Max Foster

Longhorns eyeing state bid

PHS golf team secures 2 of 5 scores needed

Only three matches into the 2013 season, the Payson High golf team has nailed down the second of five qualifying scores needed to advance to the season-ending Division III state tournament.

Dynamic duo dominates sprints in Queen Creek

Payson High speedsters Morgan Chilson and Michelle Schatz are rapidly becoming the finest one-two punch in Division III track and field.

PHS soccer stars tapped for All-State

Better late than never might be the best way to describe the March 6 announcement of the Division IV All-State soccer season.

Blazing frosh dazzles sprint field

Chapman, teammates lift Horns to 4th-place finish at Skydome

Payson High School freshman speedster Wyatt Chapman stamped himself one of the premier sprinters in the state by winning the 60-yard dash at the Ninth Annual Northland Prep Skydome Classic.

Vandals strike out; Lobos on deck

Small-school baseball rivalry brings out best

While the Longhorn baseball team is off to an impressive 6-1 start highlighted by a 6-3 win over Division II Bradshaw Mountain, the real test of the team’s mettle should come today, March 12 against longtime rival Snowflake.

Hanging on or giving in always a tough choice

Although I have mixed feelings about the Lady Longhorns softball team forfeiting a Wrangler Classic Tournament game to Coolidge with the game in extra innings and the score tied 6-6, I would never second-guess coach Will Dunman or any other coach, for that matter.

Joy in Mudville!

Payson clobbers Bradshaw. Now at 5-1 for season, team’s prospects bright

Nick McMullen’s booming 350-foot home run over the left center field fence Wednesday had Longhorn baseball fans and players hootin’ and hollerin’ as if they were clutching winning lottery tickets.

Fundamentals basketball camp not to be missed

The Town of Payson Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department-sponsored Fundamental Basketball Academy is an exciting offering that aspiring players in third to eighth grade will surely want to take advantage of.

Horns tee off 2013 with impressive ‘W’

The Payson High School golf team took its first step toward qualify for the regular season-ending Division III state tournament by carding a winning 148 score at a three-way match played March 5 at Chaparral Pines.

Track trio, talented frosh pace PHS

If the remainder of the Payson High School track and field season continues to unfold as did the 2013 opener at Queen Creek High School, both Longhorn teams are in for banner years.

Haught Classic draws 4 new teams

The field of four new teams — Tempe, St. Johns, St. Mary’s and Tanque Verde — has joined 16 returning teams to give the annual Gracie Haught Classic one of the largest and most unique fields in the state.

Milk Ranch Well needs filter after all

Pine-Strawberry water district hopes to curb problems with sand, turbidity

The Pine Strawberry Water Improvement District governing board has unanimously approved spending $32,000 to add a filtration system to the Milk Ranch No. 1 well site.

Area golfers have good showing

Chaparral Pines golfer Marc Apps captured the Arizona Golf Association 2013 Short Course championship, carding a 3-under par 115 while playing in wind gusts that reached 38 mph.

Horns stymie Mustangs

The young and scrappy Payson High School baseball team improved its record to 4-1 with a 15-5 drubbing of a Heber Mogollon diamond crew that was playing its season opener without much practice time due to the inclement weather that limited the time the Mustangs could prep outdoors.

Jayvee golfers triumph in season opener

Although Payson High School Athletic Director Don Heizer was walking the fairways at Payson Golf Course to watch a Longhorn junior golf match, he left PGC impressed by some of the ongoing intangibles that often occur in high school sports.

Petersen tapped as Wrangler tourney MVP

Lady Longhorn senior catcher Taylor Petersen, who is bound for Southern Idaho University on a full athletic scholarship, was named the Wrangler Classic Girls Softball Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Horns blanked in All-Section bid

Voters don’t get to see all players over course of the regular season

Blanked, shut out, zero, zilch, zippo — that’s how many Payson High School basketball players were named to the Division III All-Section III first or second team when the Arizona Interscholastic Association announced last week the results of coaches’ postseason voting.

Lady Horns kick off 2013 campaign in Wickenburg

The Lady Longhorn softball team kicked off the 2013 campaign today, March 1, at the 10th Annual Wrangler Classic in Wickenburg.

Spring sports keep weekend busy for Horns

The Lady Longhorn softball team kicked off the 2013 campaign today, March 1, at the 10th Annual Wrangler Classic in Wickenburg.

Go Girls get going in Show Low

The Payson team entry in the White Mountain-based Go-Girl volleyball club program continues to turn heads.

Speedsters set for a banner year

Morgan Chilson kicks off her senior track and field season tomorrow, March 2 at the Queen Creek Invitational, hoping to set a personal record in the 100 meters and lead her 4x100 team into the state finals.

Gunslinger accepts $1,000 plus for youth trap and skeet club

Caitlin Harold, a 9-year-old member of the Payson Gun Slingers youth trap and skeet club, gladly accepted on Saturday evening at an NRA banquet a $1621.60 check that will be used to help the Payson Bird Busters continue their program of training local youth in the proper use of firearms.

Optimism reigns as Horn tracksters prep for season

Payson High School track team conditioning and training practice sessions have taken on a more dynamic and technical nature that focus on developing core body muscles including the transversus abdominis (TVA), the muscles of the pelvic floor, the lats and the obliques.

