Seven Desert Speed School athletes and alumni were named to Arizona Daily Star sportswriter Greg Hansen’s Top 100 Sports Figures of 2022 list. Among those athletes recognized:
#22 – Logan Cole, Salpointe/University of Arizona softball
Ranked as the No. 23 overall softball player in the country, the Salpointe Catholic High School infielder — now a freshman at Arizona — led the Lancers to the state title by hitting .546 with 15 stolen bases.
#34 – Kylie Wild, Salpointe track/XC
Salpointe Catholic High School’s elite distance runner won her third consecutive state cross country championship, then accepted a scholarship to attend Boston College.
#50 Riley Nielson, Sabino/Southern Utah softball
Leading Sabino High School to the 3A state softball championship, Nielson went 19-2 as a pitcher and hit .411 with 35 RBIs at the plate.
#58 Preston Clifford, Pima baseball
Pima College’s All-ACCAC infielder hit .379 to make the all-conference first team.
#59 Kylee Callahan, Salpointe/Knox University basketball
As Salpointe won the girls state basketball championship, Callahan led the club with a 16.4 points-per-game scoring average.
#85 Michael Urbanski, Salpointe track/XC
The Salpointe standout had another standout year in cross country, finishing No. 2 in the boys state championships individually as he led his team to a runner-up finish.
#95 Nick Gonzales, Pittsburgh Pirates baseball
In his second full season of pro baseball, the Cienega graduate hit .264 for Double-A Altoona and was then chosen to the Arizona Fall League All-Star team.
(Photo credits: Andy Morales, AllSportsTucson, Darryl Webb, Arizona Daily Star)
