Luke Macchiaroli got a second chance to repeat as a 5A Division I state wrestling champion this winter. He didn’t fail in that quest. As a matter of fact, failure didn’t happen often to Macchiaroli in his four-year career at Tempe Corona del Sol High School.
Macchiaroli helped himself to a second consecutive individual title (215 pounds) and his third in four years. That accomplishment is good reason Macchiaroli is the Tribune wrestler of the year for the second year in a row.
“It’s going to be sad to see him leave,” Corona del Sol coach Dave Vibber said. “For a kid his size, he’s a tremendous athlete. He is relentless on his feet. Rarely if ever was he taken down, especially this year.”
Some of Macchiaroli’s accomplishments at Corona:
• A career record of 176-9 (.951 percentage).
• A school-record 491 takedowns.
• Most career pins (101)
• Most team points (1,013).
• The last two years he was 101-0 at 215 pounds. He was 48-0 in 2009.
Macchiaroli started his career winning a state title at 189 pounds as a freshman. He pinned his opponent in that title match.
“It wasn’t a fluke, and I think the next three years proved that,” Vibber said.
Macchiaroli is headed to Iowa State in the fall where he’ll enter behind a senior at his weight, Jake Varner, who won the NCAA title last month.
“Maybe he’ll take Luke under his wing the first year and then Luke will get his chance at the next level,” Vibber said. “It’s time, and I think he’s ready to move on.”
Macchiaroli has already moved on in a way. This weekend he is competing in the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships for seniors in Virginia Beach, Va. He finished third there competing against other juniors last year.
2008-09 All-Tribune wrestling team
First team
| Athlete | School | Wt. | Yr. | Comment |
| Vidal Mejia | Chandler | 103 | So. | 5A-I state champ, dominant in injury-shortened year |
| Chad Done | Highland | 112 | So. | 5A-I champ beat unbeaten foe in title match |
| Daniel Mendoza | Westwood | 119 | Jr. | 5A-I champ 47-0, 3 pins and major dec. at state |
| Shane McGough | Desert Mtn. | 125 | Jr. | 5A-I champ avenged loss in final, 2nd state title |
| Mike Hamel | Mesquite | 130 | Jr. | 5A-I champ 44-0, 2nd to win individual title at Mesquite |
| Josiah Stotts | Marcos de Niza | 135 | Sr. | 5A-II champ redeemed 5th-place finish from ’08 at 130 |
| Ben Carrillo | Desert Vista | 140 | Sr. | 5A-I champ 34-4, improved 2nd-place finish at 135 in ’08 |
| Ryan Miller | Corona del Sol | 145 | Jr. | 5A-I champ 45-3, 3rd at 125 in ’08 |
| Clint Norton | Brophy | 152 | Sr. | 5A-I runner-up 39-5, 4th at 145 in ’08 |
| Derek Felton | Corona del Sol | 160 | Jr. | 5A-I state champ 46-0, won thrilling title match |
| Daniel Covert | Highland | 171 | Sr. | 5A-I champ 17-0, beat ’08 champ in final |
| Zion Galladay | Mesa | 189 | Sr. | 5A-I champ 35-3, improved on 6th-place finish in ’08 |
| Luke Macchiaroli | Corona del Sol | 215 | Sr. | 5A-I champ 41-0, won third state title in career |
| Mike Howard | Corona del Sol | Hwt. | Jr. | 5A-I champ 40-3, avenged regular-season losses to win title |
Wrestler of the year: Luke Macchiaroli, Corona del Sol
Second team
| Athlete | School | Wt. | Yr. | Comment |
| Frank Armenta | Marcos de Niza | 103 | So. | 5A-II champ won unseeded at state |
| Isaac Wright | Westwood | 112 | Sr. | 5A-I runner-up suffered lone loss in final |
| Jeff Olmstead | Higley | 119 | Sr. | 4A-II state champ 45-2, 4th at 112 in ’08 |
| Victor Montano | Mesa | 125 | Sr. | 5A-I runner-up, only losses to 5A-I and 5A-II champs |
| Marcelo Pachecho | Gilbert | 130 | Sr. | 5A-I 3rd-place finisher, wrestled in same region as Hamel |