Competitive shooter guest at outdoors event

The highly popular Shoot for the Heart seminars have hosted many intriguing figures, but probably none more fascinating than Wes Walton, the man set to be the guest today, Feb. 26 at Mountain Bible Church.

Seniors survive on basketball court without oxygen

With the inaugural Wiseman 3-on-3, 50-year plus basketball tournament in the record books, Tonto Apache Gym Recreation Leader Eric Pendleton is already planning for the second annual event.

Lady Horns primed for state run

The presence a standout pitching/catching battery and two all-around infield stalwarts has fans and boosters predicting the 2013 Lady Longhorn softball team could be the best ever.

Longhorns open with three wins in Fountain Hills event

Brian Young’s debut as the Payson High School baseball coach turned into a rousing success with the team finishing 3-1 in the Fountain Hills Invitational Tournament.

Guys just want to have fun too

Remember the Cyndi Lauper classic “Girls Just Want to Have Fun?”

Outdoor expo set for Cards’ home

Outdoor enthusiasts from around the Rim Country, whether they are hunters, anglers, hikers, campers or mountain bikers, are gearing up for an upcoming expo designed to tickle the fancy of all who attend.

Son passes golf coach torch to his father

The head coaching baton in Payson High golf has been passed — but not very far.

Former coach was right on

Mother Nature thwarts spring sports practices

Huddled inside a Longhorn baseball field dugout as protection from a torrential downpour, former coach Teddy Pettet bemoaned to his players, “You can tell it’s baseball season — the weather has turned bad.”

PMGA issues invitation to all types of golfers

Longtime Payson Men’s Golf Association member Herb Sherman, also a retired high school teacher and basketball coach, is issuing an invitation to join the PMGA for the 2013 season.

Seed scrimmage a public treat

Rare triple play highlights Horns’ diamond debut

A pair of events that occur about as often as the Arizona Legislature adequately funds public education highlighted the Longhorn baseball team’s season-opening “seed scrimmage” on Saturday morning at PHS diamond.

Show Low Cougars spring upset of the year

The surprising Show Low Cougars sprung the upset of the boys high school basketball season, ambushing Window Rock 49-47 in the second round of the Division III state tournament in Prescott Valley.

Rim anglers shine at WON Roosevelt Lake tournament

A Western Outdoor News (WON) team-fishing tournament at Roosevelt Lake proved to be a stage where a trio of Rim Country angling teams could flex their collective fishing muscle.

Baseball, softball umpires needed

Finding a sufficient number of baseball and softball umpires for the 2013 season is among the unique challenges first-year Payson High School athletic director Don Heizer is facing.

Season is never over for dedicated wrestling coach

The Arizona high school wrestling season wrapped up last weekend and most might believe PHS coach Casey Woodall will be taking a respite from the mat.

Sunflower seeds an admission ticket

Rim Country baseball fans and boosters have the opportunity tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 16, to preview the 2013 Longhorn team and first-year coach Brian Young.

WON hosts Avid Angler

The angling duo of Kevin Smith and Todd Belzer solidified their hold on the top spot in the Western Outdoor News (WON) Avid Angler season-long standings by finishing first in a team tournament contested Feb. 9 at Roosevelt Lake.

PHS players in line for postseason honors

While it’s impossible to accurately predict how high school coaches will vote in individual postseason selections, both the PHS boys and girls basketball teams appear to have strong contenders for All-Section III and All-Division III honors.

Anderson snags state mat gold in Prescott Valley

Father-son duo become first in PHS history to win state medals

Payson High School senior Conner Anderson has joined his dad, Eric, as the only father and son duo inscribed on a Longhorn state championship plaque hanging on the honor wall just outside the Wilson Dome wrestling practice room.

Longhorns’ state hoop bid comes up short in end

There will be no state tournament appearance for the Longhorn boys basketball team.

Girls on to state in Chinle Feb. 13

The Lady Longhorns are advancing to the Division III state tournament as a No. 20 “at-large” seed and will play at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 13, against No. 13 Chinle.

Roosevelt hosts pro bass tussle

Pirch hopes recent winter storm will swell lake’s waters

Payson’s most accomplished home-grown professional bass tournament angler, Clifford Pirch, was hoping most of last week that rain and snow runoff would help swell the declining waters of Roosevelt Lake, which over the winter has been just about 50 percent full.

Spring sports on the calendar

The winter sports of basketball and wrestling are winding down and Payson High School athletes and coaches are prepping for the spring season.

Mistakes are made; but no malice intended

If there is one thing I’ve learned about Dennis Pirch in our years and years of friendship, it’s that he’s extremely modest and disdains publicity, preferring it go to others, usually the students or athletes he taught or coached.

Sopeland’s team gears up for memorial run

Hosting the Lorraine Cline Memorial Poker Ride is a labor of love for Laci Sopeland and the bevy of dedicated volunteers who spend countless hours making sure the ride is a first class event.

Pursuit of top honors tips off today

State wrestling tournament has eight longhorn grapplers going for honors

It will take the aerobic capacity of a marathon runner, the strength of a power lifter and the tenacity of a junk yard dog to win an Arizona State Division III “state” weight class championship.

Falcons soar past Lady Longhorns; state fate unknown

Team continues multiple turnover trend which has been bugaboo all season

A 67-28 loss to the Fountain Hills Falcons dashed Lady Longhorn hopes of winning sectional honors and advancing to next week’s Division III “state” tournament as an automatic seed.