As the high school winter sports season wraps up and state tournaments kick off, we’re rounding up all of our High School Student-Athletes of the Week from winter 2025-26 in one place. These 12 exceptional Southern Arizona high school student-athletes range from newcomers to record breakers, who have all left their marks on their programs this season.
Read more about their athletic and academic journeys and personal accolades below. (Athletes are listed in order of publication date.)
SALPOINTE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Lauren Cione
Lauren Cione is a Salpointe Catholic wrestler who's only been wrestling for about a year. During her first year, she made it to the state championship.
Salpointe junior Lauren Cione grew up competing in almost every sport you could think of. Last year, she tried wrestling for the first time and never looked back. In her first year of competing, she advanced to the state championship tournament. And although she didn’t return to Tucson with a championship title, making it to the state tourney with only one year of experience is an accomplishment in itself. Cione ended the 2025-26 season with a 30-14 record. As much as she loves competing and winning in the sport, her love for the wrestling community outweighs all of that, she says.
“She’s one of these kids that has a gift for wrestling,” said Martin Chavez, Salpointe Catholic’s head wrestling coach. “I’ve been doing this for over 30 years and I’ve seen many kids and I’ve only met another female wrestler that’s done what she’s done, and now she’s in college wrestling, so I think she (Cione) is on that same path and it’s good to see her skills grow so fast from not knowing anything.”
Sport(s): Wrestling
GPA: 3.5
Future plans: Join the Air Force and become a pilot, eventually becoming a commercial airline pilot.
Lauren fun fact: She enjoys crafting and sculpting in her free time.
Full story: tuc.life/lauren
TANQUE VERDE HIGH SCHOOL
Amelia Kidd
Tanque Verde's Amelia Kidd, left, rushes to teammate Hutton North to celebrate after ripping home the Hawks’ second score of the night in the first half against Thatcher, Dec. 11, 2025, in Tucson.
Tanque Verde junior Amelia Kidd may come from a small school on Tucson’s northeast side, but her talent is anything but small. Last year, the soccer captain helped lead the Hawks to their first state tournament since the 2017-18 season. In just eight games this season, she scored 18 goals, bringing her high school career total to 79 (as of press time). But Kidd isn’t only making moves at Tanque Verde. Earlier this year, she was named to FC Tucson’s Women’s team at just 16. She’s one of the youngest players on the team.
“This young lady is one of the best soccer players in all of Arizona,” head coach Brian Sheibels wrote to the Star when nominating Kidd. “She seems to be looked over due to the size of the school she plays for. Amelia would start, all four years, at any high school in the state. She deserves this kind of recognition.”
Sport(s): Soccer
GPA: 4.2
Future plans: Play collegiate soccer and possibly study biomedical engineering, physical therapy or sports journalism.
Amelia fun fact: She loves binging "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” “Dancing with the Stars” and “Stranger Things.”
Full story: tuc.life/amelia
SAHUARO HIGH SCHOOL
Cisco Llamas
Sahuaro High School varsity basketball player Cisco Llamas poses for a photo during the Aztec Holiday Classic at Pima Community College, Dec. 18, 2025.
Sahuaro senior Cisco Llamas will go down in Cougars history when he graduates this year. This season, the varsity basketball captain broke the school’s all-time career scoring record, finishing the season with 2,015 career points. At the time his story was published in December, he was at 1,700 points. He also logged 540 assists and 523 steals throughout his high school career. During his first three years with Sahuaro, Llamas led the Cougars to a 66-17 record. This season, he helped the team go 22-2 overall, including being undefeated in their region, as of press time.
“He's the hardest worker at the gym every day as our best player,” said Sahuaro head coach Jim Henry. “He's a great teammate. He's a humble individual. So even though he's one of the best players in town, he never lets people know it.”
Sport(s): Basketball
GPA: 3.6
Future plans: Play basketball at Pima Community College while studying to become a counselor.
Cisco fun fact: His all-time favorite basketball shoes are the Kyrie two lows.
Full story: tuc.life/cisco
SUNNYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
Israel Luquez Jr.
Israel Luquez Jr., a soccer player with Sunnyside High School, poses for a photo on the field at 1725 E. Bilby Road in Tucson on Dec. 23, 2025.
