Swim and Dive
From Nov. 7-8, PCDS hosted the AIA Division III Swim and Dive State Championships at the Dady Aquatics Center, and once again brought home hardware. The girls’ team captured the state title, finishing first overall with 276 points, edging out ALA Gilbert North (263.5) and Notre Dame Prep (242.5). The boys’ team finished eighth overall with 167 points, rounding out a strong showing for the PCDS aquatics program.
Leading the way for the girls on the swim side was junior Olivia Singer, who won the 50-yard freestyle and set a school record in the event of 23.57 seconds. She also placed second in the 100 freestyle with a strong time of 51.80 seconds. Senior Nancy Burns stood out as well in her final high school meet, finishing sixth in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 100 freestyle. The girls’ 200 medley relay of Singer, Burns, freshman Alex Rosetti, and junior Teagan Roeder also placed in the top five, while the 400 freestyle relay team of Singer, Burns, Roeder, and freshman Rose Glassman earned second place overall to close out a dominant team performance.
When asked about the highlight of the meet, Burns answered, “Probably finding out that we won. We were standing in a huddle waiting, and our coach had made it seem like we didn’t win, so we were very surprised and excited when we won. A lot of us got thrown into the pool at the end, and it was very relieving.” She continued, “It was a great season. We weren’t expected to win it going in, but we put in a lot of work, and it’s an amazing achievement.” However, for Burns, this win is bittersweet, as it also marks the end of her swim career at PCDS. Reflecting on the value of the PCDS Swim Team’s community, Burns said, “I love my team and working with them, and throughout my four years, I have met a lot of great people and had a great coach as well.”
On the girls’ dive side, PCDS dominated the event with junior Julia Root claiming the Division III state diving title with an incredible 504.95 points. “It felt like all of my hard work and training really paid off, and being able to represent PCDS was such a great feeling,” Root said of her accomplishment. “Yes, I knew I could [win the championship], but I wasn’t totally sure because there are a lot of good divers, so I just tried to focus throughout the season on the things I needed to improve on.” Senior Audrey Weinshel claimed silver with a score of 359.50, junior Paige Cusolle placed fourth with a score of 292.85, and freshman Clover Havey rounded out the top six with a score of 230.80.
On the boys’ swimming side, sophomore Marcus Rawner Scannapieco won the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:50.95 and placed third in the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Felix Lehmann also swam well, securing second in the 100 breast and third in the 100 freestyle. Finally, the boys’ 200 Medley Relay team, consisting of Scannapieco, Lehmann, freshman Jake Umar, and junior Soren Ethridge, also placed in the top 10 with a time of 1:45.50. On the boys’ diving side, sophomore Ronnie Ross earned bronze with a score of 298.30.
Reflecting on the boys’ season as a whole, Scannapieco discussed how, although the final result wasn’t the best, the team connected a lot. Looking forward to the future, both Scannapieco and Lehmann mentioned a strong class of incoming freshmen who will hopefully boost their team to even higher achievements.
All in all, PCDS Swim and Dive capped another outstanding season and will surely be back chasing even more titles next year.
Varsity Volleyball
The defending 2A State Champions made another deep run in this year’s postseason tournament, despite ultimately falling just short in the semifinals. In the regular season, the Eagles went a commanding 17-1, earning them the number three seed in the 2A tournament, with Scottsdale Christian (1) and North Valley Christian (2) just getting the edge.
Their postseason run began with a dominant sweep over No. 14 Tempe Prep (25-13, 25-15, 25-18). Then, in the quarterfinals, the Eagles faced the Rancho Solano Mustangs in a rematch of one of the most exciting games of the regular season, where the Eagles barely edged out a win in the fifth set. Once again, the Mustangs proved no easy competition, initially leading all three sets. However, with the help of some big plays from junior Jodie Jones and freshman Emory Ossenfort, the Eagles showed their grit and comeback spirit, fighting back in each set to secure the sweep, as well as a spot in the state semifinals for the fifth consecutive year.
Senior captain and libero, Asia Harper, spoke about reaching the semifinals, stating, “It feels really good because the team has really come together the past few days, and during the games I could really see all of our hard work paying off.” Despite trailing for much of the game, Harper commented, “I was still very confident, and I always believed that we were going to win.” The quarterfinal win meant the Eagles were going to get a chance for a rematch against the number two-seeded North Valley Christian Academy Lions, who had defeated them twice in shortened tournament games earlier in the season.
