We may stillÌý³Ù±ð³¦³ó²Ô¾±³¦²¹±ô±ô²âÌýbe in winter, but Tucson-area athletes were anything but cold at the high school winter sports state tournament. Here’s how local programs and athletes performed in basketball, soccer and wrestling during the AIA state championships.
Boys basketball
After going 22-6 overall in the regular season, Palo Verde finished its season with a 3A state championship, its first in program history.Ìý
The Titans defeated the Coolidge Bears, 52-41, on Thursday.
Palo Verde Titans Kameron Pippen (3) during the MLK Coaches for Charity Classic at McKale Center, Jan. 20, 2025.
In the state’s 6A conference, No. 6 Tucson High School upset No. 3 Chandler, 67-54, in the quarterfinals, earning a spot in the semifinals against Gilbert Perry.Ìý
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In the semifinals, the Badgers were defeated by the Pumas, 69-64.
Tucson's Jaylan Knight (11) and the Badgers head off the court after coming up just short to Perry, 69-64, in the 6A state semifinal in Tucson on March 4, 2026.
No. 3 Sahuaro’s run in the 4A tournament ended early as it fell to No. 6 Scottsdale Saguaro, 64-55, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 27. The Cougars ended the season with a 23-4 record.
Multiple 4A conference Tucson teams were eliminated during the second round of the tournament, including No. 12 Ironwood Ridge, which fell to No. 5 Avondale Westview, 72-58; No. 13 Salpointe Catholic was edged by No. 4 Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, 67-64, and No. 11 Cholla fell to No. 6 Saguaro, 82-60.
In the 5A conference, no Tucson-area school advanced past the first round of the tournament. No. 16 Catalina Foothills lost to No. 1 Surprise Willow Canyon, 88-55; No. 5 Cienega fell to No. 12 Phoenix Carl Hayden in overtime, 73-65; No. 10 Sierra Vista Buena was defeated by No. 7 Buckeye Canyon View, 79-42, and No. 15 Mountain View Marana succumbed to No. 2 Phoenix Mountain Pointe, 68-45.
No. 4 The Gregory School advanced all the way to the semifinals in the 1A state tournament before being eliminated by No. 1 Fort Thomas, 71-58.
Girls basketball
Multiple Tucson-area girls' basketball teams made postseason runs in the state tournament this year.
In the 5A state tournament, No. 3 Catalina Foothills fell to No. 2 Scottsdale Horizon, 65-55, in the semifinals on March 3.
But one of the biggest stories to come out of the 5A state tournament this year comes from Tucson’s west side, where Pueblo star hooper America Cazares broke the state’s all-time career scoring record on Feb. 28. Cazares ended her high school career with 2,932 career points.
Pueblo High School senior America Cazares celebrates after breaking Arizona’s all-time scoring record during a game against North High School at Pueblo High, Feb. 28, 2026.
Although No. 1 Pueblo fell to No. 8 Phoenix North in the quarterfinals, the Warriors ended the season with an overall 23-5 record and a new state record.Ìý
In the 4A conference, Salpointe, the No. 1 seed, faced No. 4 Paradise Honors in the semifinals on March 3, but was ultimately edged by the Phoenix school, 56-54.
No. 3 Mica Mountain made it to the quarterfinals before being bounced from the tournament after falling to No. 6 Gilbert Mesquite, 53-42.
No. 16 Amphitheater, No. 12 Walden Grove, No. 14 Sahuarita and No. 7 Ironwood Ridge were all eliminated in the first round of the 4A tournament.
In the 3A state tournament, No. 5 Pusch Ridge was the only local school to represent Tucson. The Lions advanced to the quarterfinals, but fell to No. 4 Whiteriver Alchesay, 59-42, on Feb. 21.
Both No. 13 Benson and No. 14 Willcox were eliminated after the first round of the 2A state tournament.
Boys soccer
Tucson teams duked it out for a chance at the championship title in the Open state tournament, but ultimately, it was Mica Mountain who advanced all the way to the final game.Ìý
The Thunderbolts faced No. 9 Peoria Sunrise Mountain in the championship game, but were defeated, 4-3, in overtime.
On its way to the championship, No. 3 Mica Mountain defeated No. 30 Greenway, 5-0; No. 14 ALA - Gilbert North, 5-2; No. 6 Salpointe, 5-3 (in penalty kicks), and No. 2 Catalina Foothills, 1-0.
No. 1 Sunnyside advanced to the quarterfinals but fell to No. 9 Sunrise Mountain, 3-1, on Feb. 18.
Israel Luquez Jr., center, scrimmages against his teammates during practice at Sunnyside High School, 1725 E. Bilby Road, in Tucson on Dec. 23, 2025.
Other Tucson-area teams that competed in the Open but were eliminated in the early rounds include No. 32 Ironwood Ridge, which was eliminated by Sunnyside, 5-1; No. 13 Cienega was defeated by No. 20 San Luis, 2-0; No. 29 Douglas lost to No. 4 Verrado, 3-0; No. 27 Nogales fell to No. 6 Salpointe Catholic, 7-1; and No. 31 Sahuarita succumbed to No. 2 Catalina Foothills, 8-0.
