by Tyler Killian - Feb. 16, 2012 01:20 PM
The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com
| THE QUESTION:
Which school had the best high school wrestling team in Arizona during the 2011-12 season?
Someone else.
22.86%
Chandler.
20.00%
St. Johns.
17.14%
Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge.
8.57%
Phoenix Horizon.
7.62%
Tempe Marcos de Niza.
6.67%
Yuma Cibola.
4.76%
Phoenix Thunderbird.
3.81%
Tucson Sunnyside.
3.81%
Phoenix Desert Vista.
2.86%
Yuma Gila Ridge.
1.90%
|
No. 9 Phoenix Horizon: Two individual champions and three third-place finishers propelled Horizon to a fourth-place finish at the Division I state tournament, only nine points off team champion Chandler's pace.
No. 8 Tucson Sunnyside: It was a bumpy ride this year for Sunnyside and first-year coach Anthony Leon, finishing third at the Flowing Wells Invitational in January and ending its 14-year streak of team titles at the state tournament. But give Leon time to establish his identity and Sunnyside should recover quickly.
No. 7 St. Johns: It wrestled in the smallest division, but recognition has to be given for the way it completely manhandled the competition in Division IV, winning the state team title by 67 points. Congratulations also go out to four-time state champ Ryder Nielsen.
No. 6 Phoenix Desert Vista: Thought to have the best chance to dethrone Sunnyside before the state tournament, DV did in fact finish higher in the Division I standings. It just couldn't beat out Chandler and Cibola as well, as three individual champions led it to a third-place finish.
No. 5 Yuma Gila Ridge: Despite not having an individual champion at the state tournament, Gila Ridge had a wrestler place in nearly every weight class (two runners-up, five third-place finishers), contributing to the team's runner-up showing in Division II.
No. 4 Phoenix Thunderbird: Overlooked throughout the year after losing seven of its top wrestlers from last season, Thunderbird roared back at state to defend its Division III team title. With four state titles and four runners-up in the last eight years, coach Steve Linsacum's group may have succeeded Sunnyside as Arizona's next wrestling dynasty.
No. 3 Yuma Cibola: This was the year of "almost" for Cibola, coming in second at Flowing Wells and narrowly missing out on the Division I state team title by 1.5 points to Chandler. But its consistency and strong showing at state were impressive nonetheless.
No. 2 Chandler: Led by three-time state champ Dalton Brady, Chandler came together at the right time to nab the Division I team title, putting in an impressive final day of wrestling that included two individual champions and one runner-up.
No. 1 Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge: A win at Flowing Wells got the team moving in the right direction and set the stage for it to blow away the competition at the state tournament. It had three individual champions and defended its Division II team title easily, winning by 54.5 points.
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