Greg Hansen's Top 100
Southern Arizona's best sports figures
Tucson, Arizona Published: 12.28.2008
Greg Hansen's annual list includes those who call Southern Arizona home.
1. Frank Busch. Read about Busch by clicking here.
2. Ian Kinsler. When he was injured in late August, the Canyon del Oro High School grad was a strong American League MVP contender. Even though he didn't play in September, the Texas Rangers second baseman hit .319 with 18 homers, 41 doubles, 71 RBIs and 102 runs.
3. Lacey Nymeyer. The most accomplished swimmer in Tucson history, the Mountain View High and UA product earned a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on the 400-meter freestyle relay team. She also led the Arizona Wildcats to the 2008 NCAA championship, winning the 100 freestyle, taking second in the 200 freestyle and helping three relay teams win national titles.
4. Jackie Vasquez. Her three-run home run put Arizona State in the championship game of the NCAA softball world series, which she helped the Sun Devils win. The Catalina Foothills grad was an All-Pac-10 outfielder, second in the league with a .418 batting average.
5. Ryan Perry. A first-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers, the Marana High product led the Pac-10 with a 2.89 ERA and struck out 72 batters in 74 innings for the Arizona Wildcats.
6. Lara Jackson. Three times in '08, Jackson set an American record in the 50 freestyle. Two were in yards, one in meters. She finished third at the Olympic trials, won the NCAA title at 50 yards and was part of two UA national championship relay teams.
7. Kenzie Fowler. In a season in which she went 24-1, struck out 309 batters and posted an ERA of 0.28, the CDO pitcher led the Dorados to the state softball championship and was selected the national Player of the Year by Gatorade.
8. Adam Hall. Try to top these numbers: Palo Verde's versatile senior scored 38 touchdowns — 31 on offense, four on special teams and three on defense.
9. Colter Todd and Cesar de la Cruz. Tying a world record in team roping, the Tucson pro rodeo cowboys won the Wrangler Pro RodeoTour Championship in November and ranked fifth over the entire season. At the National Finals Rodeo this month, they finished eighth overall and both earned $114,691.
10. Michael Thompson. The low amateur in the U.S. Open (tied for 29th overall), the University High grad was a consensus All-American at Alabama, where he led the Crimson Tide to its first SEC title in 28 years, won the individual SEC championship himself, made the U.S. Palmer Cup team. He also played two memorable rounds at the Masters in which he gained great respect by calling a penalty on himself in a virtually unseen putting situation.
11. Mike Stoops. Producing his first bowl team, and eight victories, Stoops held serve at home by beating nationally ranked Cal and routing Arizona State.
12. Jason Stoffel. Leading the Pac-10 with 13 saves, the Wildcat sophomore struck out an amazing 79 batters in 48 innings.
13. Abdi Abdirahman. Making his third USA Olympic team, the Tucson High, Pima College and UA product won the American 10,000-meter title, was 15th in the event in the Olympics and later finished sixth in the New York City marathon.
14. Jeff Scurran. In his second season as Santa Rita's football coach, Scurran piloted the Eagles to a 12-2 record and the Class 4A-II state championship game.
15. Luis Moreno. One of America's leading handball players, the 21-year-old Moreno won 3rd at the Simple Green U.S. Open and then the Y2K WPH Pro Stop, among others.
16. Albert Subirats. Arizona's NCAA men's swimming title was triggered by the senior from Venezuela, an Olympian who had finishes of first, second and third, and was the leadoff man on two NCAA championship relay teams.
17. Terrell Stoglin. In leading Santa Rita to the 4A-II state title game, the dazzling sophomore point guard averaged 22 points a game and already has scored 40 in a game in the early '08-09 season.
18. John Brooks. The long-time Tucson auto racer, now operating a 14-person racing team, led Brooks Associates Racing to the Atlantic Championship world title, an open-wheel, 11-event international racing series.
19. Matt Grevers. Moving to Tucson to train under the Frank Busch and Rick DeMont program, Grevers won three medals at the Beijing Olympics, including a silver medal in the 100 backstroke and two gold medals in relay events.
20. Sonny Dykes. Arizona's offensive coordinator orchestrated a unit that averaged 37 points and 402 yards per game.
21. Andy Lopez. Arizona's baseball coach rallied his club to reach an NCAA super regional championship game. The Wildcats went 42-19.
22. Caitlin Leverenz. Finishing third nationally in the 200 breast stroke, a fraction of a second off the USA Olympic swimming team in July, Leverenz returned to break her state high school record in the 200 IM and was the Girls Swimmer of the Meet in her final competition for Sahuaro.
