Scouting Report: Salpointe Catholic

Over the past year, the Salpointe Catholic Lady Lancers secured a D3 Runner-Up State Title in Track and Field and another D3 State Title in Cross-Country. This season, the Lancers return with Cyanna Lavetter (Sr.) as a State Champion, and with Annie Kosinski (Sr.) who finished runner-up in both of the hurdles. Not to mention, Zoey Delgado (Jr.) who has run 5:19 for 1600m and finished 3rd at the AIA Cross-Country State Championships.

Meanwhile the Salpointe Catholic boys placed 11th at the AIA State Meet last year. They've lost several Seniors including Andy Ference, Myles Hamlett, and Russell Perez. However, they do return Seniors Wilbert Esquivel and Harry Montoya, both of whom could medal at the State Meet.

The Lancers will open their season with a tri-meet against Empire and Flowing Wells next week and their first invitational is set for the Desert Tune-Up at Marana Mountain View on March 9th.

Annie Kosinski (hurdles, long jump. pole vault, heptathlon)

Eleanor Tuck (discus, long jump, heptathlon)

Cyanna Lavetter (100, 200, relays), Darian Taylor (100, 200), Tayler Thomas (400, 800)

Zoey Delgado (distance), Lexi Lambert (distance)

Wilbert Esquivel (distance), Juan Hernandez (distance), Benji Thomas (distance)

Harry Montoya (throws)

Michael Montgomery (pole vault, decathlon)

Paris Mikinski (Fr., hurdlles, jumps), Anaelle DePoint (Fr., distance)

Samantha Del Valle (So. Transfer; hurdles), Laurel Froehlich (So. Transfer; distance)

Jacob Reyna (Fr., sprints, jumps), Ethan Mobley (Fr., hurdles), Wyatt Preble (Fr., distance)

David Cordero (So. Transfer; sprints, long jump)

All of our invitationals are important to us because we see each one as an opportunity to get state- qualifying marks. Chandler Rotary, because of the great competition, always produces some great marks for us and it is at a good time of the season when we are starting to get into competitive shape.

Prior to the official starting date of Feb 4, we had a number of athletes who were not competing in a winter sport working out regularly through Dec and Jan. Now that we have started, our workouts are going strong. We have a combined boys and girls' team of 97 athletes with 20 returning seniors and many newcomers.

What's the most important thing you want young people to learn through running/track and field? Resilience, grit, teamwork, goal-setting, taking risks, learning from mistakes/failure, and the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Winning a state championship is always a goal but the points stated above are always paramount and lead to a championship season.