Sports

Pima finishes in fourth at conference championship
Sports

Pima finishes in fourth at conference championship

By JOSHUA SHAVER The Pima Community College Cross Country Men and Women’s teams ran their hearts out at the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference in Mesa.  The women’s team tied for fourth with Glendale Community College with 120 points each.  Runner Iriana Sanchez received an All-ACCAC honorable mention after she placed 21st in the 5K race with a time of 21 minutes, 27 seconds.  Rainbow Hoss finished just 14 seconds behind Sanchez with a time of 21 minutes, 41 seconds and finished in 24th place.  Freshman Janae Quihuis showed her potential by finishing right behind Hoss in 25th place with a time of 21 minutes, 48 seconds.  Carolina Vega-Picos finished 31st with a time of 24 minutes, 52 seconds.  Alysa Canez rounded out the women’s race with a time of 26 minutes, 25 second...
Chapman Auto gives Pima a jumpstart
News, Sports

Chapman Auto gives Pima a jumpstart

Story by ANGEL CANEZ and JOE GIDDENS Additional interviews  by JOUSHA SHAVER Pima Community College is investing over $500,000 in upgrades to its athletics facilities in as a cost-saving measure and to attract recruits. The athletics department also has signed a $210,000 sponsorship deal with the Chapman Automotive Group for three years.  However, despite both of these events, there’s consideration by Pima administration to terminate additional sports programs. Golf, tennis and track are the most commonly discussed.  This comes near the end of the first year of the Jim Monaco era of Pima Athletics.  Monaco took over the job from former Athletic Director Edgar Soto, who held the position for 11 years and now serves as Desert Vista Campus vice president. Soto also will remain as dean o...
PCC Women’s Volleyball looks to smooth out rocky start
Sports

PCC Women’s Volleyball looks to smooth out rocky start

  By COREY McMULLEN After starting the season 3-2, the Aztecs have had a rocky start in September, dropping two straight games in Thatcher, Arizona.  Sept. 18: Arizona Western 3, PCC 1 The Aztecs started out strong, winning the first set, but then they dropped three straight sets to Arizona Western 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17. This was the third straight conference loss for the Aztecs.  Madi Nash finished with 9 kills and 15 digs, while freshman Bergen Campbell had 7 kills, 10 digs and 3 blocks. Sophomore Emily Robinson posted 7 kills and 5 blocks.   Freshman Kaitlyn Cook finished with a double-double of 22 assists and 13 digs, while sophomore Grace Adams had 17 digs. Freshman Aydalis Felix posted 15 digs. Sept. 11: Yavapai 3, PCC 0 Aztecs fell in straight sets to the No. 19-...
Sports

Pima cross country runs to Conference Championships

By JOSHUA SHAVER Pima Community College is running away from the competition.  Last season, Pima went all the way to the NJCAA Nationals. Pima eventually ended up losing to Iowa Community College, but it is on a fast track for similar, if not more, success.  Can Pima duplicate its success from last year, or can it at least improve from its 16th place showing?  At the Dave Murphy Invitational, women and men competed against a number of schools.  In the women’s 5K (3.1 miles), sophomore Iriana Sanchez finished in 28th place with a time of 23 minutes, 58 seconds.  Her friend and teammate Rainbow Hoss placed behind her at 24 minutes, 4 seconds.  While the women showed up, the men also showed their grit running the 7K (4.35 miles) race.  Sophomore Juan Miranda was the top finisher for th...
Kliff Kingsbury Has Sean Mcvay’s Chin, But Does He Have His Stones?
Athletic Voice

Kliff Kingsbury Has Sean Mcvay’s Chin, But Does He Have His Stones?