23. Michael Perkins. His Flowing Wells High School girls basketball team went 33-1 to win the 4A-I state title, with a 32-point blowout in the championship game and finishing with 29 consecutive victories.
24. Rob Gronkowski. One of just three unanimous selections to the All-Pac-10 football team, Arizona's sophomore tight end caught 47 passes, a school record for tight ends, with 10 touchdowns — and he missed three games with an illness.
25. Nick Gallick. The Sunnyside High grad soared to the NCAA's No. 1 wrestling ranking at 141 pounds this season at Iowa State. He was fifth at the NCAA finals last year.
26. Alison Walshe. A first-team All-American in her senior year at Arizona, winning three tournaments, Walshe turned pro and gained conditional playing privileges during the 2009 LPGA Tour.
27. J.J. Hardy. The Milwaukee Brewers shortstop, from Sabino High School, hit a career-high .283, with 24 homers and 74 RBIs in a playoff season.
28. Tairia Mims. In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, Mims, a Salpointe Catholic grad, hit. 319 with 10 homers in the Bound for Beijing Tour. She started all nine games for the silver-medal USA softball team.
29. Jerry Coons Jr. For the second consecutive year, the Palo Verde High grad won the USAC midget-car series national championship.
30. Sara Brown. After being selected Michigan State's female athlete of the year, the Salpointe grad joined the LPGA Futures Tour and had two third-place finishes in an abbreviated pro season and reached the final round of the LPGA Qualifying School.
31. Herbie Behm. Bound to Tennessee on a swimming scholarship, the Catalina Foothills sprinter set a national record in the 50-yard freestyle for a 17-year-old and won two state titles as the Falcons were team champs.
32. Jill Camarena. Overcoming an injury in the lead-up to the USA Olympic Track and Field trials, Camarena, who has trained for two years under UA coach Craig Carter, finished third overall in the shot put and was part of the American team in Beijing.
33. Rick DeMont, Augie Busch, Greg Rhodenbaugh. The UA's assistant swimming coaches made an impact on two NCAA title teams and at the Olympics.
34. Eben Britton. A rock on Arizona's offensive line, the junior left tackle became the Wildcats' first All-Pac-10 offensive lineman since Yusuf Scott in 1998.
35. Brian Peabody. After coming so close to winning state basketball championships at Salpointe Catholic, Peabody finally broke through, leading Ironwood Ridge to the state 5A-II basketball title.
36. Kris O'Dowd. Starting at center for USC, the Salpointe grad was selected to the All-Pac-10 team as a sophomore.
37. Liz Patterson. As an Arizona Wildcats sophomore, Patterson won the NCAA high jump championship, clearing 6-1 1/4 in Des Moines, Iowa.
38. Dave Cosgrove. The director of the Tucson Soccer Academy coached the Pima College men's soccer team to a 16-3-1 season in which it was ranked in the NJCAA top 10 for most of the year. The Aztecs lost 1-0 in the region title game to eventual national champion Yavapai.
39. Willie Tuitama. Adding to his many school passing records, Tuitama threw for 2,763 yards and 21 touchdowns in the regular season.
40. Mike Candrea. His powerhouse USA Softball team lost just two games in six exhausting months, earning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.
41. Sarah Denninghoff. The Star's girls Swimmer of the Year from Sabino High School won state championship in two events, including the 50 free for the third year in succession. At the Olympic trials, she finished 28th and 35th nationally in backstroke events.
42. Mike Thomas. Making the All-Pac-10 football team for the second consecutive year, "Money Mike'' caught 75 passes and returned two punts for touchdowns.
43. Roric Fink. As head coach of Tucson's powerful Ford Dealers age-group swimming program at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, Fink also served a dual role in helping to coach Tucson's Olympians and UA national champions.
44. Bernard Lagat. Last year's No. 1 performer on this list won American championships at 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters, but a horribly timed leg muscle injury cost him a chance to sweep those events in the Beijing Olympics.
45. Jordan Hill. Coming of age as a college basketball player, the UA junior center has been dominant in the early season after a sophomore year in which he averaged 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds.
46. Jeremiah Korn. In the NJCAA track and field meet in Texas, Korn, a Sahuaro High School grad, won the national title in the shot put with his final throw, a lifetime best 52 feet 10 inches.
47. Jared McDonald. In a breakout year at Pima College, the infielder from Sahuaro High School led the ACCAC with a .455 batting average, topped the league in hits and runs, and earned a scholarship to Arizona State.
48. Jean Basson. Returning All-American swimmer who played a huge part in the UA's national championship before making an impressive run by finishing fourth in the Olympic final in the 200 freestyle.
49. Don Pooley. Four top-10 finishes on the Champions Tour led to another strong season for the UA alumnus; he was No. 43 on the money list at $439,000.
