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Miners boys’ basketball– A 58-13 win against Academy of Tucson on Jan. 6 gave the Miners their fifth win in their last six games. They dropped their following two games to Gilbert Classical Academy and the Gregory School on Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, respectively. The Miners have four home games and four road games remaining in the regular season. The Miners, currently ranked 28th, will need to win the majority of their remaining games to reach the State Championship Tournament, which begins Feb. 20. Only the top 24 ranked teams qualify. Upcoming schedule: Jan. 14 vs. Superior, Jan. 16 at Arizona College Prep, and Jan. 20 vs. Arete Prep. All games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Miners girls’ basketball– The Lady Miners, who defeated Hayden in their last game before the holiday break, won their second game in-a-row after defeating Academy of Tucson last Tuesday, 57-21. They extended their winning streak to three games the next night, defeating Gilbert Classical Academy, 43-9. With the back-to-back wins last week, the Lady Miners doubled their season win total from two to four. This is the Lady Miners first winning streak since they won six straight games last Jan. 14-28. They’ll go for their fourth-straight win at Baboquivari on Jan. 13. Upcoming schedule: Jan. 14 vs. Superior, Jan. 16 at Arizona College Prep, and Jan. 20 vs. Arete Prep. All games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Miners wrestling– The seventh ranked Miners’ wrestling team went 3-1 at the Wilcox Multi Meet on Jan. 6, improving their overall record to 20-13 this season. They defeated Santa Cruz (57-14), Tohono O’Odham (60-18), and Hayden (66-0). They lost to Wilcox, 61-6. “We’re moving in the right direction,” Miners’ head coach Daniel Najera told The Miner. “But we need to be more consistent. We need to win the takedown battle and start closing the gap on these good teams (and) we can do that.” Najera announced that Jessica Lopez was named the Miners’ Wrestler of the Week. The wrestlers with the best records so far this season include Joseph Lopez (23-8), Franky Renteria (23-9), Colbey Stratton (23-10), Ezra Miller (17-6), and Francisco Medina (17-10). Upcoming events: Jan. 14-15 at Benson vs. Tombstone and Santa Cruz and Jan. 16-17 at Coolidge Invitational.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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