No. 6 Ironwood Ridge faced No. 1 ALA - Gilbert North in the championship game of the 4A tournament, but was defeated 2-0.
No. 5 Sahuarita lost to No. 13 Dysart, 2-0, while No. 10 Amphitheater lost to No. 2 Thunderbird, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the 4A tournament. No. 3 Douglas also made it to the quarterfinals but was eliminated by Ironwood Ridge.
In the 3A conference, No. 5 Tanque Verde made a postseason run but was eliminated by No. 1 Gilbert Christian, 5-3, in the semifinals.
No. 10 Pusch Ridge advanced to the quarterfinals but was defeated by No. 2 Yuma Catholic, 5-3.
In the first round of the 3A tournament, both No. 16 Catalina and No. 14 Palo Verde were eliminated.
In the 2A conference, No. 5 San Miguel made it past the first round to the quarterfinals, but fell to No. 4 Scottsdale Christian, 7-2. No. 16 Desert Christian was defeated by No. 1 Goodyear Trivium Prep, 4-0, in the first round.
Girls soccer
It’s back-to-back state championships for No. 2 Salpointe after it took down No. 1 Queen Creek Crismon in penalty kicks, 5-4.
On their way to the championship title, the Lancers defeated No. 15 Cottonwood Mingus Union, 4-0; No. 7 Mica Mountain, 3-0; and No. 3 Flagstaff Coconino, 2-0.
Salpointe and Buena High School duke it out during a finals match for the Kelly Pierce soccer tournament, Salpointe High School, Dec. 5, 2025.
No. 8 Walden Grove and No. 12 Douglas advanced to the quarterfinals but were eliminated. Walden Grove fell to No. 1 Crismon, 3-1, while Douglas was defeated by No. 4 Scottsdale Saguaro, 2-0.
No. 13 Ironwood Ridge was the only Tucson-area team to not advance past the first round of the 4A tournament.
In the 5A state tournament, No. 4 Buena and No. 6 Cienega looked to move forward in the competition, but both were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Buena fell to No. 5 Notre Dame Prep, 3-0, while Cienega was edged by No. 3 Arizona College Prep, 2-1.
No. 13 Canyon del Oro and No. 8 Catalina Foothills fell early in the first round of the tournament.
The No. 13 Tanque Verde Hawks made a postseason run that ended early in the quarterfinals, losing to No. 5 ALA - West Foothills, 2-0, on Valentine’s Day.
Two Tucson high schools — No. 13 Desert Christian and No. 4 San Miguel — battled it out in the first round of the 2A state tournament, but San Miguel came out on top, 4-0.
Ultimately, the Vipers were edged out by No. 5 Kingman Academy in overtime, 3-2.
Wrestling
Southern Arizona had multiple high school wrestlers return home as state champions.
Pueblo’s Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith earned her third straight state title in the 116-pound weight class. Her older brother, Jozeph Valenzuela Smith, closed out his high school wrestling career with back-to-back state titles in the 167-pound weight class.
Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith, left, and her brother, Jozeph Valenzuela Smith, smile for a portrait before an afternoon practice at Pueblo High School, Feb. 6, 2026.
Valenzuela Smith wasn’t the only girls wrestler to win consecutive state championships this season. Cienega’s Daesiah Varner became the school’s first three-time state champion this season after taking home the title in the 237-pound weight class.
She also became the first wrestler in school history to have an undefeated season. Varner finished the regular season with a 36-0 record.
Sahuarita came back to Tucson with five state champions this year.Ìý
Sebastian Serrano (134 pounds), James Buck III (146 pounds), Marcus Killgore (159 pounds), Sergio Macias (167 pounds) and Nathaniel Gallardo (177 pounds) became state champions in their respective weight classes at this year’s tournament.
The Sunnyside boys wrestling program took home its 39th state championship, while the girls program earned its second championship.
Sunnyside head coach Anthony Leon screams to his wrestlers during the state high school wrestling championships on Feb. 18, 2023, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
The program as a whole had four first-place finishes: Jack Thrush (108 pounds), Malik Hoskins (115 pounds), Xavier Chavez (152 pounds), and Jaylean Alfaro (140 pounds).
Walden Grove made a name for itself at the tournament with two returning champions in Brett Bates (128 pounds) and Isabella SantaMaria (147 pounds).
Other state champions from around Tucson include: Mica Mountain’s Landon Edwards (108 pounds); Rio Rico’s Jessence Octavio-Callejo (237 pounds); and Salpointe's Joseph Figueroa (217 pounds).
Although Marana senior Owen Proper finished third in the tournament, he still made state history by breaking the career wins record of 253. Proper finished his high school career with 255 wins.
For a full breakdown of the state wrestling tournament, check out our wrestling recap at .Ìý
Up next – spring sports: Baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, boys volleyball, golf and beach volleyball.
Contact Elvia Verdugo, the Star's community sports editor, at everdugo@tucson.com.ÌýA journalism and history graduate from the University of Arizona, she shares stories highlighting what makes Tucson and its community special.
Elvia Verdugo
Community Sports Editor
These Tucson-area high school wrestlers left it all on the mat at the state championships
