Meet the Arizona Daily Star’s 11 spring High School Student-Athletes of the Week

Since launching last fall, the Arizona Daily Star has highlighted 30 high school student-athletes across Southern Arizona in our newest weekly segment: HS Student-Athlete of the Week. We’re wrapping up the academic year with a recap of our spring student-athletes so you can read about their athletic journeys and accomplishments in one place.

Read about these future college athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, nurses and more, below.

Don't forget to answer our polls below on your favorite Star Student-Athlete of the Week for each season! Winners of the polls will be recognized in an upcoming story.

Amelia Streuber and Molly Herman, Canyon del Oro High School

We started spring strong with two HS Student-Athletes of the Week to kick off the semester. Amelia Streuber and Molly Herman are varsity softball players at Canyon del Oro who contributed to the team going undefeated, 18-0, this season. The two have played softball together since they were kids, but will spend time apart for the first time in nearly a decade when they go to Div. I universities this fall. Streuber will attend Oregon State, and Herman will attend Miami (Ohio).

“It's what they've wanted since about seventh grade,” CDO head coach Kelly Fowler said. “And, we made little goals along the way to keep that golden carrot moving in front of them, because it's easy to have setbacks. And 2020 was definitely a setback and we just kept moving through it and said, ‘Hey, one day we're gonna get out of this, this is not gonna wreck our future. Just keep moving.’ So, we’ve just moved through it.”

Sport(s): Softball

GPA: 4.6 (Streuber), 4.0 (Herman)

Future plans: Streuber plans to become a physical therapist. Herman wants to become a pathologist or an anesthesiologist.

Amelia fun fact: She and her family were stuck in Corvallis for an extra five days after her official Oregon State visit due to a snowstorm that hit the area. The moment was a sign to her that she should commit to the school.

Molly fun fact: Molly rocks her “lucky pink bracelet” every single day. She found it in the ocean in Rocky Point when she was in third grade, and she’s worn it ever since.

Full story: tuc.life/ameliamolly

Ivan Higuera, Douglas High School

Jose “Ivan” Higuera is an all-around athlete for the Douglas Bulldogs. In the fall, he quarterbacks the football team and, in the spring, he plays baseball. The junior had 42 stolen bases this season, landing him at the No. 42 spot in the state for the stat. Baseball comes naturally for Higuera, whose dad also played for Douglas and eventually went on to play at Nicholls State. In his spare time, he helps out with Douglas football camps.

“He never gets overexcited or worked up,” Douglas head football coach Hunter Long said. “He never gets down on himself and his teammates. He’s always trying to keep them up and the team feeds off his confidence. He’s one of those guys that everybody just likes to be around. He’s one of those where you love to have on your team but you hate to go against him.”

Sport(s): Baseball, football

GPA: 3.5

Future plans: Play college baseball

Ivan fun fact: He emulates his skillset after former Boston Red Sox star shortstop Dustin Pedroia.

Full story: tuc.life/ivan

Lourdes Gamez, St. Augustine Catholic High School

Lourdes Gamez is a star multi-sport athlete from St. Augustine Catholic. Throughout her high school career, she’s played softball, basketball and volleyball. But, there’s something about softball that just stands out to her. Part of that comes from her family’s successful athletic legacy in Tucson. Her father, Francisco Gamez, is the founder and partner of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta and he played 10 years in the Mexican Pacific League. Her current head coach, Bill Moten, says that she has a college arm and can see her playing softball at the next level.

“This year, I would be surprised if she didn’t become the female athlete of a year because of what she’s accomplished, if you look at playing volleyball, playing basketball and being All-Region and then here, if she does the same, but she comes from a long line of great athletes,” Moten said.

Sport(s): Softball, basketball and volleyball

Future plans: Continue her athletic journey at a Catholic college, like College of the Holy Cross.

Lourdes fun fact: She plays shortstop, catcher and pitcher.

Full story: tuc.life/lourdes

Milo Mandolini, Sabino High School

Milo Mandolini is a sophomore and varsity track and field runner at Sabino. He took home three first-place spots at a few invitationals in March. In addition to being a star track and field athlete, he’s also musically talented and plays the saxophone, clarinet, trombone, trumpet and tuba. Mandolini is a part of one of the nation’s most prestigious high school music groups — the Tucson Jazz Institute’s Ellington Big Band.

“He’s driven, I mean, he’s just so good at setting goals in a way that I’ve never really experienced with an athlete I’ve coached,” said Sabino track and field head coach Grace Parker. “He’ll turn up to the meet one morning and he’s like, ‘Coach, I’m gonna run a 1:56 today.’ And then he goes out and does it. And obviously, it comes from the training and it comes from just being really confident in yourself and your abilities and trusting your training, as well, but I think he’s really driven to achieve his goals.”

Sport(s): Track and field

GPA: 4.0

Future plans: Continue running, hopefully for Stanford or Wake Forest, in college.