50. Shaun Cooper. Catalina High School's power-hitting infielder tied a Class 4A record with 37 career home runs while leading the Trojans deep into the state playoffs.
51. Zack Lloyd. A junior shot-putter at Arizona, Lloyd established the nation's top throw of the year (69 feet) and finished fourth in the NCAA final.
52. Victor Aros. In his first National Finals Rodeo, the Marana cowboy was 15th overall in team roping, earning $77,065, after winning two rodeo titles in the regular season.
53. Annie Chandler. Arizona's standout swimming All-American was part of two NCAA championship relay teams and produced a third- place finish herself as the Wildcats won the national title.
54. Katie Asher. Bound for Oklahoma State on a softball scholarship, the CDO third baseman hit 14 home runs and batted .476 to help the Dorados to the state championship.
55. Jake Arnold. After winning the 2006 and 2007 NCAA championships in the decathlon, the former Arizona Wildcat came agonizingly close to making the USA Olympic team. He was fourth overall at the Olympic trials.
56. Ben Kern. After winning the Gateway Tour's winter series golf title, the Palo Verde grad finished fifth in the '08 Tour Championship. He earned $113,263 overall.
57. Marcus Titus. In his sophomore swimming season at Arizona, the Flowing Wells product finished second in the NCAA 100 breast stroke and was 11th in that event at the USA Olympic trials.
58. Craig Curley. The Pima College sophomore broke Olympian Abdi Abdirahman's school record at 5,000 meters, finished seventh in the NJCAA final and then won Tucson's Labor Day run through Saguaro National Park.
59. T.J. Steele. Completing his college career, the CDO grad hit .313 with 11 homers at Arizona, led the Pac-10 with 28 stolen bases and then made the New York-Penn League All-Star team.
60. Ronnie Black. Turning 50 in late May, the Tucson pro golfer qualified for eight Champions Tour events, earning $191,000 with six top-20 finishes. He finished fifth in Qualifying School to get conditional privileges for '09.
61. Joseph Parsons and Cutter Parsons. The rodeo relatives from Marana had a strong year; Joseph finished 22nd overall in tie-down roping on the PRCA; Cutter, Joseph's uncle, was second in all-around standings on rodeo's Turquoise Circuit.
62. Jamie Slone. A former radio station executive, Slone finished second in the 2008 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge, winning the Mid Ohio event and finishing second at Road Atlanta.
63. Sybil Dosty. Starting 26 games for NCAA tournament-bound Arizona State, the ex-Salpointe star averaged eight points and six rebounds as a junior center.
64. Rich Barcelo. Without full playing privileges on the Nationwide Tour, the Sahuaro High School grad earned $100,968 and had three top 10s, then reached the final stage of PGA Q-School this month.
65. Chase Budinger. Averaging 17.1 points, Budinger was a third-team All-Pac-10 choice.
66. Pat Nugent and Gary Minor. The savvy head football coaches at CDO and Ironwood Ridge guided their clubs to the state semifinals.
67. Jenae Leles. Arizona's run to the college softball World Series was keyed by the power-hitting UA infielder, who hit .349 with 17 homers and 49 RBIs.
68. Alex Solot. Breaking into the starting lineup at UTEP, the Rincon grad became a college football offensive line standout in his sophomore season.
69. Nate Tyler. Playing professionally for the first time, the Sabino and UA grad finished second three times in the Gateway Tour's Dallas series and earned more than $75,000, which included his debut on the Nationwide Tour.
70. Tristany and Kirsten Leikem. The Flowing Wells High School twins won the state doubles tennis title for the fourth consecutive year, finishing their prep careers with a cumulative 252-14 record in singles and doubles.
71. Dominic Johnson. In an attempt to make it to the Beijing Olympics, the Amphitheater and UA grad cleared 18 feet 2 inches in the pole vault in June to qualify for his third Olympic Games as part of the Saint Lucia team.
72. Abyee Maracigan. The Star's Southern Arizona Player of the Year led Flowing Wells to a 33-1 record and the girls state 4A-I basketball championship.
73. David McDaniel. Sweeping to the City Amateur and County Amateur golf championships for a third consecutive season, the CDO grad also reached the match-play round of the U.S. Amateur.
74. Tony Dougherty. The Amphi and UA grad coached Central Arizona College to its third consecutive NJCAA women's national track championship.
75. Paul Garza. Sunnyside won another state wrestling title, and Garza, winning his second individual state title, was voted the state's top wrestler in all classifications.
76. Jake Fischer. The Ironwood Ridge fullback-linebacker, who will play at Arizona next year, averaged 10 tackles per game as the Nighthawks reached the 5A-II state semifinals.
