High school football: Amphi's passing tourney sign of times

Amphitheater High School's football program has always been about running the ball.

High school Boys basketball: D'Amore loves opportunity

Doug D'Amore proved throughout a standout basketball career that he can score.

High school basketball: Pollins, new Tucson High coach, hints dynasty

Kevin Pollins has always considered Tucson High's basketball program a sleeping giant.

High school baseball: Tucson High's Alex Robles is the player of the year

Although Alex Robles might not have the same star status as Sahuaro junior Alex Verdugo, he was just as good and had even more of an impact on his team.

High school softball: Empire’s Kelsey Smith is player of the year

Kelsey Smith was dominant on both sides of the ball and was a big reason in why Empire made it to the Division III state semifinals for the first time.

High school boys tennis: Catalina Foothills’ Mike Lee is player of the year

When Mike Lee took the court this season, he didn’t have any sort of target on his back.

High school boys track & field: San Manuel’s Wayne Newman is athlete of the year

Even though Wayne Newman was competing at the Division IV level, his marks were among the best in the state.

High school girls track & field: Salpointe Catholic’s Alyssa Thompson is athlete of the year

This was a very simple choice. Alyssa Thompson capped off a stellar career at Salpointe winning four state titles as a senior.

High school girls tennis: Catalina Foothills sisters Rachana and Kirtana Bhat are players of the year

Rachana Bhat won back-to-back doubles titles, one singles title and helped lead Catalina Foothills to three team championships.

High school boys volleyball: Salpointe Catholic’s Jimmy Gehrels is player of the year

Even with an injury-shortened season, Jimmy Gehrels proved to be the best boys volleyball player in Southern Arizona this year by far.

High school baseball: Sahuaro's Verdugo to pitch at Wrigley

Sahuaro ace Alex Verdugo wants to get used to playing in big-league ballparks.

HS baseball: Sahuaro star Verdugo selected to Under Armour All-America Game

Sahuaro ace Alex Verdugo wants to get used to playing in big-league ballparks.

High school baseball: Sahuaro's Verdugo selected for All-American game

Sahuaro junior left hander Alex Verdugo was among three players to be added to the roster for the Under Armour All-American game Friday.

Tucson Padres: New approach benefits Anna's offense

Dean Anna has made 47 starts at three positions for the Tucson Padres this year.

High school basketball: Felix leaves Foothills, likely to join I-Ridge

Catalina Foothills boys basketball coach Mark Felix resigned earlier this week and has accepted an offer to coach at Ironwood Ridge, Foothills athletic director Jody Brase said.

High school basketball: Catalina Foothills' Felix steps down to take Ironwood Ridge coaching job

Catalina Foothills boys basketball coach Mark Felix resigned earlier this week after two seasons with the team and has accepted an offer to coach at Ironwood Ridge, according to Foothiils athletic director Jody Brase.

Tucson Elite Classic: Discus thrower breaks Ritchie's 32-year mark

Gia Lewis-Smallwood already had plenty of reasons to love the Tucson Elite Classic before Saturday.

Track and field: Lewis-Smallwood cranks out record discus throw at "favorite meet" Tucson Elite Classic

Gia Lewis-Smallwood already had plenty of reasons to love the Tucson Elite Classic before Saturday.

Daniel Gaona: High school triumphs put San Manuel over the top

For a few hours Saturday night, San Manuel may have been the happiest place in Arizona.

Tucson Elite Classic: Tucson Elite Classic: For 2 days, track takes a back seat to field events

Alyssa Hasslen is expecting to throw far at this weekend's Tucson Elite Classic.

High school softball: Sunrise Mountain 7, Ironwood Ridge 0: Title lost, but '14 bright

On StarNet: Catch up on all the spring high school sports action at:

High school softball: I-Ridge coach enjoys last year

Randy Anway has been the only coach for the Ironwood Ridge softball team and he's trying to lead the team to its first state title in his final game today.

Boys track and field: San Manuel's Newman exits as triple winner

MESA - San Manuel senior Wayne Newman might be from a small town, but in no way does he shy away from the big stage.

Girls track and field: Salpointe, Thompson dominate

MESA - Alyssa Thompson had a haunting experience at the state meet her sophomore year when she clipped her foot on a hurdle and fell.

Division III and IV state track and field: Boulger, Macdonald win individual titles

MESA - St. Gregory junior Stephanie Boulger couldn't stop smiling after she cleared 11 feet in the girls pole vault Friday at the Division IV state championship meet.

State baseball: Scottsdale Desert Mountain 5, Tucson 4: Badgers fall to losers bracket

TEMPE - The message after Tucson High lost to top-seeded Scottsdale Desert Mountain 5-4 at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Thursday night was loud and clear.

