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MEN COME UP JUST SHY IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP; WOMEN 18th Following a stellar fall season, the PV Men’s Cross Country team finally got their chance to defend their ‘08 National Championship title on Saturday as they competed at the 2009 NJCAA Cross Country National Championships in Peoria, IL. After a thrilling race that left the final results in doubt for 45 minutes following the finish, officials made a long-awaited decision placing the Pumas in 2nd place, leaving them just two points shy of Rend Lake College in their bid for back-to-back national championships. “There were two different instances where they had to review the race video to decide who beat who”, said Coach Dave Barney, who was voted as the NJCAA “Coach of the Year” by his peers. “It was between our number two and their number two, and our number four and their number four.” Rend Lake got the nod on both calls, giving them the 66-68 victory. Relishing the accomplishment of finishing 2nd in the nation, nevertheless, the Pumas are proud of their race and season even though the feeling remains bittersweet as they ultimately came up short in their quest for another national championship. “It’s frustrating, of course, to be that close and not win, but the guys ran great races,” stated Barney. “Rend Lake was just a little better today. They’re a great team and we congratulate them on their victory.” “I always tell the team that we’ve got to be good enough to win on our worst day,” Barney continued. “We lost our number three man (Solomon Bennett) to the flu and still came awful close, but didn’t win. So where do we go from here? Back to work. We can be better than this, and we will be!” PV impressively placed three runners in the Top 15, meaning each garnered NJCAA ‘All American’ status, while another three placed within the Top 15 U.S. citizens of the 308-runner field to account for a total of six Pumas earning ‘All-American’ awards from the NJCAA Cross Country/Track Coaches Association. The final results of the Puma Men’s Cross Country runners with their 8k times are as follows: 4th - George Alex: 24:50 12th - Talihar Hasson: 25:21 15th - Aaron Sherf: 25:35 18th - Humberto Gonzales: 25:47 19th - Kyle Glass: 25:57 21st - Denis Patrick: 26:03 62nd - Solomon Bennett: 27:28 The top five team results for the 35-team National Championship field are as follows: 1st - Rend Lake: 1 11 13 17 24 (37) = 66 2nd - Paradise Valley: 4 12 15 18 19 (21) (62) = 68 3rd - Garden City CC: 7 9 23 28 34 (36) (58) = 101 4th - South Plains: 8 14 16 47 51 (96) = 136 5th - Cowley County CC: 25 26 33 39 43 (71) (103) = 166 “You know, it was there for the taking but it just didn’t go our way,” remarked Barney in some closing comments about the emotional finish to the season. “That’s the frustrating thing, we were less than one second away from winning the whole thing again. These guys worked so hard all season and they ran great when they had to. (Rend Lake) just beat us. On that day, they ran better than us and we have to take our hats off to them for that.” Aside from the men’s excitement, PV took a nationally ranked 15th place women’s team to compete for the NJCAA Women’s Cross Country National Championship as well. And, although they took some positive momentum into their National Championship bid similar to the men, the women accounted for just a ‘less than spectacular’ race and ultimately finished 18th in the 35-team field. Regardless, Coach Barney was proud of his runners for a hard-fought season. “The women had an okay race, I guess there’s not much to say except they had a rough day,” stated Barney. “They didn’t run as well as we had hoped they would, but I’m still very proud of our women for a solid season.” The final results of the Puma Women’s Cross Country runners with their 5k times in the 224-runner field are as follows: 55th - Katrina Lee: 20:05 62nd - Erin Sesemann: 20:12 74th - Amanda Burton: 20:34 106th - Natalie Robinson: 21:05 143rd - Bobbi Cooley: 21:50 PVCC would like to congratulate both Puma Cross Country teams for their accomplishments and an exciting season of running! And, kudos also to Coach Barney for garnering the NJCAA ‘National Coach of the Year’ award! For the complete and official race results, view the below link: Cross Country Nationals Results | |||
NATIONAL TOURNAMENT BOUND! The Pumas defeated Western Texas College 1-0 today in Dallas, Texas to earn their first ever trip to the NJCAA National Championship tournament! Today's District A Championship game featured Region Champions from AZ and West Texas. In a very hard fought and physical contest, Jessica Kettelkamp converted a penalty kick in the 81st minute to score the game's only goal. Though the Pumas (18-3) controlled the ball and play for much of the contest, they were unable to find the net until Kettelkamp's game winner. "Our girls played hard, played well and kept their composure exceptionally well," coach Kacey Bingham noted, "this was a tremendous win and we are looking forward to the national tournament!" With today's victory, Bingham's 2009 club notched its 11th straight win and tied the record for most wins in a season with 18. The Pumas punched their ticket for a return trip to Texas in just 10 days. This time the trip will be to Tyler, TX and Tyler Junior College, the host of the 2009 national championships. The 8 team tournament begins on Thursday, November 19th and runs through Sunday the 22nd. The Pumas first round opponent and game time will be determined once the participating teams have been seeded early next week. District Playoff Pictures National tournament information may be found at both of the following sites: National Tournament Info NJCAA Tournament Info | |||
