Greg Hansen's Top 100 Sports Figures of 2018: 80-61
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Greg Hansen
Columnist
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Star columnist Greg Hansen counts down the most prominent sports figures in Southern Arizona from 2018. Find out who makes the cut.
80. Mark Chandler
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Mark Chandler ran afoul of TUSD and AIA investigators while at Sahuaro. He stepped down as Sabinoβs coach in April.
One of the top prep baseball coaches in Tucson history, Chandler produced his first state championship, directing Sabino High School to a 28-4 record and the Class 3A state title.
79. Amy Rocha
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First-year coach Amy Baray-Rocha has Salpointe Catholic's softball team two wins from the Division II state championship game after the Lancers beat Canyon del Oro 12-4 in 2015.Β
Salpointeβs softball coach guided the Lancers to the state championship, 32-4 overall, and has won 105 games in four seasons on the job.
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78. Felecity Willis
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Felecity Willis, shown at McKale in β99, officiates Division I womenβs games for the WCC, Big Sky, WAC and Mountain West.
The former UA softball and basketball two-sport athlete has become one of the Westβs leading womenβs basketball referees, working her sixth season in the Mountain West, Big Sky, WCC and WAC conferences.
77. Terrell Hayward
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Cienega's Terrell Hayward (7) finds room in the red zone during the second quarter in the Bobcats' first-round playoff win versus Marana.Β
Cienega High School's versatile football standout rushed for 636 yards, caught passes for 763 yards, made 32 tackles and scored 17 touchdowns.
76. Matt Bushman
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BYU tight end Matt Bushman, a Tucson native and Sabino alum, yells after hauling in a 24-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter of the Cougarsβ 28-23 win over Arizona on Sept. 1, 2018, at Arizona Stadium.
Not only did the former Sabino High School tight end start as a BYU sophomore, he has now caught 74 passes for 979 yards in two years for the Cougars, including a game-changing touchdown in a victory over Arizona.
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75. Justin Wright
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Arizona'sΒ Justin Wright. Photo by Stan Liu / courtesy of Arizona AthleticsΒ
In his senior year at Arizona, Wright won the menβs 200 butterfly in the USA Championships, qualifying for the USA National team. He was fifth in the 200 fly for the Wildcats at the NCAA finals.
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74. Aari McDonald
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Arizona guard Aari McDonald (2) takes the the low road to squeeze under Northern Arizona guard Regan Schenck (1) in the first quarter of their game at McKale Center, Friday, December 21, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.
Few basketball players in UA history got off to the kind of start the sophomore transfer from Washington did. She averaged 23.7 points through 10 games; her 39 points against Loyola Marymount tied the Wildcats' single-game scoring record.
73. Manny Quiroz
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Sunnysideβs senior soccer all-star has scored 44Β goals (and counting) the last two seasons.
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72. Mike Urbanski
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Mike Urbanski leads a weekly run on Tohono Chul Park's Desert View Trail on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star
Salpointe Catholicβs accomplished cross country coach piloted the Lancers girls to their second state championship in three years.
71. Kaskile Zawadi
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The Pima men's soccer team gather around the national championship plaque in front of their welcoming fans shortly after exiting the bus.
In PCCβs burst to the NJCAA menβs soccer championship, Zawadi β a sophomore defenderΒ from Cholla High School β was selected to the All-AmericaΒ second team.
70. Jada Talley
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Jada Talley
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69. Rick Schantz
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FC Tucson head coach Rick Schantz talks with midfielder Musa Morris before taking on the University of Arizona in an exhibition game at Kino Sports Complex, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Tucson, Ariz. Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star
One of the leading names in Tucson soccer history became Phoenix Risingβs interim head coach during the USL season, led the Rising to a 12-7-1 record and then guided it to the USL title game. Schantz, a former FC Tucson coach, was then named permanent head coachΒ .
68. Cory Petska
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Cory Petska, of Marana, Ariz., competes in the team roping event during the seventh go-round of the National Finals Rodeo, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, in Las Vegas.
67. Tony Amato
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Tony Amato
Arizonaβs soccer coach reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, going 13-6-2 overall.
66. Derik Hall
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Hall became an all-WSFL first-team defensive back as a Pima College sophomore. The former Sahuaro High School standout made 83 tackles, fourth in the league.
65. Kristie Stevens
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Stevens coached Catalina Foothillsβ girls tennis team to a 17-0 record and her 12th state championship.
64. Isaiah Murphy
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Pima's Isaiah Murphy drives for the hoop around Delta's Jalen Fykes in the NJCAA Div II basketball tournament semifinal game in Danville, Ill, on March 23, 2018.
Murphy averaged 15.9 points per game for Pima Collegeβs basketball team, guiding theΒ Β Aztecs to 31 victories and a No. 2 finish in the NJCAA.
63. Delaney Schnell
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Delaney Schnell, 18, works on one of her dives during a practice at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center on Wednesday June 28, 2017. Schnell says she started diving when she was 10 years old. She is now one of the best in the nation.
The freshman diver from Tucson High was the Pac-12 freshman Diver of the Year, finishing sixth in the NCAA 1-meter diving championships.
62. Casey OβBrien
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Sunnyside Blue Devil pride adorns an entrance gate to the football stadium at Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star
Sunnyside High School's soccer coach has gone 27-4-2 the last two seasons, and the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the state through Dec. 20.
61. Diana Montano
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Salpointe's Diana Montano (11) records the last out of the game, flipping to first on Tucson's Arriana Santa Maria's (10) ground ball in the seventh inning of their state D II elimination playoff game at Amphitheater High School, Wednesday, May 11, 2016, Tucson, Ariz.
In Salpointe Catholicβs state championship softball season, Montano, a junior, drove in a team-high 64 runs and hit .450 with eight home runs.
More: Greg Hansen's Top 100 sports figures of 2018: 100-81.Β
Greg Hansen
Columnist