Milo fun fact: He was adopted from Ethiopia when he was 13 months old.

Full story: tuc.life/milo

Timothy Tran, Rincon/University High School

Rincon/University senior Timothy Tran stepped up for his team when the school got a new boys volleyball coach this semester. He helped new Rincon/University coach Sean Haynes get acclimated with his new team by having helpful conversations about strategies and utilizing the team’s strengths. Tran even bought Rincon/University-branded polo shirts for all his teammates. The volleyball player is USC-bound after graduating this spring.

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“He came to me early on when we were deciding what offense to run and stuff like that and he would be like ‘Coach, I think we should do it this way’ and debate it out and just have a really good conversation,” Haynes said. “And I said, ‘Thank you for talking to me and willing to be brave enough to come to your coach and say, hey, I disagree with you,’ but have that conversation in a way that’s respectful and we could dialogue back and forth. … It was just really neat to see him stand up for himself and his team, but in a way that was just respectable.”

Sport(s): Volleyball

GPA: 4.4

Future plans: Study business administration at USC and launch his own startup business or work in investment banking.

Timothy fun fact: He enjoys making Fortnite content for social media in his free time.

Full story: tuc.life/timothy

Jordan Crawford, Canyon del Oro High School

Canyon del Oro senior Jordan Crawford may have gotten a late start in her tennis journey, but she’s never viewed that as a disadvantage. Instead, the late start helped preserve her passion for the sport. Crawford and the Dorados went 9-1 in their division, with an overall record of 13-1, this season. CDO girls tennis head coach Linda Lucas says that Crawford has gone above and beyond throughout her time with the program, including helping with team warm-ups and even staying behind to help her lock up the courts.

“I feel like she’s my student-athlete of the week every week,” Lucas said. “We just really appreciate all she does for the team, all the assistance she gives the coaching staff and how much she helps out.”

Sport(s): Tennis

GPA: 3.8

Future plans: Attend the University of Oregon and study psychology with a focus on family and human services. She hopes to become a counselor.

Jordan fun fact: She regularly volunteers at a local retirement home, often calling bingo. Her favorite part of volunteering is hearing stories from the elderly.

Full story: tuc.life/jordan

Claire Achilles, Tanque Verde High School

Tanque Verde sophomore pitcher Claire Achilles was behind one of the season’s biggest upsets when the Hawks defeated the Empire Ravens, who were on a 39-game winning streak. Before Tanque Verde took on Empire, Achilles led the 3A Conference with a 0.67 ERA. She was tied for third in wins (12), ranked fifth in strikeouts (145) and was tied for fourth in home runs (nine).

“She’s the total package,” Tanque Verde coach Mark Stevens said. “She’s the heart of this team.”

Sport(s): Softball

Future plans: Await college offers this fall

Claire fun fact: Her workout playlist includes ‘90s rap music from artists like Tupac and Jay-Z.

Full story: tuc.life/claire

Kendall Freidinger, Empire High School

Empire softball ace Kendall Freidinger helped take the program to new heights during her time with the Ravens. With Freidinger in tow, the team went on a 39-game win streak and won the 3A state championship back-to-back in 2024 and 2025. As of the beginning of the month, she had a 1.40 ERA and landed at the No. 52 spot on national leaderboards for strikeouts (236). She’s also No. 59 in the nation for wins (18). She’ll play softball for Weber State this fall.

Sport(s): Softball

GPA: 4.45

Future plans: Attend Weber State to study health administration with a minor in psychological studies. She plans to become a labor and delivery nurse.

Kendall fun fact: She drinks a coconut Red Bull before every game.

Full story: tuc.life/kendall

Austin Cohen, Catalina Foothills High School

With a little help from senior Austin Cohen, Catalina Foothills won this season's Div. II boys team tennis championship. Cohen has a 41-0 overall record and played in 800 matches before getting to Foothills. Currently, he's the top-rated player in Arizona and the 65th-best player nationally for the 2025 recruiting class.

Aciel Guillen, Salpointe Catholic High School

Salpointe's Aciel Guillen had the school's top batting average (.467) this season with a minimum of 15 at-bats. Guillen also has the best slugging percentage (.750) and on-base percentage (.553) at Salpointe. Guillen was one of 13 seniors who helped the Lancers snag their second state championship title in program history on May 19. Before his time with Salpointe, Guillen was one of the players on the Sunnyside Little League team that went to the Little League Western Regional Tournament in 2019 and nearly went to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series.

“With natural maturation, he’s gotten a lot stronger and can beat people at Hi Corbett,” Salpointe head coach Danny Preble said. “His biggest improvement has been the mental side. There would be stretches where he would struggle as a freshman and sophomore, then he would go into the tank and his struggles would be amplified. Now, he learned from it.”

Sport(s): Baseball

Future plans: Play baseball for Pima Community College and study mechanical engineering.

Aciel fun fact: Javier Baez is one of his favorite baseball players.

Full story: tuc.life/aciel