| Cross Country PV teams qualify for NATIONALS - MEN dominate PV's men's and women's Cross Country teams have both qualified for this year's National Championships! PV's men, the defending national champions, dominated the 2009 Region I meet in Casa Grande today and claimed the Region I Championship! The Pumas team total of 20 (low 5 finishers) was far ahead of runner up Central Arizona (66) in the 7 team race. PV's 7 men finished 2nd - 8th out of 51 competitors in the race. A pack of 6 Pumas, Aaron Sherf, George Alex, Luis Figueroa, Denis Patrick, Solomon Bennett and Tailhar Hasson crossed the finish line together, covering the 8K course (5 miles) in just over 26:16. PV's 7th and final runner, Bobby Evans, finished just 6 seconds later in 8th place. All seven Puma men earned All-Region honors. PV's women finished 4th in today's race, out of 8 competing teams, but qualified for nationals by virtue of their #15 national ranking. Erin Sesemann led the way for the Puma women and finished 9th overall. Sesemann covered the 5K (3.1 miles) course in 19:11.5. Katrina Lee was the second Puma across the line and finished in 11th place at 19:44.9. Both women earned spots on All-Region teams. Amanda Burton (22nd), Kaycee Korbel (32nd) and Bobbi Ann Cooley (35th) competed for the Pumas among the 46 runners entered. | |||
PV WINS REGION I CHAMPIONSHIP!! With their thrilling 1-0 victory against Phoenix College on Saturday, Women’s Soccer has won the NJCAA Region I Championship! Spurred on by a total of 20 shots on goal against a mere 7 for Phoenix College, Caiti Currey netted the lone goal of the game, assisted by Nicole Acosta, in the 64th minute while Mimi Salazar recorded another shutout after playing all 90 minutes in goal with two saves. The Pumas’ latest victory comes after a strong win against Chandler-Gilbert in the Semi-Finals and accounts for an amazing tenth-straight win on the season. “We played a great game on Saturday,” said Coach Kacey Bingham of her squad’s performance. “We had a lot of great looks to score goals throughout the game, but PC’s keeper did a great job and came up big for them. Our defense was fantastic throughout the game as well, though, to keep them scoreless with very few scoring opportunities. I’m very proud of all the girls on the team.” “Nicole Acosta was the MVP of the game,” continued Bingham. “She made an amazing run to PC’s end line to catch the ball before it went out of bounds and served it back across the goal to (Currey) to score.” Women’s Soccer will now face Western Texas College in the District Playoffs on November 7th in Dallas, TX. Way to go, Pumas, and best of luck at the Districts! | |||
PUMAS WIN REGION I SEMIFINAL; ADVANCE TO FINALS! Winning their 16th game of the season in a 2-1 thriller over Chandler-Gilbert CC on Wednesday, Women’s Soccer has advanced to the Region I Finals and will now face Phoenix College on Saturday for the NJCAA Region I crown. The Pumas stellar 15-3 regular-season record allowed them to come into the Playoffs seeded No. 2, good for a 1st round bye, but as top-seeded Pima proved by losing to No. 5 seed, Phoenix in their Semifinal game, no record is safe when it comes to the post-season. Thus, seeing the reality of a similar fate after Chandler-Gilbert scored an early goal in the 4th minute of the game to take a 1-0 lead, the Pumas quickly found their footing and saw a 21st minute goal by Nicole Acosta, assisted by Alyssa Flores, and an 88th minute header by Jess Kettlekamp, assisted by Flores from a corner kick, that gave the Pumas the needed edge against the Coyotes in the final few minutes of the game. Defensively, Mimi Salazar played all 90 minutes in goal with 3 saves and 1 goal against. “We came out flat and nervous in the first five minutes and went down a goal,” said Coach Bingham of their start. “But, after that, we kicked in high gear and started playing how we should. We started dominating the possession of the ball and found a goal soon after.” “The second half was a good battle between both teams,” continued Bingham. “Our defenders did a good job of not letting off any dangerous shots. We pulled it out in the last two minutes with a great team effort off of a corner kick.” Women’s Soccer will vie for ACCAC/Region I Championship honors at home tomorrow (October 31st) at 2:00pm. Good luck, Pumas! | |||
PUMAS FINISH CONFERENCE SEASON WITH EIGHT STRAIGHT Taking a 1-0 win against Glendale Community College at home on Saturday, Women's Soccer finished their ACCAC schedule with a stellar eighth-straight victories, eight shutouts on the season and a 2nd place conference record behind Pima Community College (16-2). This final regular season “W” came from an impressive 22 shots on goal from the Pumas compared to Glendale’s 5, even though the 26th minute goal by Ashlee Hayes, assisted by Alyssa Flores, was the only shot to find the net. Nevertheless, it was another solid game on both sides of the ball that saw PV come out on top with some serious momentum heading into the playoffs. Defensively, Mimi Salazar played in goal for the 1st half with one save and no goals against and Rielee Reed played in goal for the 2nd half with one save and no goals against as well. “This was a good game to finish up conference play,” said Coach Kacey Bingham of the win. “I felt our girls played well. We created many attacking opportunities throughout the game and we also played solid defense to keep GCC scoreless.” The nationally ranked No. 12 Pumas play in the semi-finals of the Region I playoffs today (October 28th) at home against Chandler-Gilbert C.C. at 2:00pm. Good luck to Coach Bingham and her squad! | |||