By Kyle Kersey Overtime. 1:10 on the clock. Fourth and seven on your opponent’s 47 yard line. You’re currently rostering the supposed “next big thing” as your quarterback (irony intentional), and he’s led you back from down 18 in the fourth quarter. The question at hand: do you go for it? It’s been a running joke in NFL circles all offseason: the Arizona Cardinals, tired of losing to the Los Angeles Rams, are now trying to copy them with their latest head coaching hire, Kliff Kingsbury. He sports the handsome good looks and youthful charm of the Rams’ very own Sean McVay, as well as exciting offensive ideas in a league that’s been trending towards the offensive side of the ball for the last 30 years or so.  But McVay had NFL coaching experience when he was hired by the Rams at the ripe o...
NJCAA addresses gender inequality in awards
Sports

NJCAA addresses gender inequality in awards

By MONTY GANTT On April 5, Pima Community College Women’s basketball coach Todd Holthaus sent a mass email to various members of the NJCAA. The email raised a question that was on the minds of coach Holthaus and his players: Why were they simply gifted a game ball for fifth place while the men’s team were gifted with medals and a plaque for seventh place in their respective tournament? Rod Lovett, Director of Championships for the NJCAA, responded with a further explanation as to why the women’s teams below third place received essentially nothing. “The awards provided at the Men's Tournament were purchased by the host school.” Lovette said in an email to coach Holthaus. The host school for the men’s tournament was Danville Area Community College in Danville, Illinois. The hosts fo...
The Aztecs struggle across finish line
Sports

The Aztecs struggle across finish line

By ANGEL CANEZ Pima Community College played their final home series in a doubleheader on March 23 against conference for Arizona Western Community College and wrapped up there season on the road to take on South Mountain in a doubleheader.  Pima improved on last seasons record of 21-31 and 11-29 in conference games, winning 15 more games to finish the year with a 36-19 and 22-16 in conference. This has been Pima’s most wins since 1993. The Aztecs would drop the final two games of the season against South Mountain on the road getting out scored 13-1.  Losing the first game 7-1 the Cougars jumped out to a 6-0 lead.  Austin Bryan had his worst outing of the season lasting less than two innings giving up six runs on six hit.  Pima was blacked out in the second game mustering up only two...
Pima trying to finish season over .500
Sports

Pima trying to finish season over .500

By KYLE McDANIEL April 27 (H) Game 1: PCC 5, South Mountain CC 4 F/8 After being swept at South Mountain earlier this season, the Aztecs returned the favor by beating them in both games at West Campus. Pima took an early lead after scoring 1 run in the first, but the Cougars did their damage in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring a combined 3 runs.  Sophomore Ariana Gomez hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman Turner-Vizcarra and tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the seventh.  In the eighth inning, South Mountain was able to score one run. Sophomore Maria VanezaCaldera hit a fielder’s choice to tie the game. Turner-Vizcarra hit the game-winning walk-off single with 2 outs to score Caldera. Freshman Abril Nerey got the victory in relief, as she pitched the last five innings. Nerev g...
Aztecs swing into second place in team play
Sports

Aztecs swing into second place in team play

  By ALEXANDER LOPEZ Coming off its stellar win in the home invitational and for the fifth time this season, Pima Community College Women’s Golf team closed out team play with second place.  The Women’s team marched into Los Colinas Golf Resort for the Chandler-Gilbert Invitational, and it wasn’t disappointed.  After the first day of team competition, Chandler-Gilbert Community College topped the leader boards at 328, with a 33-stroke differential from the next-closest team, Pima Community College, who had 361.  The Aztecs shot 15 strokes under on Day 2 and locked in the second spot in team play. Even though team competitions were so spread out by large margins, individual events were more closely contested.  Sophomore Elizabeth Satterfield (Ironwood Ridge High School) had a t...
Aztec Tennis teams both finish in second place
Sports

Aztec Tennis teams both finish in second place

By MONTY GANTT The Pima Community College Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams took part in two matches on April 4 and 9. The men’s team split the matches, winning one and losing one, while the women took victories in both outings. The following is a recap of the aforementioned matches. Men’s Tennis: April 9 vs. Paradise Valley CC (W 6-1) The Aztecs finished regular season play with a .500 record of 3-3 after defeating the Pumas 6-1. Sophomore Chris McDaniels won the No. 1 singles after beating Tyler Peters 6-0, 6-3. Freshman Oscar Aguilera defeated Jose Diaz in No. 2 singles 6-1, 6-3. Sophomore Beau Boyer defeated Alex Hernandez 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 3 singles match. McDaniels and Boyer lost a close No. 1 doubles match to Peters and Diaz 9-7. The Aztecs won the No. 2 singles and N...