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All Kassidy Long-Goheen wanted was a chance to blare ABBA one more time.

All Kassidy Long-Goheen wanted was a chance to blare ABBA one more time.

If Desert Vista coach Chris Hanson was in the same position last season, he'd have to look at two of his six female pole vaulters and say, "Sorry, but you can't compete at the state meet."

If Desert Vista coach Chris Hanson was in the same position last season, he'd have to look at two of his six female pole vaulters and say, "Sorry, but you can't compete at the state meet."

The good news for the Deer Valley Skyhawks and Sunrise Mountain Mustangs is both teams will get to play in the 5A Div-II state boys golf tournament. The bad news is if either school has designs on bringing a state championship back to the Northwest Valley, they will have to find a way to take their games to another level at Aguila Golf Course Nov. 5-6. "Judging by what Horizon and Pinnacle did, especially today, they look like they're a step ahead," Sunrise Mountain coach Eric Gardner said. "We definitely think we're a top five team at state. Maybe we're a long shot to win it, but we feel if we play well we've got a shot." On Tuesday, at Maryvale Golf Course, the Horizon Huskies, in their first season at the 5A Div-II level, earned the win in Super Regional No. 2 by defeating Pima Region rival Pinnacle. The two teams finished in a tie, but Horizon edged the Pioneers when each team's fifth score was used to break the deadlock. Horizon, coming from the 5A Div-I ranks where they were a perennial top 10 team at state during the last decade, lost a four-shot lead to the Pioneers but claimed the victory with a two-day total of 605. The Pioneers comeback bid was led by Jim Song, who autographed his scorecard the Asian Sensation. Living up to the nickname, Song won the event with a 6-under 66 Tuesday on the 6,216-yard par-72 layout. The Pioneers senior headed into the second day of the event in a three-way tie for the top spot before pulling away. Only five shots behind the Huskies and one back of Pinnacle at the start of Tuesday's play, Sunrise Mountain slipped to fourth as four of the Mustangs five players recorded higher scores than they had in the opening round. "My guys are pretty upset," Gardner said. "They know they can play better, but we seemed to struggle off the tee today. We've got some time to work on it before state, so hopefully we can get things fixed." Junior Kyle Stafford, who opened with a 78, closed with a 74 as the Mustangs only player to improve on day 2. Stafford's effort earned him a fifth-place finish overall. Deer Valley, which went into Tuesday's final round in fourth place, jumped over Sunrise Mountain for third, shaving four shots off their opening round effort of 314 with a second round 310 to finish at 624. Pacing the Skyhawks was Trevor Bates. After shooting an even-par 72 in the opening round, Bates came back with a 73 to claim third individually. "I went in hoping to finish in the top five," he said. Heading into the final round with a share of the lead, Bates elevated those goals. "I didn't make enough birdies to have a chance to win, but overall I played all right. I was kind of errant off the tees, which made it tough to score. My short game, though, was solid." Showing off his putting stroke, Bates canned a 40-footer on the 385-yard, par-4 18th to close his round with a birdie. The improvement on day 2 by Deer Valley was due to the play of Aaron Krog. After opening with an 87, Krog came back with a 5-over-par 77 to finish 21st individually. "I just went out there trying to have fun," he said. "We were only seven shots back of the lead heading into the day, so we figured if we played really well, we might have a chance to win. I putted a lot better today, which really helped." Along with the top four of Horizon, Pinnacle, Deer Valley and Sunrise Mountain, Westview, Skyline, Sunnyside and Goldwater qualified for the state tournament. Each of the two super regionals, consisting of 15 teams, qualified their top eight teams to the state tournament. Prior to the season, the 30 5A Div-II teams were randomly drawn into one of the two super regionals. Also playing at Maryvale were the teams in Super Regional No. 1, which saw Kingman edge Ironwood Ridge by a stroke for the win. Ironwood Ridge shaved 14 shots off their opening round effort make up almost all of a nine-stroke deficit, but fell 614 to 613 to the Bulldogs. While Ironwood and Centennial did not advance as a team, they will also be represented at the state tournament. In addition to the top eight teams, the super regionals also qualified the top six players from the non-state tournament teams. For Ironwood, which finished ninth overall, 29 shots out of the final playoff spot as a team, Drew Brown and Andy Briggs will both head to Aguila Golf Course in Laveen for the state tournament Nov. 5-6. Brown shot 80-77 over the two-day event to finish 12th while his teammate, Briggs, took 28th with a two-day total of 167 backing up an opening round 82 with an 85 Tuesday. Centennial, which finished 11th, will send Cole Taylor to the state tournament. The Coyotes senior shot seven strokes better Tuesday improving from an 83 to a 76 to finish 13th in the 71-player field. Tee times at Aguila Golf Course, at 8440 S. 35th Ave. in Laveen, begin at 7:30 a.m. both days. Team Results Super Regional #2 1. Horizon 307-298= 605 2. Pinnacle 311-294= 605 3. Deer Valley 314-310= 624 4. Sunrise Mountain 312-322= 634 5. Westview 346-326= 672 6. Skyline 345-337= 682 7. Sunnyside 335-350= 685 8. Goldwater 350-340= 690 9. Valley Vista 349-369= 718 10. Rincon 354-368= 722 11. La Joya 362-360= 722 12. Cibola 375-370= 745 13. South Mountain 423-403= 826 14. Yuma 363-DQ= DQ 15. Carl Hayden 527-DQ= DQ Super Regional #1 1. Kingman 305-308= 613 2. Ironwood Ridge 314-300= 614 3. Desert Ridge 320-315= 635 4. Boulder Creek 323-316= 639 5. Willow Canyon 322-329= 651 6. Marcos de Niza 337-325= 662 7. Marana Mountain View 348-339= 687 8. Kofa 342-346= 688 9. Ironwood 368-349= 717 10. North 371-348= 719 11. Centennial 366-371= 737 12. Tolleson 389-404= 793 13. Camelback 588-515= 1103 14. Central DQ-DQ= DQ 15. Gila Ridge DQ-465= DQ Individual Results Super Regional #2 1. Jim Song, Pinnacle 72-66= 138 2. Blake Brown, Horizon 72-69= 141 3. Trevor Bates, Deer Valley 72-73= 145 4. Clayton Kosanovich, Horizon 75-72= 147 5. Kyle Stafford, Sunrise Mountain 78-74= 152 6. Erick Jimenez, Sunnyside, 73-80= 153 7. Ryan Mierau, Pinnacle, 77-76=153 8. Luke Bradford, Horizon, 77-77=154 9. Geoff Dalgleish, Sunrise Mountain, 73-82=155 10. Chris Capper, Deer Valley 77-78=155 Super Regional #1 1. Martin Salgado, Kofa 75-72=147 2. Brian Lorenz, Ironwood Ridge 74-74=148 3. Sean Williams, Kingman 78-71=149 4. Cody Anderson, Willow Canyon 76-74=150 5. Jeff Quinn, Boulder Creek 76-74=150 6. Ben Esparza, Ironwood Ridge 78-73=151 7. Dylan Busch, Desert Ridge 77-76=153 8. Tanner Theel, Kingman 73-80=153 9. Andrew Carlin, Kingman 74-82= 156 10. Carter Beck, Ironwood Ridge 80-76=156 Northwest Valley state qualifiers Teams Super Regional #2 Deer Valley 314-310= 624 Trevor Bates 72-73= 145 (3rd) Chris Capper 77-78= 155 (10th) Eric Bieda 79-82= 161 (18th) AAaron Krog 87-77= 164 (21st) Sunrise Mountain 312-322= 634 Kyle Stafford 78-74= 152 (5th) Geoff Dalgleish 73-82= 155 (9th) Tyler Pang 77-83= 160 (16th) David Neel 84-83= 167 (24th) Individuals Super Regional #1 Drew Brown, Ironwood 80-77= 157 (12th) Cole Taylor, Centennial 83-76= 159 (13th) Andy Briggs, Ironwood 82-85= 167 (28th)

