The student athletes at Fountain Hills High School had no issues with COVID-19 this past year, and athletics were in full swing. The Falcons had several successful seasons in 2021-2022.

The Falcons sent boys basketball, beach volleyball, baseball and softball to playoffs, and the girls cross country team qualified for the state championship at sectionals. Several other athletes qualified and competed in the postseason as individuals, and what follows is a recap of the winter 2021 and spring 2022 sports.

The Times will finish recapping the spring and fall seasons of 2022 in next week’s edition.

Girls basketball

The Falcons went 6-17 last year, and a big reason for their improvement from 1-9 in 2020-21 was the addition of Seilah, or ‘CC’ Smith. She and her sister, graduated senior Soleil Smith, were the primary ball handlers and top scorers. Soliel averaged 10.6 points per game, and CC averaged 9.3 points as a freshman.

The two sisters combined for 24 points in the season opener and won the game in heroic fashion. CC made a three-point shot off an assist from Soleil with 21 seconds left to put the Falcons up 39-36 over Valley Christian.

CC led the team in steals and rebounds, she had the highest percentage of made three-point shots and free-throw shooting on the team. Another freshman, Kaylee Lewis, joined late and only played the last three games, but she averaged eight points on 60% shooting in the small sample size.

The Falcons’ biggest challenge two years in a row was a lack of roster depth. The Falcons started last season with one more player than the 2020 season, but they still had less than 10 on the roster. In the season opener, the Falcons led 25-8 at halftime, but exhaustion caught up and they barely edged out the win.

The girls had a 2-3 record heading into winter break, and they won their first two games of 2022, 44-38 over ALA-Ironwood and 46-40 over Chino Valley. After those back-to-back wins, the Falcons struggled and only won one more game in the season. The Falcons started 5-6 but finished 6-17.

The Falcons lost a very talented first team all-region player in Soleil, and they also graduated Michaela Quintana and Star Camacho. CC earned all-region second team honors, and LJ Holland and Titleist Patrick have returned as seniors to lead a young but talented team this year.

Boys basketball

Jeff Bonner is in his fifth season at Fountain Hills, and he has taken the Falcons to the second round of playoffs or further each of the past four years at his alma mater. Last year, the Falcons appeared in a second straight semi-finals game, and it was Bonner’s first 20-win season.

The Falcons lost in the semi-final 64-52 to the eventual state champs, Valley Christian. Before that, they were 22-7, 10-1 in region play and were tied for first place in region 3A North Central.

Senior Xavier Mike was the only returning starter from the 2020-21 season, and he led the Falcons in points, assists, steals and three-point shooting in his final season. As a team, the Falcons made 57% of their two-point shots, 69% from the free throw line, and 32% from three-point range on the season.

Mike led with 13.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.4 steals and 52% shooting from behind the arc. Mike was named the region offensive player of the year and made the 3A all-conference first team.

The playoff run started with a home match against No. 12 Chinle, and the No. 5 Falcons fought for the win. Mitchell Perkins scored 26 for the Falcons, and Aiden Logan hit a clutch three-pointer that extended the game into double overtime.

Logan received all-conference second team and all-region first team recognition. He will return for his senior year, while Mitchell Perkins transferred to Notre Dame Prep for his junior season. Last year, Perkins was named to the all-region first team and was an all-conference honorable mention.

In the absence of Perkins, Luke Bloedel stepped up in summer league play before his senior season. Last year as a junior, he made a team high 66% of his shots and averaged 5.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and was No. 16 in 3A with 1.1 blocks per game.

Another Falcon to watch this season is junior Keaton Ort. In his first season on varsity last year, he was third on the team in point average with 8.6 per game. He was also an all-region honorable mention.

The Falcons graduated Mike, Jake Barnard, JT Mitchell, Jared Reichler, and Alex Rieck, another all-region second team selection. The Falcons are a seasoned team this year, with 10 seniors on a roster with 12 players.

Wrestling

The Falcons had 27 wrestlers last year, a record number under head coach Luke Salzman. Tyler Flynn went 43-8 in the regular season and finished his sophomore season on the state podium with a fourth place medal for the 132 weight class.

The Falcons sent 13 wrestlers to sectionals, and nine of them qualified for the state tournament. Flynn was the only Falcon to make the second round of the state tournament, but seniors Stephen Broetsky, Travis Trapani, and JT Despain all finished as section runners-up.

