Sunrise High School,
Beyond The Gridiron
On Friday nights at Sunrise Mountain High
School, bleachers full of fans can be spotted,
depending on the season, either at the football
field or alongside the basketball court. That’s true
of most schools. But at SMHS, many of the sports
that don’t necessarily draw large crowds are the
ones that truly excel.SMHS varsity wrestling has had an excellent year so far and has a nearly perfect record. The team took first in the Cactus Classic Tournament and finished in the top five at the Moon Valley Tournament. The wrestlers hope to take the region title and plan on sending six or seven people to State.
Having lost beloved and respected Coach Randy Fernandez last year in a car accident, the wrestlers show that they keep him in their hearts by telling each other to “Break it down on hammers.” “He told us to be the hammer, not the nail, to get us to do our best,” explains senior Jarrod Larosa.
The runners of the girls’ cross country team had an outstanding end to their season by taking first in the Peoria district and both the girls and boys took first in the Desert West Region Competition.
The girls’ basketball team is full of talent and has an exceptional record. “We lost a lot of talent last year but we plan on proving everyone wrong who expects us to do poorly,” says senior Ileana Scaffidi.
The boys of the SMHS baseball team had a good season last year, finishing with a record of 28-6 and winning Region. Coach Eric Gardner hopes to improve on the team’s past successes. “We want to play better out of conference and be more balanced as a team,” he says.
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