Phoenix Thunderbird sophomore
Marcus Wheeler was named the Class 4A-II Black Canyon Region Player of the Year in basketball. He may add another award to the trophy case.
The Chiefs’ third baseman came into the week hitting .661 (39 for 59) with 15 doubles and 27 RBI. Not bad, considering he only had a week of practice after basketball season ended.
Other top storylines
2. Two titles: Fresh off a strong performance in a California tournament last month, Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.) won the Brophy Prep boys volleyball tournament with a championship match victory over arch-town rival Gilbert 25-10, 25-17. Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale) won its own tournament with a victory over Mesa in the title match.
3. Coach dies: Longtime girls basketball coach Mike Hassel, who spent the past two seasons at Phoenix Central, died in his sleep last week. He was 59. The cause of death is unknown. Hassel won more than 400 games as the girls basketball coach at Phoenix Trevor Browne, where he taught for 25 years.
4. Falcons soaring: Catalina Foothills (Tucson) won its 11th straight girls tennis match with a 9-0 win over host Sabino (Tucson). Catalina Foothills has won 9 of the past 10 state championships at the 4A or 4A-I level. The Falcons' last loss was March 4 in a 5-4 decision to defending 5A-I state champ, Salpointe Catholic (Tucson).
5. Sweet 16: The Chandler softball team scored 16 runs in the bottom of the third inning to beat Marcos de Niza (Tempe) last week. Chandler athletic director Dave Shapiro believes that is a school record for runs scored in an inning. Just as odd, the 16 runs were the only runs scored in the game, a 16-0 Chandler win. Chandler was aided by 10 walks (six straight), three singles, a double, a triple, a sac bunt and one error.
The Fab 5
1. Hannah Carson, Chandler, Jr.: Won two events in two states on the same day. After winning the shot put at the Arcadia Invitational in California with a throw of 42 feet, 10 inches, Carson drove back to Tempe for the Sun Angel Track Classic at Arizona State University and won the women's open/collegiate javelin with a throw of almost 51 meters.
2. Cole Gleason, Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), Jr., 3B: Went 3 for 5, with a double, a home run and five RBI in a win over Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.). Gleason, who leads the state in homers with 14, is also hitting .543 with 42 RBI in 70 at-bats. He was named the National Performer of the Week by MaxPreps and is second in the nation in homers.
3. Robert Esser, Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.), Sr., S: Named Most Outstanding Player in the Brophy Prep boys volleyball tournament.
4. Kristy Rush, Gilbert Highland, Fr.: Qualified for state with a 5:06.85 time in the 1,600 meters, and broke the meet record by more than two seconds at the Angel Track Classic.
5. Steven Kane, Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), Jr., P: Pitched a complete-game shutout against Glendale Copper Canyon to lower his season ERA to 1.09. Kane had eight strikeouts while snapping Copper Canyon’s seven-game win streak.
Recruiting news
The Arizona Republic reports that brothers Todd Peat and Andrus Peat of Corona del Sol (Tempe) both received football scholarship offers from Washington. Andrus, a 6-foot-6, 270- pound offensive tackle, is a sophomore. Todd, a 6-3, 295-pound junior defensive tackle, said Stanford is the frontrunner, followed by Arizona State and Nebraska. He's got offers from all of those schools. … Also from the Republic, Gilbert Perry defensive lineman Mo Latu, a first-team Class 5A All-East Valley Region performer last season as a junior, said that he has offers from ASU and Colorado State. Latu is 6-foot-3, 305 pounds. … Mountain View (Mesa, Ariz.) junior defensive end Sam Kamp has committed to play at Oregon.
On deck
The Class 5A team tennis state championships begin Monday at the site of the higher seed.
Craig’s cranium
A native son could be coming home.
Former Mesa High basketball standout Aaron Fuller is transferring from Iowa and has a long list of schools after him, including schools in the Pac-10, Big East and Big 12. Fuller averaged 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds this season as a starter for Iowa, but decided to transfer when coach Todd Lickliter was fired. Mesa coach Shane Burcar said Fuller would like to play in the Pac-10, and that Arizona State is a team in which Fuller is definitely interested. There is no timetable for Fuller’s decision. He will have to sit out next season, per NCAA rules, but he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals and other local teams. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craig@thewordsmithonline.com.