On Nov. 13, the time for the semifinals had come. Each set was close, and the Eagles mounted several great runs. However, the Lions ultimately won the match in 3 sets with scores of 17-25, 15-25, and 19-25, unfortunately ending the Eagles’ title defense.
“I’m really proud of how we all pushed and fought for each point as hard as we did. We spent a lot of the season practicing our serve receiving and defense, and I really think that practice showed in this game,” said senior setter and captain Josie Robinson. “This team is genuinely so close, and we have bonded so much over the past few months, and that is what makes this team so special. We were just so comfortable playing with each other and trusting each other to do our jobs, and we all wanted to get better as a team and help make our teammates better.” Speaking about what she will miss the most as her PCDS volleyball career comes to a close, Robinson said, “I’ll miss the energy on the court when we’re playing together as a team, and I’ll miss everyone I got to play with [over the past four years]. I loved being a leader for the team, and I think the realization of me getting older and my time with PCDS Volleyball getting shorter was really tough, but it was also amazing at the same time”.
While it wasn’t their dream ending, the PCDS Varsity Volleyball team can look back and say that they still had an extremely impressive and successful season. They will miss their seniors dearly next season, but there is no doubt that this group of Eagles will be motivated and hungry to get back out there and reclaim their spot at the top.
Cross Country
The PCDS Cross Country team had a great showing in the postseason as well, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams advancing past sectionals and into the state championship meet. Both meets were run on a 5000-meter course (roughly 3.1 miles), the standard distance for high school cross-country. At sectionals, where the top 50% of team scores advance to the finals, the girls’ team had an amazing meet, placing second overall with 55 points and easily qualifying for the state meet. They were paced by sophomore Emerson Butler’s incredible first-place finish of 20:00.94, as well as great runs by seniors Rachel Coviello (5th) and Elsa Termansen (13th). Freshman Natalia Ré also set a personal best with a time of 22:44.55, with junior Adeline Ward finishing off the Eagles’ scorers with a top 25 run herself. “Going into [the race], I just wanted to qualify for states,” Butler said. “It was a difficult course with lots of switchbacks, so it was more about place than time for me, and I am super proud of the team and how they performed.” When asked about how it felt to be the first to cross the finish line, she said, “It felt amazing. Like the best feeling ever. I have never won a race before, so it was awesome.”
On the boys’ side, qualification for states did not come without a little bit of stress and heroics. Needing a top-seven finish, the team placed exactly seventh with 196 points, just one point ahead of eighth-place Heritage Academy Laveen to clinch their state championship berth. Key contributions came from junior Turner Ashby, who finished ninth with a time of 17:31.06, as well as freshman Ronan Brown, who finished 20th with a personal best time of 18:45.33. “It felt great and showed that our efforts were the reasons we got in,” said Brown about the tight result. “I’m looking forward to being able to compete one last time with my team, and finishing out strong.” The other scorers for the team at sectionals were sophomores Mohsin Starling (50th) and Asher Pearlstein (56th), as well as freshman Bennett Ashby (64th).
At the Division IV state meet, the girls’ team once again performed well, finishing third overall with 115 points, behind Veritas Prep (98) and North Phoenix Prep (96). Butler led the way once again, placing second individually with a time of 20:02.20, earning her a spot on the podium. Coviello and Termansen also turned in strong top-30 performances once again, with Ward and freshman Grace Cooper–who set a personal record–also helping the Eagles secure a top-three finish. “I don’t think everything went the way we had planned, but I am so, so proud of my team as a whole. Every single girl on that team contributed, and truthfully, what I’m most proud of is our resilience and our team spirit,” said Termansen on the team’s impressive finish. “I can’t sum up in words how grateful I am for these people. Every diabolical workout, every locker room debrief, and every energy drink consumed at 6 a.m. is part of who I am. I’m really just going to miss being part of this team.”
The boys’ team also finished strong at states, achieving a top-15 team finish. Turner Ashby finished 15th overall with a time of 17:27.90, and Brown finished in the top 50, bettering his sectional PR with an impressive time of 18:30.60. “Overall, we did really well. We had a young team, and I was really pleased with how we finished the season, as we were able to surpass expectations and qualify for states,” Turner Ashby said.
All in all, PCDS Cross Country had a great season as well, rounding out a very successful fall sports season at PCDS.