High school track and field: Foothills boys take 3,200 relay again

MESA - The Catalina Foothills boys 3,200-meter relay team began the Division II state championship meet Wednesday tied for the No. 12 seed time and far from a favorite to win.

High school baseball: Sahuaro 4, Nogales 3: Cougars survive on a wing and a big hit

Verdugo strikes out 18 before Sanchez wins it in 7th with RBI single

High school track and field: Trio hope to lead Salpointe girls to repeat

Salpointe Catholic's Alyssa Thompson knows her high school track career will come to an end Saturday night.

Pick of the Preps: Spring sports near finales

With tennis over, baseball, softball, boys volleyball and track are the only spring sports left in this final full week of high school sports.

State baseball: Ironwood Ridge 13, Nogales 3, 5 innings: Nighthawks just 1 win from title game

GLENDALE - With one swing of that bat, senior Devin Harrison put Ironwood Ridge one win away from a trip to the Division II state championship game.

State tennis: I-Ridge aiming for another state sweep

GLENDALE - After Ironwood Ridge's boys tennis team lost to Catalina Foothills 6-3 to start the season, Nighthawks coach Ryan Bais thought changing up his doubles lineup would lead to a win over the Falcons.

State baseball: Malis leads Desert Christian; Pusch Ridge, Empire advance

GOODYEAR - Desert Christian lost its state tournament opener last season with freshman Zach Malis on the mound.

state Baseball: Tucson 6, Scottsdale Chaparral 1: Tucson turns up heat late, beats Chaparral

PHOENIX - Tucson High School had no hits all night. Not one. Zero through the first four innings.

Baseball: Sunnyslope 8, Sahuaro 5: Cougars can't climb out of early hole

GLENDALE - Sahuaro scored four times in the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday, but it was too late to overcome an early seven-run deficit against Phoenix Sunnyslope.

Division II state softball: Phoenix Greenway 4, Canyon del Oro 0: Déjà vu: Dorados in elimination bracket

PHOENIX - Canyon del Oro's softball team has been in this position before and coach Stephanie Nicholson can only hope her team can handle it again.

High school state tournaments: Verdugo shines on both sides of plate to lead Cougars

Sahuaro junior sensation Alex Verdugo struck out 10 batters and drove in three runs as the fourth-seeded Cougars beat Catalina Foothills 10-0 in five innings.

High school state tournaments: Badgers look for first baseball title since '88

Longtime Tucson High baseball coach Oscar Romero has had a lot of special teams.

High school state tournaments: Plenty of action to catch Tuesday

Today is a quiet day in prep sports with just a few volleyball games going on around town.

Pick of the Preps: State tournaments heat up in baseball, softball, tennis

Southern Arizona crowned four state champions on Saturday at the individual tennis tournament, and that was just the beginning.

High school track and field: Win or lose, CDO's Doucet happy to be running track

Canyon del Oro sophomore Bridgette Doucet finished second at the Division II girls cross country meet in the fall and has a very good chance at winning her first state title in two weeks at the state track meet.

High school baseball and softball: Updated state tournament schedule

Division I and II baseball and softball teams kick of the state tournament on Saturday morning and Division III and IV team will join the action next week.

High school tennis: 'Administrative error' results in Douglas forfeits

Douglas Unified School District superintendent Sheila Rodgers confirmed Friday that an "administrative error" caused both Douglas High School tennis teams to forfeit their first-round state tournament matches.

Tucson Padres: Bonine tries to knuckle down

When Pat Murphy was at Arizona State, he recruited a Glendale Community College pitcher named Eddie Bonine.

Tucson Padres: Bonine tries to knuckle down

When Pat Murphy was at Arizona State, he recruited a Glendale Community College pitcher named Eddie Bonine.

Pick of the Preps: Tennis just a slice of events this week

Tennis might take center stage Saturday when it crowns the first state champions of the season, but it surely isn't the only thing going on.

Baseball: Cienega 10, Sabino 3: Bobcats stay on roll as postseason nears

Cienega left-hander Jake Repavich pitched a complete-game gem Thursday afternoon, leading the Bobcats to their fifth straight win, but he wasn't celebrating or talking about the upcoming state tournament.

HIgh school signings: Cougars honor college-bound athletes

Sahuaro held a signing ceremony Wednesday afternoon for eight athletes going on to play in college.

High school baseball: Robles signs with Austin Peay

After signing his letter of intent in front of around 20 relatives and friends Wednesday morning, Alex Robles had a strange question about the cake he was asked to cut.