Sports – Page 10 – Pima Post

Coach Nicki’s legacy continues off the mound

5Mar

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Coach Nicki’s legacy continues off the mound

Story and photos by COREY McMULLEN Family person, workaholic, mentor and loyal friend. These are different ways to describe Aztec softball pitching coach Nicki Johnson. Born and raised in Tucson and a former Aztec herself, Johnson played for the Aztecs in 2003-2005, winning a NJCAA junior college World Series. During the World Series run, the Aztecs took on and beat the University of Arizona Wildcats. Johnson started playing softball when she was 6 in Bobby Sox, now referred to as Baja. Around age 10, Johnson joined her first club softball team. Johnson started taking pitching seriously when she was 12 years old. Her coach’s uncle came from California and started coaching her, and that’s when it really started to take off. “He’s been a real inspiration to me, Coach Mando was d...

5Mar

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Longtime Aztecs track coach fired

By COREY McMULLEN On Feb. 6, Greg Wenneborg was dismissed from his duties as the Pima Community College Aztecs team’s head track and field coach. Supporters of the team have set out for answers, and it seems the college doesn’t want to respond just yet. Wenneborg was at PCC for 15 years, and his profile has yet to be removed from Pimaathletics.com as of March 3. Many of the athletes have taken to social media to get the message out asking for their coach back. Some hypothesize that this is the first move the college is making to cut the track and field program completely, like the school did last season with football. Current and former track and field athletes have reached out to Pima Athletic Director Jim Monaco, but they don’t appear to have been given any answers. The Aztec P...

18Feb

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Pima Softball Brief

By COREY MCMULLEN The Aztecs are off to a rocky start to the season, dropping their first three games and only scoring 3 total runs. The women’s softball team has been having a hard time getting runners in scoring position home. They are struggling at the plate with a 0.237 batting average. Feb. 4: PCC 2, Yavapai College 6 Freshman Anisah Triste hit a lead-off home run to left field in the second inning to put the Aztecs up 1-0. The Roughriders responded with three runs in the third inning to take the lead. Down 6-1 in the seventh, Amaya Turner-Viacarra drew a one-out walk. Freshman Malaealani Fraser hit a single, but Turner-Vizcarra was thrown out at home. Freshman Jazmine Ayala hit into a fielder’s choice to put on two runners. Triste followed with an RBI single to drive in Fraser. Fre...

18Feb

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports, Uncategorized

Women’s Team Fighting for Playoffs

By Corey McMullen The Aztecs continue to roll, going 11-4 from Dec. 11. Aztec point guard Alyssa Perez was named ACCAC Division II Player of the Week on Tuesday for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. She averaged 22 points and had a total of 10 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 assists. Feb. 8: PCC 92, Tohono O’odham CC 66 The Aztecs ruled from opening tipoff and went into halftime up 40-28. Aztec sophomore Alyssa Perez led the charge with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals. The Aztecs finished 34 of 40 at the free-throw line. The Aztecs ran away with the game, outscoring Tohono O’odham 32 to 15 in the fourth quarter. Feb 5: PCC 79, Scottsdale CC 45 Both teams struggled to get any offense working in the first half and went into halftime tied at 21. The Aztecs went on a 13-0 run in the ...

18Feb

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

11 games in, Aztecs remain undefeated

The hits keep on coming for the Pima Community College baseball team as the Aztecs have started the season on fire, stinging together an 11-0 record at home to start the season. The Aztecs would sweep the El Paso Community College Tejanos in their four game set taking both Friday and Saturday double-headers, outscoring the Tejanos 38-9. Pima vs. El Paso Community College Saturday Feb. 8 - Game 1, Pima 13-5 The Aztecs found themselves behind, coming into the fifth inning 5-4. The bats came alive as Pima tacked on six runs that inning. Freshman Marcel Bachelierhit the go ahead RBI single to bring in freshman Alex Kelchas the Aztecs jumped ahead 6-5. Later in the inning, Sophomore ArmandoAguilar hit a bases clearing three-run RBI double. He would later score on a wild pitch to make...

