Photos by Roundup Staff — Various student athletes compete in Brophy sports.
By Henry Erlandson ’16 and Andrew Howard ’17
THE ROUNDUP
Varsity sport teams capped off a year of mixed results, featuring successes from cross country, swim and golf.
Some teams fell short of their expectations while others found ways to exceed them.
Cross country
The Brophy runners brought home a Division 1 state cross country runner-up title Nov. 8 at the Cave Creek Golf Course.
“The goal of this cross country season is to have as many athletes out here as possible, to compete with our competition around the state, and to get in the top three of the state of Arizona,” said coach Mr. Mike Keahon ’73 in a Roundup interview.
With over 106 teams competing in all classes, the Broncos were 2nd place in total team time. Last season the runners ended up in 9th place.
The team’s top finishers were Luke Mason ’17, who finished 3rd, Drew Burns ’18, who finished 4th, and Hociel Landa ’17, who finished 9th.
The coaching staff included running veterans Mr. Andy Schmidbauer ’88 and Mr. Steve Smith ’96, along with newcomers Mr. Oscar Borboa and Mrs. Karen Parise, the team’s first female coach.
Football
This year the football team went 7-5.
Quarterback Cade Knox ’16 led the team in passing yards, and Ryan Velez ’16 led the team in rushing.
The team lost to Mountain Pointe in the state quarterfinals. The football team last won a state championship in 2007.
Golf
Coming off last season’s loss resulting in 3rd place finish at state, the golf team looked to have a more successful season and finished 2nd in the state tournament this season.
“We have a lot of talented freshman who will compete to play this year. The team will be in good shape even after our seniors leave this year,” Chip Getz ’16 said in an interview with The Roundup.
Mr. Jon Shores coached the team and had four returning seniors competing as well as a large class of freshmen.
Swim
Swim won their 28th straight state championship this year led by juniors Jack Blake ’17 and Sean Gage ’17.
Basketball
Brophy finished the regular season with a 13-13 record and headed into the playoffs after losing last year to Westview.
This year’s team only had three seniors, Bo Brunkhorst ’16, Carter Beaulieu ’16 and Mike Feeney ’16.
Junior Matt Kempton ’17 led the team in scoring and coach Mr. Matt Hooten wrapped up his first season coaching the varsity team.
The team lost in the 1st round of the playoffs to Mountain Pointe, marking the second time in two years the team has lost in the first round.
Wrestling
The varsity wrestling team grabbed the first place spot in the Division 1 Wrestling Championships at Boulder Creek High School Feb. 6 and had two wrestlers place fifth in the state tournament.
“Coach (Mr. Wayne) Catan focused heavily on getting the team into shape and it showed during the matches,” said Brogan Smith ’18. “We were more athletic than a majority of the other teams, and as the match wore on our grapplers kept fighting while their opponents tuckered out.”
Captains Val Hernandez ’16 and Anthony Brady ’16 earned all-state honors competing in the semi-finals of the state championship in Prescott.
Mr. Catan finished up his first year of coaching at Brophy and said he looks forward to getting right back to work soon with off-season tournaments in the freestyle and spring seasons.
Soccer
This year’s team was without a plethora of players that graduated last year, most of which started for the team.
“Our game plan this year is getting a younger group of guys together and familiar with one another,” Mr. Noah Lewkowitz ’98 said. “Younger teams are exciting teams. You never know what you’re going to get.”
To help with the adjustments of a more underclassmen-centric team, Mr. Lewkowitz had four assistant coaches, three of which were voluntary Brophy soccer alumni.
The team finished above all other teams in Arizona in scoring, led by Carter Clemmensen ’18’s 27 goals.
The team went into the state tournament as the one seed with a 12-5-3 record but lost to 16th-seed Desert Vista in a penalty shootout at home Feb. 3.
Hockey
The hockey team did not win a game this season, finishing at 0-20-0.
Senior captain Jared Kleiner ’16 led the team in scoring.
Crew
The crew team competed at the Long Beach Invitational Regatta and featured strong finishes from Costa Theodore ’16, Jon Carr ’17, Kade Hawkins ’17 and Michael Darby ’16, who all took gold in the competitive men’s varsity quad (4x) event, according to the team’s Facebook page.
Coach Mr. Bill Weirich leads the team through the fall and the spring seasons.
Baseball
The team is 10-10 as of April 11th, with eight games left before the state tournament. If their record improves, they could clinch a first round bye in the state tournament.
“Chad McClanahan has been having a remarkable year at the plate and in the field, and our lineup is largely centered around his ability to drive in runs,” said pitcher Wyatt Maus ’17. “On the mound, Jeff Rula has been showing the way for the underclassmen pitchers with some spectacular performances.”
Volleyball
At The Roundup’s print deadline, the Volleyball team is 16-17-1 including tournament play.
The team placed second in the Vegas tournament they compete in every ear.
Track and Field
This season has been full of success for the team with wins at the Fr. Olivier Invitational, the North Canyon Rattler Booster Invite, and a 3rd place finish at the AMDG Invitational.
The freshmen 4 x 400m relay set a record at the Becky Matthew Invitational, and the runners were John Anthony Gonzales, Charles Gbekia, Izak Wall and Elisha Brooks.
Lacrosse
So far this season, the lacrosse team’s record is 5-3 in state and is looking to get the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Alex paul ’16, Joe Ducey ’17 and Pat McNeil ’17 lead the team in scoring.