77. Robb Salant and John Condes. Two of Tucson's ranking tennis figures; Salant coached Catalina Foothills to its fourth straight state boys title, and Condes took Salpointe to its fifth straight boys crown.
78. Pat Tunnell. One of the leading volleyball players in Tucson history, Tunnell led Salpointe to the 5A/4A-I semifinals.
79. Joel Greenshields and Jake Tapp. Two of the inspirational performers who helped Arizona win the NCAA men's swimming title. Greenshields and Tapp then made the Canadian Olympic team in a stirring performance a week later.
80. Susie Meyers. A former UA All-American and LPGA member, Meyers is one of Tucson's leading golf instructors. Her list of clients includes All-American Michael Thompson. This year, Meyers caddied for Thompson as he finished 26th at the U.S. Open.
81. Greg Wenneborg. Pima College's track and cross country coach was the Region I Coach of the Year.
82. Chris Brown. Completing his college career in typical fashion, the Salpointe grad started all 22 games as UMass reached the NCAA soccer tournament for a second straight year.
83. Tara Erdmann. The Flowing Wells grad won the West Coast Conference cross country championship and was the WCC Freshman of the Year in women's outdoor track.
84. Cameron Ahari. A Salpointe grad and freshman tennis player at North Carolina, Ahari won four team state championships in succession and was unbeaten in singles action.
85. Megan Ellsworth. Benson High School's softball pitching standout went 26-1 with an ERA of 0.23 and a .459 batting average for the 2A state champs.
86. C.J. Ziegler. Arizona's top power hitter, Ziegler, from CDO, was third in the Pac-10 with 20 homers and batted .338 as the Wildcats reached the NCAA super regionals.
87. Mike Brownstein and Rafael Neda. Brownstein, from Sahuaro, and Neda, from Amphi, had terrific baseball seasons at New Mexico. Brownstein batted .350 and was an all-conference second baseman; Neda hit .323 as the Lobos' starting freshman catcher.
88. Dana Alcocer. After completing a standout pitching career at Pima College, Alcocer won 19 games in her major-college debut at Purdue.
89. Rich Ellerson. For much of the football season, Ellerson's Cal-Poly Mustangs were ranked No. 3 in the FCS poll. The former UA defensive coordinator and Salpointe grad ultimately took Cal-Poly to eight straight wins, the national playoffs and a 36-35 overtime loss at Wisconsin of the Big Ten. He was named Army's head coach Friday.
90. Ryan Silva. Only an eighth-grader at Doolen Middle School, Silva set a world age-group record in the mile run (4:38), later won the Reebok Mt. San Antonio Cross Country Invitational for all 13-year-olds by more than 25 seconds, and was the top 13-year-old finisher at the USA Track and Field and Cross Country championships.
91. Todd Holthaus. In the two seasons before Holthaus became PCC's women's basketball coach, the Aztecs went 1-29 and 5-22. He improved it to 10-18 his first year and has the Aztecs at 6-3 now.
92. Tamara Pridgett. Scoring the game-winning goal in the 5A-II state soccer championship game, the Rincon athlete also was Tucson's fastest sprinter in the 100 meters, the 200 and the 400.
93. Michael D'Arrigo. He was perhaps the state's best goalkeeper during his junior soccer season at Catalina Foothills, leading the Falcons to the state 4A-I title.
94. James Eichberger. Catalina High School's standout runner won the state 800-meter and 400-meter titles and ended his prep career with six state titles by running the final leg on the winning 1,600 relay.
95. Jessie Ingraham. The All-ACCAC first-team women's basketball standout at Pima College, who was the National Player of the Week, averaged 20 points a game and is now leading Dixie (Utah) College in scoring.
96. Ashton Kent. He scored the winning goal for Catalina Foothills in the state 4A-I soccer championship, and was a first-team All-Southern Arizona shortstop while helping the Falcons to the state semifinals.
97. D.J. Carrasco. After a three-year absence from the big leagues, pitching for the Tucson Sidewinders and being released by the Diamondbacks, the Pima College and Safford product pitched into the American League playoffs, appearing 31 times for the Chicago White Sox.
98. James MacPherson. The Mountain View grad was a star in the Arena League, throwing 87 touchdown passes for the Grand Rapids Rampage.
99. Paul Robb. The Tucson triathlete, a Rincon High and UA grad, put together a sponsorship package to pay expenses for the family of Olympic silver medalist Lacey Nymeyer to spend two weeks in China.
100. Keith Hernandez. The Pima College and Nogales High grad was the Division II baseball Player of the Year after hitting .462 with 18 homers and 82 RBIs at Emporia State in Kansas.
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