Chandler school board recognizes 1st champs in new sport

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

The Chandler Unified School District Governing Board recognized Arizona’s first champion team in the sport of boys beach volleyball at its Dec. 10 meeting.

The Perry Pumas rolled past each of its four opponents in mid-November to win the team championship.

With boys beach volleyball having only recently been sanctioned as an Arizona Interscholastic Association as a single-classification sport, this was the first opportunity for a CUSD team to make a deep postseason run.

The Pumas made the most of their opportunity, going 14-1 on the season and were rarely challenged in the state tournament. They vanquished Estrella Foothills,

Red Mountain and Williams Field at state without losing a single match, then held on to beat Mesa Mountain View, 3-1, in the championship on Nov. 13.

Coach Bob Mann praised the players who were at the Dec. 10 meeting, juniors Everett Wagner and Tate Higgins, saying they were integral to the Pumas winning the title, along with praising all the players.

Both Higgins and Wagner said years of court volleyball experience proved valuable in transitioning to the sand version of the sport. The Pumas won the most recent 6A title in court volleyball in May.

Higgins also teamed with Greyson Carter to reach the quarterfinals in state pairs competition, losing to the Williams Field brothers who were the eventual state champions. The Pumas duo of Zac Tomlinson and Brady Breinholt reached the semifinals in pairs.

AzPreps365 reported that Mann has achieved the rare feat of coaching high school teams to indoor girls and boys, girls team beach and boys team beach state championships.

CUSD Superintendent Frank Narducci praised those who helped plan and build the CUSD sand volleyball complex, located Casteel High School, where much state and regular-season competition is held.

Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as those meet our  Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.