| Blake Mabry | Highland | 135 | Sr. | 5A-I runner-up 35-2, won 5A-I state in ’08 |
| Emmanuel Del Castillo | Higley | 140 | Jr. | 4A-II 3rd-place finish, posted 43-3 season |
| Adam Pavlenko | Marcos de Niza | 145 | Fr. | 5A-II 3rd-place finisher with 27-5 record |
| Iggy Castro | Queen Creek | 152 | Sr. | 4A-II 4th-place finisher with 21-6 record |
| Ty Johnson | Highland | 160 | Sr. | 5A-I runner-up 21-1, lost heartbreaker to Felton |
| Jake Goddard | Queen Creek | 171 | Sr. | 4A-II state champ was 44-5 |
| Richard Breese | Coronado | 189 | Sr. | 4A-II state champ improved on 3rd-place finish in ’08 |
| Aaron Pavlenko | Marcos de Niza | 215 | Jr. | 5A-II state champ won all 8 matches at 215 |
| Jared Weverstad | Desert Ridge | Hwt | Jr. | 5A-II runner-up posted 41-4 season |
Coach of the year: Dave Vibber, Corona del Sol
Honorable mention
103 pounds: Matt Purkey, Mesa, So.; Robbie Mathers, Desert Vista, Fr; Trevor Willson, Desert Ridge, Fr.; Ivan Ruyz, Williams Field, Jr. 112: Gabe Ballesteros, Mesa, Jr.; Andrew Patino, Coronado, So. 119: Ty Wheeler, Basha, Sr.; Ryan Cox, Corona, So.; Chris Skoff, Horizon, Jr.; Brigg Solomon, Queen Creek, So. 125: Tyler Lumpkin, Hamilton, Sr.; Brian Petrovsky, Horizon, Sr. 135: Brandon McElveen, Mesq, Jr. 140: Craig Alger, Mesa, Jr.; Dominic Sotelo, Marcos, So.; Dallen Sullivan, Mtn. View, Jr. 145: Tate Huber, Mtn. View, Jr.; Heath Boers, Williams Field, Jr. 152: Blake Ortiz, Corona, Jr. 160: David Lesser, Red Mountain, Sr.; Evan Hillis, Tempe, Sr.; Trace Bowman, Queen Creek, Jr. 171: Colton Kiernan, Desert Vista;Kaylen Hamlett, Gilbert, Sr. 189: Jake Smith, Basha, Jr.; Lance Hyer, Skyline, Sr.; Wes Moore, Queen Creek, Jr. 215: Manual Parra, Mtn. View, Sr.; Daniel Bowman, Queen Creek, Jr. Hwt: Jake Solomon, Mesquite, Sr.; Austin Cormier, Queen Creek, Sr.
Season highlights
Worth the wait: The 5A Conference waited a long time to determine its team champion — Feb. 28 to be exact — but it was worth the wait as Tempe Corona del Sol managed to unseat Mesa High as three-time-defending champ in a tightly contested duel, 25-24.
Corona trailed most of the match but used its strength in the upper weights, including switching Mike Howard and Luke Macchiaroli from their usual classes — heavyweight and 215 pounds, respectively — to secure its final points and pull out the victory. The title was especially sweet for longtime Corona del Sol coach Dave Vibber, who nabbed the top spot for the first time in nearly three decades of coaching.
Wild finish: One of the top matches of the year, particularly because it came in a 5A-I state title match at 160 pounds, was between Corona del Sol’s Derek Felton and Gilbert Highland’s Ty Johnson. Johnson was dominating their championship match with a 9-1 lead after the second period and Felton said his shoulder “popped” while Johnson had him down near the end of that period. Johnson was still leading 11-8 late in the bout against the top-seeded and undefeated Felton when, with 14 seconds left, Felton pulled off an inside trip and pinned Johnson to win his first individual title and complete an unbeaten season.
Title haul: East Valley 5A-II and 4A schools didn’t come away with any team hardware but had their share of quality individuals. Queen Creek 171-pounder Jake Goddard upset top seed Trevor Saxmon of Glendale Raymond Kellis and went on to win the 4A-II title. Gilbert Higley’s Jeff Olmstead beat a region foe for the fourth time in the 4A-II 119-pound final to win a state title over Queen Creek’s Brigg Solomon. Tempe High’s Evan Hillis won the 4A-II title at 160 pounds. Marcos de Niza’s Frank Armenta handed Anthem Boulder Creek’s Tim Ellison his only loss in 51 matches.