18Feb

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Kobe Bryant: A Legacy Beyond Basketball

By KYLE KERSEY Jan. 26, 2020: Inside a local Panda Express, my friend Alex, a Houston Rockets fan, laments the death of Kobe Bryant by comparing him to some of the NBA’s greats. “This has to be the worst day in the history of basketball,” he says. “This would be like if LeBron or Michael Jordan died.” Truth be told, I loathed Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers growing up. Like many of you, I grew up rooting for those hyper-fun Phoenix Suns teams that always seemed to be full of young, exciting talent and yet never able to get over the hump of an NBA championship. Among the teams standing in their way were Bryant and the Lakers. One of my earliest sports memories is watching Bryant’s two buzzer-beaters against the Suns in Game 4 of the 2006 opening round of the NBA playoffs. I remembe...

12Dec

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Mens Soccer season comes to an end

By COREY MCMULLEN The Aztecs’ soccer season came to an end in November, finishing with a 15-4-2 record (12-3-1 regular season) and being ranked sixth in the nation. The Aztecs were bounced in the second round of the regional tournament by Arizona Western. The game came down to penalty kicks, where the Aztecs fell to Arizona Western 6-5. Thinking the season was over for the Aztecs, the team received one of the four at large bids for the NJCAA Division I National tournament in Tyler, Texas. The Tournament started Nov. 18 and went through Nov. 23. The Aztecs entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed. This was the Aztecs’ third straight year to the NJCAA tournament and their sixth appearance in nine years. In their second-chance game, the Aztecs fell 1-0 to Eastern Florida State in double o...

12Dec

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Women’s Basketball wins 3 of 5. Mens continue to underwhelm

By COREY MCMULLEN Women’s Basketball Pima Community College women’s basketball team continues to roll, winning 3 of its last 5, including a big win over Scottsdale. The Aztecs are currently ranked No. 11. Dec. 9: PCC 72, Arizona Western 67 The Aztecs defeated the Matadors (Division I) 72-67. The Aztecs trailed 30-28 at halftime but opened the third quarter on a 16-5 run in almost seven minutes to take a 44-35 lead. The Aztecs outscored the Matadors 29-11 in the quarter to take a 57-41 advantage. The Aztecs were outscored 26-15 in the final period. Sophomore point guard Alyssa Perez stole the inbound pass and was fouled. She drained her free throws to put the game away. Dec. 7: PCC 83, Scottsdale Community College 70 The Aztecs bounced back with a big win over the Scottsdale Community C...

12Dec

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

‘AP’-style basketball at Pima

Story by COREY MCMULLEN Photos by JOE GIDDENS For most teams, losing a leading scorer is a setback. With Pima’s all-time scoring leader Jacqulynn Nakai gone, the Aztecs were without a point guard unless you asked head coach Todd Holthaus, who knew he had someone ready to take over. That person is Aztecs’ point guard Alyssa “AP” Perez. Perez, entering her sophomore season for the Aztecs, has been the leader the Aztecs needed for this year’s young squad, which is returning only four players from last year’s No. 5-ranked team. Perez started playing basketball in the seventh grade. She wanted to try it out because her dad played in high school and they would go play at the park. Perez, an only child, was born and raised in Tucson. In her free time, Perez and her family love to go to...

27Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Aztecs earned a second chance at NJCAA Division 1 Nationals

By COREY McMULLEN The Aztecs were given a new life with receiving one of four at-large bids to get into the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. In the second chance game, the Aztecs fell 1-0 to Eastern Florida State in double overtime. The Aztecs were eliminated from the regional tournament Nov. 2 to Arizona Western in a shootout. Thinking the season was over for the Aztecs, they received one of the four at-large bids for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Tyler, Texas. The tournament went from Nov. 18 to Nov. 23. The Aztecs entered the tournament as the 9 seed. This was the Aztecs’ third straight year to the NJCAA tournament and their sixth appearance in nine years. Aztec sophomore goalie Nils Roth made some early game-saving stops. Roth made a diving stop in the first 1...