In the storied program of Sunnyside soccer, junior Israel Luquez Jr. is the latest great soccer player to emerge from Tucson’s south side. This season, he scored eight goals and averaged 2.4 points per game. During his first two years as a Blue Devil, he started on the varsity soccer team, which went 23-1-1 in his freshman year, and he was named to the All-6A South first team last year. With the help of Luquez, Sunnyside went 20-1-2 overall this winter, including a nine-game winning streak at the end of the season.
“Every game we've played in, I've had a college coach literally reach out to me the next day asking me, ‘Who is that kid?’ So, you kind of know you got something special when higher level coaches are always asking you about the same guy,” said Sunnyside head coach Casey O’Brien. “His passing ability is phenomenal and I think maybe the reason he's underrated is because a lot of people like stats.”
Sport(s): Soccer
GPA: N/A
Future plans: Attend college and play professional soccer.
Israel fun fact: He works with his father on the weekends, doing home renovations.
Full story: tuc.life/israel
PUEBLO HIGH SCHOOL
America Cazares
America Cazares, a senior varsity basketball player for Pueblo High School, poses for a portrait before the Warriors take on the Sunnyside Blue Devils in the Flowing Wells Holiday Shootout, Dec. 30, 2025.
Pueblo senior America Cazares could become the first girls basketball player in Arizona to reach 3,000 career points. Just exactly how close is she to breaking the record? As of press time, she has 2,865 career points, including 839 points this season alone. Even though the regular season just wrapped up this past week, Cazares could still reach or surpass the record during the state tournament. She’s currently averaging 33.6 points per game. As her high school basketball career comes to a close, she’s laser-focused on reaching her goal before graduating.
“I want to be up there,” Cazares told the Star earlier this year. “I want to be known for being up there, so I definitely want to score my 3,000.”
Sports(s): Basketball
GPA: N/A
Future plans: Play collegiate basketball at Pima Community College
America fun fact: She wears No. 3 because her dad also used to wear the number.
Full story: tuc.life/americacazares
IRONWOOD RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL
Lucas Anderson
Ironwood Ridge's Lucas Anderson poses for a photo before the Nighthawks game at Marana High School, Jan. 8, 2026, in Tucson.
Ironwood Ridge sophomore Lucas Anderson was born to play basketball. His parents played collegiate basketball, and all three of his older siblings play, too. Now, he’s using the skills he’s built up his whole life to make an impact on Ironwood Ridge’s basketball program. Anderson is on track this season to break the school’s career 3-pointer record of 113, which was set over 20 years ago. As of press time, Anderson has 109 3-pointers. By the time he graduates in a couple of years, he could pass Ironwood Ridge’s career points record of 932, too. He currently has 638 career points.
“It’s hard to put it in one word, but I think he’s such an extraordinary, great kid,” said Justin Coleman, Ironwood Ridge’s varsity boys basketball coach and former University of Arizona basketball player. “He does everything we ask him to do, which is hard work. He’s caring, compassionate and cares for others. He’s a big believer in serving people. … It’s been a honor to be able to coach such a skilled and talented kid.”
Sport(s): Basketball
GPA: 4.7
Future plans: Play collegiate basketball and eventually have a career in law enforcement.
Lucas fun fact: He collects sports trading cards and currently has over 2,000 cards in his collection.
Full story: tuc.life/lucasanderson
CIENEGA HIGH SCHOOL
Hazel Ramos
Cienega's Hazel Ramos poses for a photo ahead of the match against Pueblo High School, Jan. 14, 2026.
For Cienega senior Hazel Ramos, playing soccer is a family affair. She began playing soccer at just 3 years old, following in her older sisters’ footsteps. Last season with the Bobcats, she helped the team finish with an 11-1 record. This season, she’s earned spots on the 5A conference’s southern region leaderboard in points (No. 4), goals and assists (No. 6) and saves (No. 5). Ramos ended her high school soccer career with 34 goals and 31 assists for 99 points. After she graduates and heads to college, she will become the third sibling in her family to play collegiate soccer.
“We're very lucky to have been, I would say, a top 10 team in the last, at least six to seven years here at Cienega,” said Tony Torres, Cienega’s head girls soccer coach. “She's just another example of a player that is signed to play collegiately. That's what makes us different and special as a program, is that it's not just players that play soccer, it's players that play at the next level. So, she continues that legacy. That's kind of her culture, her work ethic. We have the word ‘grit’ on our shirts. When we're talking about grit, we're talking about playing beyond herself. And so that grit part, she's good, she works hard and she perseveres.”
