Sports – Page 11 – Pima Post

Q&A with Los Angeles Charges wide receiver and Pima alum Jeff Cotton

15Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Features, Sports

Q&A with Los Angeles Charges wide receiver and Pima alum Jeff Cotton

Photo by Andy Morales (All Sports Tucson) By Troy Hutchison Millions of kids grow up dreaming of playing in the NFL and becoming stars like their favorite players that they see on television. However, chances of achieving this are slim, as according to the NCAA, only 3.8 percent of college football players make it to the next level. Former Mountain View and Pima Community College (PCC) player Jeff Cotton is closer to making that dream a reality as a practice squad player for the Los Angeles Chargers. While at PCC he was coached by current Athletic Director (AD) Jim Monaco from 2015 to 2017 before the football program got shut down in 2018. Cotton then moved on to Idaho for his final two years of college football, where he established himself as a top target racking in 1,141 yards on 137 ...

12Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Devin Booker wants out of Phoenix?

Photo by Keith Allison By Kyler Van Vliet With the NBA finals coming to a close in October and the 2021 NBA season aiming at a late December start, it leaves fans with a fairly short offseason window to fantasize about unrealistic trade inquisitions and drool over the latest rumors surrounding the league. The latest rumor involvesDevin Booker, shooting guard for the Phoenix Suns.. On November 3rd, Ryen Russillo appeared on the Bill Simmons Podcast and stated that Booker wanted out of Phoenix. “The worst-kept secret in the league is Booker already wants out of there,” said Russillo. But does he really? Booker just came off of his best season with the Suns after ending the season with a record of 34-39 and going 8-0 in the NBA bubble, almost securing them a playoff berth. The Suns thems...

Pima women’s basketball team holds ring ceremony to celebrate championship

15Oct

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Pima women’s basketball team holds ring ceremony to celebrate championship

By Nate Martinez On October 4, the Pima Community College Women's Basketball team celebrated last season's Division II Region I championship with a ring ceremony. The team got together that Sunday afternoon via zoom call, organized by head coach Todd Holthaus, Athletic Director Jim Monaco and Vice Chancellor Bruce Moses, to reflect on the past season, as well as their accomplishments in their final game. Each player received a box with the ring, nicknamed the “Infinity Stone” by assistant coach Pete Fajardo, as well as a sweater and a team picture. They were instructed not to open until the zoom call. The Aztecs earned this accomplishment by defeating rival school, Mesa Community College by a convincing score of 76-59. The win also marks the first time in the last eight years that the...

PCC names Jim Monaco permanent athletic director

7Oct

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

News, Sports

PCC names Jim Monaco permanent athletic director

By Nate Martinez On Monday, October 5, Pima Community College named Jim Monaco their permanent athletic director. The move comes after Monaco served in an interim capacity since November of 2018. He succeeded Edgar Soto, who was the AD since 2009. Monaco has been active for many years in Pima sports, starting out as an assistant coach for Jeff Scurran. He helped the Arizona Football Hall of Fame coach to a 26-17 overall record between 2000 and 2004 and even made a Bowl game in his last year. He returned to the Aztecs in 2011, working as the Defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator under Pat Nugent until 2013. Monaco was named head coach of the Pima football team following the 2013 season and fulfilled that role until the program was cut to accommodate the school’s budget. ...

The Birds Are Back in Town: Arizona Cardinals Look to Get Back to Winning Ways

13Sep

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Opinion, Sports, Uncategorized

The Birds Are Back in Town: Arizona Cardinals Look to Get Back to Winning Ways

By Nate Martinez It's time to bust out your favorite chips n dip and grab that 30 case of beer on sale because football is back. For many, this feeling is comparable to the feeling of taking your crush on a date for the first time or running downstairs to find Christmas presents; it's just pure innocent excitement! This feeling of excitement doubles if you are an Arizona Cardinals fan. The Bird Gang look to build off an offseason filled with hype and make a run deep into the playoffs. Given the offseason trades, a stellar draft-class, a killer receiving core and a quarterback that has limitless potential, things seem to be looking pretty good for the Cardinals. Before the Cardinals kick off their season against their longtime rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, let’s recap some of the bi...

Q&A With Pima Athletic Director Jim Monaco

10Sep

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Features, Sports

Q&A With Pima Athletic Director Jim Monaco

By NATE MARTINEZ We’ve had to adapt to a lot in the six months since COVID hit the USA: wearing masks in public, going to school virtually, maintaining a six feet between ourselves and our friends and not being able to catch a quick ball game to ease the stress of our day to day lives.Yet, at what felt like the absolute perfect time, sports returned. There is still a lot of work to be done obviously, but the way that organizations like the UFC, NBA and NHL have utilized the bubble (an area like the NBA’s temporary home at Orlando Sports Complex where only players, coaches and staff can stay), it would seem as though we are headed in the right direction. Other associations like the NFL and MLB still have a lot of work to do but are up and running for the time being. With so many professi...

Women’s basketball highlights shortened 2020 season

10May

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Women’s basketball highlights shortened 2020 season

By COREY MCMULLEN The world is in a place that none of us is used to, with the cancellation of all sporting events and types of social gatherings across the globe. This includes the Pima Community College women’s basketball team’s 2020 season. The Aztecs were supposed to play in the NJCAA regional tournament in March. The original plan was for the tournament to just be postponed to the end of April, but with no signs of the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down, the tournament and the Aztecs’ season officially was canceled. With the season being over, the end-of-season honors were announced. Aztec head coach Todd Holthaus was honored with Region I West District Coach of the Year. This is the sixth time coach Holthaus was honored with the award (2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019). “This season wil...

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...