For months, people around the globe have been looking forward to seeing Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 turn into Friday Jan. 1, 2021, and putting 2020 in the rear view mirror. The reality is, though, that 2020 will not be forgotten any time soon. And while there are plenty of negative reasons that 2020 will be remembered forever, the year did give us some positives, including in sports.
We maybe didn’t get as many sporting events as usual, but even in abbreviated form, 2020 gave us plenty of memories on the athletic field.
Zoey Arwine’s Big Day
On Feb. 15, then Mingus senior Zoey Arwine got to know the route from Cottonwood to Prescott Valley and back quite well.
That morning, she traveled to the Findlay Toyota Center for the state wrestling semifinals, where she won her match to earn a spot in the finals which would be held that evening. In the afternoon, she was back in Cottonwood, playing goalkeeper for the Marauders girls’ soccer team in its 2-1 overtime win over Thunderbird during the first round of the playoffs. Immediately after, she was back on the road to Prescott for the wrestling finals, where she lost.
While still relatively new to the sport, Arwine is not done with wrestling. In May, she committed to wrestle at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.
Six Marauder Wrestlers Place at State
Arwine was far from the only Mingus wrestler to have a successful state tournament. Her teammate on the girls’ side, Caylee Townsend, placed sixth at state. On the boys’ side, Ryan Griffin finished third, Isaac McKeen finished fourth and Keene Todacheene was fifth.
No Marauder grappler was more successful than Conrad Brady, who finished the state meet atop the podium, notching a first place finish and winning a state championship.
Cowboys Reach Basketball Quarterfinals
After a disappointing postseason in 2019, Camp Verde’s boys basketball team entered the 2019-20 basketball season hoping to make a big impression. The Cowboys did just that. Behind 2A Central Region Player of the Year and 2A Conference First Team player Jason Collier, Camp Verde won a region championship and went to the 2A state finals as the No. 7 seed. In the first round, the Cowboys routed No. 10 St. Augustine 70-44 to set up a game with Scottsdale Christian, which Camp Verde lost.
Collier, Chino Salas-Zorrilla, Cristoph Castro, Mason Rayburn and Coke Bast all earned recognition for their play at the end of the season. And while Collier and Bast have graduated, the others are all back on the floor for the Cowboys this season.
Camp Verde Girls Narrowly Miss State Title
As good as the boys basketball season was at Camp Verde, the girls’ season went even better. Led by seniors Jacy Finley, Tanna Decker and Amanda Lozanilla, the Cowboys cruised through the regular season to earn the top seed in the 2A state playoff tournament.
After soundly defeating Round Valley 56-40 in the first round, Camp Verde edged Pima 46-43 and defeated Valley [Sanders] 56-49 in overtime to reach the state final against Thatcher. There, the Cowboys fell just short, losing 51-50 to the Eagles.
Finley was named the 2A Player of the Year, Decker received All 2A Second-Team honors while Lozanilla was named all 2A Honorable Mention. Finley was also the Player of the Year in the 2A Central Region while Decker was the 2A Central Region Offensive Player of the Year. Lozanilla and sophomore Shelly Warfield were both all 2A Central Region First Team while another senior, Lauren Ontiveros, was 2A Central Region Second Team.
Marauders Tap Doug Provenzano to Lead Football
Coming off of an 0-10 season in 2019, the Mingus football program needed some work. But as 2020 began, who would guide the program going forward was not known. In March, it hired Doug Provenzano — who has a history of overseeing turnarounds on the gridiron — as the program’s new head coach.
Spring Sports Halted
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arizona Interscholastic Association postponed all winter sports on March 16.
While it was only a postponement at the time, high school sports under the AIA’s watch would not resume until September.
Marauders and Cowboys Make Way for College
The Classes of 2020 at both Mingus and Camp Verde will be represented at the college level.
Marauders continuing their sports in college include Arwine, volleyball player Jenna Mahon [Grand Canyon University], swimmer Emma Warner [Northern Arizona University], soccer player Felicia Bueno [Northwestern Oklahoma State University] softball player Dylan Sweeney [Wayne State College] and baseball player Peter Calandra [Atlantic Cape Community College]. Class of 2021 volleyball player Sadie Backus [Yavapai College] has already signed her Letter of Intent, as well.
As far as Camp Verde’s Class of 2020, Collier [Graceland University] and Decker [Vanguard University] both committed to play college basketball while Kelton O’Grady [Eureka College] did the same in baseball. Finley [Trinidad Junior College] meanwhile, will play both basketball and softball in college.
High School Sports Return
After the spring sports season was canceled, the fate of fall sports spent much of the summer in a state of limbo. But on Aug. 5, the AIA announced the schedule for the fall season. Restrictions were aplenty and some schools played games without any fans. Despite the challenges and the different feel at some events, the fall sports season went on as scheduled, although some events were canceled due to COVID-19 related reasons.
Cowboys Soccer Gets Back to Postseason
Camp Verde High School has grown used to seeing its soccer teams have good regular seasons and making the playoffs. In 2020, the Cowboys did not disappoint on the pitch.
Camp Verde finished the season at 7-3-1. The draw came against Sedona Red Rock High School in the first soccer game between the two schools in more than a decade. Overtime was originally in the cards but when the lights at Camp Verde’s stadium went out right before overtime was set to start, the game was called.
The Cowboys season ended with a 4-0 loss to Snowflake in the state playoffs.
Marauders Football gets Monkey Off Their Backs
When Mingus’ football team lost 7-0 to Flagstaff in the 2020 fall season opener, it was clear that the Marauders were better than the year before. But Mingus was still left looking for the team’s first win since 2018. One week later it came when Mingus hosted Mohave on Oct. 9. The Marauders pounced on the visiting Thunderbirds early and often, opening up a 35-0 lead after the first quarter and winning 69-0.
Following the winless season in 2019, it was the first varsity win for many of the Mingus players. For some of them, it was their first high school win at any level. While usually competitive in their remaining games, the blowout win over Mohave ended up being Mingus’ only win on the Gridiron in 2020. Fortunately for the Marauders, they got to play their entire schedule. That was not the case for all teams in the fall.
COVID Shortens Cowboys Fall Season
Even as fall sports returned, the schedules were all considered tentative as COVID-19 outbreaks at different schools caused games to be postponed or canceled. The schedules for Camp Verde’s teams were altered and ultimately shortened.
COVID-19 outbreaks at opposing schools led to midseason volleyball and football games getting canceled. Then, following positive tests and exposures at Camp Verde, the Cowboys were forced to bring an early end to the volleyball and football seasons.
Winter Sports Delayed to 2021
Even with fall sports starting later than usual, winter sports were originally slated to get underway in late-November or early-December. But as the fall progressed and Arizona’s COVID-19 numbers spiked, that became less likely. On Nov. 19, it was announced that the winter sports season would not begin until Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 at the latest. Then, on Dec, 18, that start date was pushed back to Monday, Jan. 18, 2021.