Sport(s): Soccer
GPA: 4.0
Future plans: Play collegiate soccer and study engineering.
Hazel fun fact: She likes to listen to Spanish and Filipino music before a match.
Full story: tuc.life/hazel
THE GREGORY SCHOOL
Razin and Zena Smith
Zena Smith, left, and her twin brother Razin, inside the gymnasium at The Gregory School in Tucson on Jan. 12, 2026.
The Gregory School twins, Razin and Zena Smith, are putting their school’s basketball program on the 1A conference map. Razin Smith is the top rebounder in Southern Arizona, averaging 10.2 rebounds per game. He also leads the boys basketball team in points per game (14.3), assists (4.3) and blocks (1.5). His sister Zena leads on defense with The Gregory School’s girls basketball team and is the top player in the Hawks' 1-3-1 defense. She’s also helped mentor the team’s 11 freshmen who debuted this season.
“The energy they each bring to our campus, the classroom, the bus rides, to team meals, any environment they're in is brightened by their presence," said David Polett, The Gregory School’s girls basketball head coach. “Great players, but even better human beings. It's so great to have the both of them in our community and on the court.”
Sport(s): Basketball
GPAs: 3.9 (Razin), 3.7 (Zena)
Future plans: Razin wants to study psychology and business in college. Zena wants to major in business and potentially attend law school.
Razin fun fact: His favorite basketball players include James Harden and Caitlin Clark.
Zena fun fact: She’s one of 13 national student ambassadors for "The Chick Mission," a nonprofit and fundraiser to help raise awareness for women who have cancer and want to preserve their eggs.
Full story: tuc.life/razinzena
MARANA HIGH SCHOOL
Roxi Singer
Marana High School wrestler Roxi Singer poses for a photo before practice, Jan. 29.
Marana multi-sport athlete Roxi Singer only picked up wrestling a couple of years ago, but it’s quickly become one of her favorite sports. During her first year as a wrestler, she went 7-7, but fast forward to this season, and she finished with a 52-3 record. She’s also placed in numerous tournaments this season. In addition to wrestling, Singer is one of Marana’s elite flag football players. Last month, she was in Japan trying out for Japan’s national women’s flag football team. She hopes to earn a spot on the final roster and potentially compete in the 2028 Olympics.
“She is hard-driven. She wants to be coached. She is very coachable,” said girls wrestling and flag football head coach Shaun Lara. “When a lot of kids, doesn't matter their age, they come in and they don't want to be coached, they're quiet and they're just shy. She comes and asks those questions so she’s coachable, hard-driven and dedicated.”
Sport(s): Wrestling, flag football, track and field
GPA: 3.4
Future plans: Attend college and play sports, while working to get a spot on Japan’s national women’s flag football team.
Roxi fun fact: Her current hype song is “Brainstew” by Green Day.
Full story: tuc.life/roxi
PUEBLO HIGH SCHOOL
Jozeph Valenzuela Smith and Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith
Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith, left, and her brother, Jozeph Valenzuela Smith, smile for a portrait before an afternoon practice at Pueblo High School, Feb. 6, 2026.
We wrapped up our winter season High School Student-Athlete of the Week segment with local wrestling royalty: Jozeph and Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith, who are third-generation wrestlers to win state championships at Pueblo. Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith became the first female wrestler to win a state championship for Pueblo and the Tucson Unified School District in 2024. This year at the state tournament, she’s aiming to complete a “three-peat” and take home the championship title three years in a row. She has an overall 164-18 record.
As for Jozeph Valenzuela Smith, it only took him winning a few matches to know he wanted to wrestle for the rest of his life. He currently has an overall 198-108 record.
“It's awesome, because I get to coach my kids directly,” said Josiah Smith, Pueblo wrestling’s head coach and the siblings’ dad. “The stress level is always higher when it's your own kids, especially big matches. It's awesome. I've been fortunate to coach all three of my kids. It's been my best coaching experience.”
Sport(s): Wrestling
GPAs: 3.4 (Jozeph), 4.2 (Elizabeth)
Future plans: Jozeph wants to study cybersecurity in college. Elizabeth aspires to become a physical therapist.
Jozeph fun fact: He’s the best bowler in the family with a best round of 190.
Elizabeth fun fact: She's a longtime training partner with former Sunnyside star and four-time state champion Audrey Jimenez.
Full story: tuc.life/jozephelizabeth