It’s been said that a team doesn’t finish second, it loses first. That may be how the boys golf team from Desert Mountain feels about its runner-up trophy from last year’s 5A state tournament.

It’s been said that a team doesn’t finish second, it loses first. That may be how the boys golf team from Desert Mountain feels about its runner-up trophy from last year’s 5A state tournament.

Money and name recognition are two of the most important elements a political candidate can have. Don Goldwater now has both. On Friday, the GOP gubernatorial hopeful qualified for $453,874 in public financing to inject into his campaign as it heads into the final stretch of the primary race.

Money and name recognition are two of the most important elements a political candidate can have. Don Goldwater now has both. On Friday, the GOP gubernatorial hopeful qualified for $453,874 in public financing to inject into his campaign as it heads into the final stretch of the primary race.

Political candidates are making the final dash to gather petition signatures in time for Wednesday’s deadline to qualify for the Sept. 7 party primaries.

Travis Johnson, who shared the lead after the first round, returned to the top of the leaderboard during Thursday’s third round of the first-stage PGA Tour qualifier being held at the new Champions Course at the TPC Scottsdale.

Mesa and Mountain View, the teams that squared off earlier this week for the 5A Division I team title, qualified eight wrestlers apiece Saturday for next week’s semifinals of the 5A-I individual tournament.

The Arizona State track and field team opened competition Thursday at the 51st Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.

Even one of Gov. Janet Napolitano's harshest and most outspoken critics is praising President-elect Barack Obama's apparent choice to make her Homeland Security chief.

Mountain Ridge seniors Nadya and Nastia Bishton will take on the top cross country athletes in the nation Saturday at the 2007 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. Since defending her title at the 5A Div-I state meet Nov. 3, Nadya has kept on running and Nastia has always been close behind. The duo led the Mountain Lions to a third-place team finish in 2006 and a second-place performance this year. They finished 1-2 Nov. 17 at the Nike Team Nationals Southwest Regional event Nov. 17 at Kiwanis Park in Tempe turning in times of 17:38.37 and 17:43.43 respectively. On the heels of that effort, the two traveled to the Foot Locker Cross Country West Regional Saturday at San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. Competing against runners from Western states, Nadya finished sixth (17:37) and Nastia finished eighth (17:40) in the field of 116. The winning time of 17:17 was turned in by Jordan Hasay from Arroyo Grande, Calif. Jessica Tonn from Xavier, who finished behind the Bishton sisters at the 5A Div-I state meet, was the top finisher from Arizona, taking third in a time of 17:35. By finishing in the top 10, the Bishtons earned spots in Saturday's championship event, which is set to start at 9:15 a.m. in Balboa Park in San Diego.

Former Nationwide Tour player Greg Bruckner of Phoenix led the way as 27 players advanced from the first stage of the PGA Tour qualifier being hosted at the new Champions Course at the TPC Scottsdale.

Is $40,000 worth a few minutes of coverage on NBC?

There may be all sorts of reason not to elect an attorney to public office.

Williams Field High School has been around for just three years, but the Black Hawks’ wrestling program has had three coaches.

Tempe Corona del Sol shot a 667 to win the Central Region girls golf championship Tuesday at The Duke golf course in Maricopa.

Mesa Mountain View diver Mikenna Cloward posted an aggregate score of 428.5 to finish first at the 5A Division I girls state qualifying meet Friday at Chandler High School.