a wide receiver for Yuma Catholic, he had 59 receptions; 1,336 receiving yards; 18 touchdowns; and set the state 3A record for single game yards with 293 yards. He was third overall in receiving yards in Arizona in 2021, and was named First Team All-State. On the soccer field he helped the Shamrocks reach the state playoffs in his role as a left midfielder and forward, scoring one goal, dishing
out 4 assists, accumulating six points and recording 32 steals. In the spring Martinez was a high jumper, long jumper, ran the 100 meter dash and was part of the 4x100 relay. He broke the 6-foot barrier in the high jump, and long jumped a personal best 19’ 8”; he narrowly missed qualifying for the Division III state meet in the 100m dash (11.49); and ran a leg on the 4x100 relay team that missed out on qualifying for Division III state by one place.
• Bennett Meyer-Wills
Cibola
Senior
Destined to become a Cibola long distance legend, during the cross country season Meyer-Wills collected first place wins at the West Wetlands invite, YUHSD Championships and the AIA sectionals before finishing in 3rd place at the AIA Division I State Championships. In the spring he recorded personal bests in the 3200 meters (9:18.70) and 1600 meters (4:21.45), winning YUHSD Championships in both, along with the 800 meter championship; and finished seventh at the Division I State Championships.
• Damian Moreno
Kofa
Junior
Damian won his second straight state Division I State Wrestling Championship at 106 pounds. He had a 53-0 record (72-0 dating back to last season) and
was also the champion at the Liberty Classic, Skyline Open, Peoria Tournament of Champions, Flowing Wells Invitational and the Holtville Invitational.
• Austin Rush
Yuma Catholic
Senior
Austin had a stellar football season for the Shamrocks with 81 receptions, 1,288 yards receiving and 21 touchdown receptions. And he was selected First Team All-State. The two-time Athlete of the Year nominee also excelled in track in the spring as a triple jumper, long jumper and member of the 4x100 relay team. He smashed his previous triple jump personal best; ranked sixth in the Division III state with a jump of 42’ 6”; was a long jump Division III state meet provisional qualifier, with a personal best 20’ 4”; and helped the 4x100 relay team to a 19th ranking overall in Division III.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR • Sierra Bomhower
Cibola
Sophomore
Sierra’s second time being nominated for Athlete of the
Year followed a strong basketball season in which she averaged
12.9 points per game; 4.4 rebounds per game; 3.2 steals per game; and 2.3 assists per game; was ranked 17th in scoring in 6A; and third in scoring, seventh in rebound- ing, fifth in assists and fifth in steals in the 6A Desert South- west Region. This spring, Sierra smoked the competition, literally, in track, running a personal best in the 100 meters (13.10, fastest in Yuma County this season and the YUHSD champion); a personal best in the 200 meters (27.07, fastest in Yuma County this season and the YUHSD champion). She also recorded a personal best in the long jump (15-7, which was 3rd best in Yuma County this season); and ran a leg on the 4x100 relay which recorded a season best 50.94 (fastest relay in Yuma County this season) and qualified for the state meet. When all was said and done, she was the only athlete on both the girls’ and boys’ side to win four golds at the YUHSD Championship meet.
• Rori Hoffmeyer
Cibola
Junior
Rori started her junior season on the volleyball hardwood as a middle blocker, where she had 49 kills, 120 blocks and served up 12 aces. She was named 6A Desert Southwest All Region First Team and was the Yuma Sun’s Player of the Year. Rori then switched gears, picked up a basketball and averaged 9.2 points per game,
9.6 rebounds per game, 2.1 steals per game and 2.1 blocked shots per game for the Raiders. She finished fifth in rebounds and fourth in blocked shots in the 6A Conference; had 7 double-double games and tied for the 5th most in the 6A conference. In the spring Rori recorded a personal best 4’ 11” in the high jump.
• Rian Martinez
Yuma Catholic
Junior
In the fall, on the volleyball court, Rian had 217 kills, 42 aces, 182 digs, 151 serve/receive, was the Metro West Region Player of the Year, and made the Mary J. Goldy Tournament All-Tournament Team. In basketball, the forward was named the 3A West Defensive Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-State after averaging 7.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.9 blocks per game.
• Reese Sellers
Yuma Catholic
Junior
The volleyball season saw Reese record 164 kills, 50 aces, 204 digs and 325 serve/receives while being named First Team All Metro West Region. Switching to basketball, the Shamrocks’ point guard was named the 3A West Player of the Year and earned
2nd Team All State honors while also being named the Yuma Sun’s Player of the Year. She averaged 16.4 points, 5.8 assists and 5.0 steals per game.
COACH OF THE YEAR • Anthony Gerg
Head Girls Basketball Coach Cibola High School
Gerg led the Raiders to a 16-6 regular season record and the 6A Desert Southwest Region championship. The Raiders lost in the first round of the state tournament.
• Jesus Rojas
Head Boys Soccer Coach
San Luis High School
Rojas took the Sidewinders to the Division I State Championship Tournament for the second year in a row after posting an 11-0 regular season record. The Sidewinders won their state tournament first-round game but were eliminated in the second round.
• Rhett Stallworth
Head Football Coach
Yuma Catholic High School Stallworth took the Shamrocks to the 2021 3A State Championship game. It was the second year in a row Yuma Catholic played for the state title. The Shamrocks finished 12-2 overall after finishing the regular season 9-1 and winning the 3A West Region championship.
• Judd Thrower
Head Baseball Coach
Yuma Catholic High School Thrower, Yuma Catholic’s JV baseball coach, was thrust into the position of head coach during the first week of the 2022 season and led the Shamrocks to the semifinals of the 3A State Championship Tournament. The Shamrocks finished the regular season 15-2 and won the 3A West Region championship.
• Jeff Welsing
Head Wrestling Coach
Yuma Catholic High School In his first year as head wrestling coach at Yuma Catholic, Welsing guided the Shamrocks to a second place finish in the Division IV State Tournament, finishing 26 points behind two-time champion Morenci. The year before the Shamrocks also finished second, 217 points behind Morenci.