Sports Update: CDO football raises money for Wounded Warrior Project

Canyon del Oro High School football will be hosting “Armed Forces Night,” during its home game Sept. 18. CDO will be honoring CDO football alums who are active duty service members and veterans at halftime. 

CDO will also be honoring all active duty armed forces members and veterans for their sacrifice in serving our country throughout the night, and will be raising money for Wounded Warrior Project through donations.

“As many of you know, Canyon del Oro football is very passionate about giving back to our nation’s service members,” the team said in a press release. “The few who fight to protect the freedom of this great country. 

“Often times many of these inspiring individuals come home with wounds you can and can’t see, like a missing limb, combat stress or depression,” the release continued. “Because they’ve risked everything for us, we are committed to raising awareness and funds for these wounded service members and their caregivers.”

The Canyon del Oro football team will collect donations to assist service members who have been injured in the line of duty during its Armed Forces Night on Friday as they host Cienega. All donations collected at the game will be donated to the nonprofit organization 

Wounded Warrior Project and will support a full range of programs and services for this generation of injured veterans and their families. WWP has a big, audacious goal: to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history. 

We’re challenging ourselves to help WWP reach this vision, and we need your help, the release read.

You can also donate through the team’s website, cdofootball.com.

The Dorados are not the only local program to honor veterans. In its game last weekend against Arcadia, Marana hosted Military Appreciation Night. 

In addition to honoring local veterans at halftime, the school welcomed recruiters from various branches of the armed services. Marana has been hosting the event for several seasons now. 

Cross Country

Mountain View held its Desert Solstice event Friday night. The night race on the Crooked Tree Golf Course is a fairly unique event as it is one of the few night races. It was also open to both middle school and high school racers. 

Last year, the race was cancelled due to bad weather, but this year it was not a factor. 

Buena’s Manuel Olivo-Quinones won the boys gold race. His time of 16:34 was 17 seconds better than second place Sam Pershing of Catalina Foothills. 

Tony Torres of Ironwood Ridge was the top northwest finisher, coming in 8th place. CDO’s Michael Madigan also cracked the top 20, crossing the finish line in 14th place. 

Ironwood Ridge’s Tyler Peterson was third place in the Boys Maroon Race. 

Rio Rico’s Smantha Schadler won the Girls Black race, the top race for girls at the event. Ironwood Ridge’s Valeria Liera and Hailey Palma were the top northwest finishers coming in 16th and 17th. 

Kaeli Otto was ninth in the girls silver race. 

In the boy open race, Marana’s Jordan Toone finished second, while Pusch Ridge’s Kaleb Bowers was eighth.  

The Marana girls had four runners finish in the top 10 of the girls open race. Rhiana Bourguet won the race with a time of 22:46, while Kim York was fourth and Daniella Arellano and Stephanie Ibarra were 7th and 8th. 

Golf

On Saturday, Ironwood Ridge’s girls golf team hosted the Nighthawk Invitational at the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course.

Although Sahauro’s Kathryn Ottman won the individual title with a 74 (+1) it was Phoenix’s Xavier High School that won the team title thanks to a trio of golfers tied for second. 

The host Nighthawks finished fourth, while Marana was eighth.