Broetsky missed some time during the season and had a 14-9 record going into sectionals. Trapani had a 27-11 record, and Despain’s record was 32-12.

Taking third place at sectionals was junior Ty Jablonsky with a 27-10 record, and sophomores Tyler Langer and Lucas Philips with records of 28-15 and 25-18, respectively. Junior Wyatt Mowers also took third at sectionals with a 19-17 record, and freshman Rylan Schmidt took fourth with a 3-2 record.

Wrestling’s 2020-21 season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no tournaments that year, outside of the final state tournament, and Salzman said wrestlers only competed in about 10 matches compared to roughly 50 matches this past year.

While the lack of matches and tournaments turned some wrestlers away, Flynn took full advantage. He did not have a sectional tournament to qualify in, so he was able to wrestle in the state tournament as a freshman. When Flynn returned as a sophomore, he was much more comfortable on the big stage.

The 2021-22 season was a successful one for the wrestling team. The team placed third at the Wickenburg and Sectional tournaments, and then junior JP Cahill won the San Tan tournament.

Cahill went to sectionals but just missed the cut for state. He put in tons of work this offseason attending multiple college camps and wrestling for a club team for the first time, and he hopes to lead the Falcons by example in his senior season.

The Falcons graduated seven seniors last year: Broetsky, Trapani, Despain, Matt Chandler, Hector Leon, Sebastian Jackson, and Michael Marsello. They helped rebuild the program after COVID-19 and they left a strong program in the hands of capable coaches and wrestlers.

Girls soccer

The soccer programs at Fountain Hills High School each dealt with their own kinds of uncertainty last season. The girls started the season without a coach and without a full roster, and even when Nick Goodman took over, he had to recruit mostly new players.

The Falcons struggled and went 0-10 on the season. More than that, the Falcons had to forfeit two games late in the season for a lack of players, and half of the games they did play ended early due to the high school mercy rule.

The Falcons ended the season with seven healthy players after starting with 15. The only senior, Kambria Van Orden, left midway through the season because of her EVIT aviation classes, and the young Falcons tried their best from there.

Jeneya Boone was able to keep most games close in the first half. The talented goalie earned an all-region honorable mention as a freshman, but no Falcon earned honors in her sophomore season. Exhaustion usually caught up with the Falcons in the second half, especially as the roster began to shrink.

The Falcons only scored in one game, when they lost 5-3 to BASIS Phoenix. Then junior Peyton McAloon scored the first goal, and Erin Hooley scored the next two goals. Both girls were underclassmen on the 2020 team that went to the playoffs, and Hooley returned this year for her third straight year on the team.

There are seven returning players playing this year, and six are upper classmen. Seniors Jordan Pena and Olivia Sopeland are joined by juniors Boone, Hailey Chandler and Stella Grieco. Sophomore Racine Homyak is the only retuning underclassman.

The Falcons started the year with uncertainty and ended with more uncertainty, but they tried to make the best of a bad situation. They have a new coach this year in Malcolm Cutting, and they have recruited more players in the hopes for a better season this winter.

Boys soccer

The Falcons went 3-12-1 last year and dealt with a slow start and a midseason coaching change. Through it all, the Falcons stuck together and kept their composure.

Matt Pugliano left for North Carolina over winter break, and he coached the Falcons to a 0-3-1 start. The Falcons went 0-4 in a New Year’s tournament, and then assistant coach Ryan Griggs took over as the interim head coach.

Griggs was a 2020 Fountain Hills alumnus and split his time between coaching and ASU classes. In his first regular season game, the Falcons lost 2-1 to No. 4 Northwest Christian, and then they went on a three-game win streak.

The Falcons beat Scottsdale Prep 2-0, Tempe Prep 4-3, and Phoenix Christian 13-0. The Falcons were without goalkeeper Zane Balzarini and played with 10 instead of 11 against Phoenix Christian, but they still managed their biggest win of the season that day.

The Falcons couldn’t carry their momentum any further and lost the last four games of the season. They lost by three points or less to Scottsdale Christian and Veritas Prep, but they let the last game get out of hand and lost 11-1 to No. 3 Phoenix Country Day.