FOUR PUMAS GARNER ACCAC HONORS With their regular season complete and an impressive 15-3 record heading into the Region I playoffs Wednesday, four Puma Women’s Soccer players have received “All-ACCAC” honors for their season-long play. Garnering “All-Conference 1st Team” selections were Nicole Acosta (MF), who narrowly missed the ACCAC “Player of the Year” award with a 2nd place standing in the voting, and Alyssa Flores (F), who ranked 4th in the elite eleven-player list. Sami Palmer (D) was also awarded an ACCAC "All-Conference 2nd Team” selection and Holly Benson (MF) was awarded an “All-Conference Honorable Mention” award. Also, along with their ACCAC honors, Acosta and Flores have been awarded “All-Region 1st Team” awards and will be “All-American” nominees as well. Congratulations to the above Pumas for their outstanding season-long play and best of luck to Women's Soccer in the post-season! | |||
PUMAS WIN TWO MORE TO STRETCH WINNING STREAK TO SEVEN With just one game remaining on their ACCAC schedule, Women’s Soccer has now impressively won their last seven-straight games with their two most recent victories coming against Scottsdale C.C. and South Mountain C.C. this past week. Starting with the 1-0 victory against the Fighting Artichokes on Saturday, Nicole Acosta scored the lone goal of the game for the Pumas in the 35th minute while Mimi Salazar played in goal for all 90 minutes with four saves and no goals against. “We had a slow start to the game, but found a great goal at the end of the first half,” said Coach Kacey Bingham of the game. “In the second half we started to possess the ball more but struggled getting on the end of anything.” Continuing with their 5-1 rout against the Cougars on Wednesday, the Pumas seemed to have found their offensive groove again with a 16th minute goal by Caiti Currey (assisted by Nicole Acosta), three-straight goals by Amy Eyden in the 19th, 47th and 80th minutes (assisted by Tayler Ross, Nicole Acosta & Holly Benson) and a goal by Alyssa Flores in the 88th minute, assisted by Nicole Acosta. In goal for the Pumas, Mimi Salazar had one save and no goals against, Rielee Reed had no saves and no goals against and Michelle Martin had no saves and one goal against. “We did a good job dominating the play of the game,” continued Bingham of the SMCC win. “We created several opportunities throughout the game and finished five great goals. Amy Eyden had a standout game with three goals and two of those scored with her head.” “We got caught flat in the back and were unprepared for SMCC’s attack when the scored their goal,” added Bingham. “But, overall, we had a solid game with contributions from the entire team.” Now 14-3 on the season, the Pumas will see ACCAC action one final time tomorrow (October 24th) with a home game against Glendale at 9:30 am. | |||
SOPHOMORE ALL-STAR GAME The PVCC baseball team was well represented at this year’s ACCAC Sophomore All-Star Game. Twelve Pumas were appointed to the all-star team. PVCC Head Coach and ACCAC Baseball Coach of the Year, Victor Solis, skippered one of the two Division II teams along with PVCC assistant coach Troy Gerlach. The game was held at the Peoria Sports Complex on Saturday, October 17. This year’s Puma all-stars were: Eric Bond, Selby Brummett, Mario Carrasco, Michael Ciombor, Tim DeVito, Ben Dorman, Jake Saylor, Greg Solomon, Jake Swift, Devin Thaut, Kyle Weber and Payden Yarmer. Congratulations! 2009 All-Star Game | |||
PUMAS WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT AGAINST PHOENIX COLLEGE Taking a solid 3-1 win against Phoenix College on Wednesday, Women's Soccer has extended their winning streak to five games straight. As with most of their victorious games, PV made the first strike with Alyssa Flores' goal in the 20th minute, assisted by Amy Eyden. Flores then scored again in the 37th minute, assisted by Michelle Martin, before Holly Benson scored the final goal for the Pumas in the 73rd minute, assisted by Michelle Martin. Defensively, Phoenix College's lone goal against the Pumas was from a PK in the 42nd minute. Mimi Salazar played in goal for all 90 minutes, with 2 saves and no goals against. "It was as good, tough physical game," said Coach Kacey Bingham. "The girls came out and played hard and we finished some nice goals early on in the game. It was unfortunate to give up a PK, but our overall defending was pretty good." Women's Soccer plays again today (October 17th; 4:30 pm) against the Fighting Artichokes of Scottsdale Community College. | |||
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updated: November 22, 2009 Paradise Valley Community College- URL-http://www.maricopa.edu © 2009 Maricopa County Community College District. All Rights Reserved. Click here for Questions or Comments. 
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