The Falcons had held their heads high all season through tough losses, but team morale sank the day before the last game. Then sophomore Danny Gonzalez hurt his ankle the day before Phoenix Country Day, and he received surgery on game day. Gonzalez returns as a team manager this year.

The Falcons graduated five seniors. Balzarini, Isaac Kill and Javier Sanchez were defensive specialist, and captain Anthony Kasson was a leader on and off the field. Kasson now plays soccer at New Mexico State, and striker Savion Boone is playing football at Arizona Christian University.

There is a new coach this year, Malcolm Cutting, and seven returning players. Nico Cini is the only returning senior, followed by juniors Josh Ball, Jaxson Butcher, Brendan Davies and Jayden Harned. Griffin Bos and Tyler Griggs return as sophomores, and both played valuable minutes as freshmen.

Beach volleyball

The Falcons were a young team last year, and they went 8-5 and lost in the first round of playoffs. The Falcons lost 10 players from their 2020 squad that went 13-0 in the regular season, and nine of those losses were graduated seniors.

The Falcons just had three upperclassmen last year and the only senior, Amaya Evans, played her first season of beach volleyball ever. After just a few months in the sand, she earned a scholarship with South Mountain Community College.

The Falcons started the season 1-2 with losses to Flagstaff and at Gilbert Christian, both of which were tough. Gilbert Christian made the state quarterfinals, and Flagstaff lost to Salpointe Catholic in the state championship.

The Falcons won three in a row and then dropped matches to Mesquite and Notre Dame Prep to be 4-4. The Falcons won four of their last five regular season games and ended as the No. 13 seed before losing 1-4 to No. 4 Estrella Foothills.

As a junior, Mia Kohoutek played all 14 games in the No. 1 spot paired with then sophomore Sophie Wickland, and they went 11-3. The two also made the second round of the individual pair tournament, and Kohoutek made school history with the win in the first round of the individual tournament. Kohoutek now has the 10th most wins for Fountain Hills with a 24-7 record.

Five Falcons received recognition at the end of the season. Kohoutek was named to the all-section first team for the second year in a row, and Wickland and Evans were both named to the all-section second team. Bella Garman and Sydney Boeshans were both named all-section honorable mentions as sophomores.

The Falcons will be ready to reload this year. There will be over 10 upperclassmen, and the junior varsity team went 9-1 last season. There were also two freshmen standouts in Kitrick Garman and Lucia Kalmbach that played all 14 varsity games.

The Falcons will return to the sand courses at Golden Eagle Park this spring. The first match of the season will be at home on Feb. 20.

Golf

The Fountain Hills High School golf team was small but talented last year. There were only seven Falcon golfers, and senior Alex Schaefer earned a repeat appearance at the state championships. Schafer led the Falcons all season, and he finished 16th out of 166 golfers at state.

Head coach Bob Buczek took over the golf program last year, and he started with the middle school team. Buczek’s wife, Angie Buczek, works at the middle school and stepped in as an assistant coach for both teams.

The Falcons had two freshmen, three sophomores and two seniors, and they finished the 23rd ranked team out of 64 in Arizona. Schafer and Brendan Muhs graduated, but the other Falcons can return and join the incoming freshmen that Buczek recruits.

Ethan Schafer was close to the state qualifications as a sophomore, and Buczek will look for him to lead as a junior. He’ll be helped by fellow juniors Tom Tiebert and Benjamin West.

Meg Milashoski and Savannah Miller did not compete in every match as freshmen, but they grew as the season progressed. Miller earned the Most Improved award at the end of the season banquet.

Buczek is determined to qualify the team for the state championship. Schafer was the only Falcon to go over the past two seasons, and he competed at the Tucson National Catalina Course as a senior.

Schafer was in 12th place until the 36th hole at state, when he hit a triple bogie and fell behind four spots. Schafer had just competed in the Metro Invitational two-day golf tournament three days prior to the state tournament, where he finished 13th out of 112 golfers.

The Falcons finished ninth of 16 teams at the Metro Invitational. Ethan Schafer placed 22nd, Tiebert finished 47th, Muhs placed 53rd and Miller took 68th in the Falcon’s final competition. The Falcons found ways to improve all season and Buczek laid the groundwork for a successful program.

More than other athletic programs in Fountain Hills, the golf team relies on public support and access to golf courses in town. They were appreciative of every course that allowed them to practice and host matches on last season.