Berzins – who will continue to coach at club and Chandler-Gilbert Community College – recently got married and the couple is expecting a child this fall.

“When you put everything you have into a program like that it’s difficult to leave,” he said. “I really struggled with it.  There’s definitely a really good group (next year’s junior class) returning.  That program is going to be very talented, but with what’s coming up something had to give.”

Berzins was at Highland for eight seasons. The Hawks won the state championship in 2011-2012 season, and made four state semifinals appearances in his tenure, along with three Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year winners.

Highland went 21-3-2 and reached the Division I semifinals in 2012-2013, led by former Tribune Player of the Year Ashley Hatch and two-time Gatorade POY Jaden DeGracie.

100:   Tope Williams – Chandler;   La Maya Williams – Chandler

200:   Ky Westbrook – Chandler;   Dominique Jackson – Chandler

400:    Imani Adams – Chandler;   Stacey Payne – Basha

800:   Brieanna Martinez – Chandler;    Stacey Payne – Basha

1600:   Alexis Nichols – Chandler;  Xury Deputy – Hamilton

3200:   Courtney Goodrich – Basha;   Gabby Ybarra – Perry

High Hurdles:   Sherrelle Jordan – Chandler;  Arniesha Mitchell – Chandler;

300 Hurdles:   Makaila Flannigan – Chandler;   Shannon Ray – Basha

High Jump:    Ashlee Moore – Hamilton;   Jazmyne Bartee – Chandler

Long Jump:    Monika Beechum – Basha;    Kennedy Broom – Chandler

Triple Jump:     Alana Fallon – Perry;    Riem Kidane – Perry

Pole Vault:    Cami Bartlett – Basha;   Kaitlin Martin – Basha

Discus:    Bianca Finn – Chandler;   Mckayla Ferris – Basha

Shot Put:   Corneisha Mitchell – Chandlerl;    Kali Dugger – Basha

100:   Kabian Evans – Chandler;  Justin Solomon – Basha

200:   Cameron Conway – Hamilton;   Daylno Puffer – Chandler

400:   Chase Lucas – Chandler;  Jordan Carder – Perry

800:   Cade Burks – Perry;   Dallin Gonzales – Chandler

1600:   Jacob Siwek – Perry;  Jonas Maag – Hamilton

3200:   Seamus White – Hamilton;  Gunther Albrecht – Perry

High Hurdles:  Taelon Parson – Perry;  Bryce Perkins – Chandler

300 Hurdles:   Elijah Williams – Hamilton;   Kyle Hunt – Chandler

High Jump:   Michael Poirier-Shelton – Chandler;  Anthony Colores – Hamilton

Long Jump:   Marcus Flannigan – Chandler;   Wesley Sutton – Chandler

Triple Jump:   Zach Rucas – Basha

Pole Vault:    Nate Hiett – Basha;    Cody Smith – Basha

Discus:   Beau Eggers – Hamilton;  Kyle Crowley – Chandler

Shot Put:  Dominic Nappe – Chandler;    Johnell Winston – Hamilton

The 5-foot-5 senior midfielder scored eight goals and passed for 47 assists this past season, leading the Hawks (21-3-2) to the Division I state semifinals. DeGracie is a two-time First Team All-State selection and was a 2012 All-Region VIII honoree by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. She concluded her prep soccer career with 13 goals and 101 assists.

DeGracie has maintained a 4.36 weighted GPA in the classroom. A long-time piano player, she is the co-founder of J&J Pianist, which performs goodwill recitals at area retirement homes. She has also volunteered locally as part of a literacy-outreach initiative, as a youth soccer coach and on behalf of the U.S. Youth Soccer TOPSoccer program for athletes with physical or intellectual challenges.

DeGracie has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at the University of Arizona this fall. DeGracie is the first repeat winner since Corona del Sol’s Brittany Cole in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

She now qualified for the national award to be determined later in May.

Division I

Player of the Year – Riley Unroe, Desert Ridge

Coach of the Year – Brian Stephenson, Desert Mountain

First team: Ben Rodriguez, Sr., C, Desert Mountain; Cody Bellinger, Sr., 1B, Hamilton; David Greer, Sr., 3B, Desert Ridge; Dustin Peterson, Sr., SS, Gilbert; M.J. Hubbs, Sr., OF, Pinnacle; Dillon Bigcrane-Jackson, Sr., OF, Chaparral; Brock Hale, Sr., OF, Mesa; Cody Erickson, Sr., OF, Desert Mountain.

Second team: Jack Zoellner, Sr., 1B, Gilbert; Cam Richins, Sr., 2B, Desert Ridge; Jake Smith, Sr., 3B, Highland; Jamie Westbrook, Sr., SS, Basha; Tyler Viza, Sr., Util, Desert Vista; Zac Cordova, Sr., P, Mountain Pointe; Skyler Cohn, Sr., P, Desert Ridge.

Division II

Coach of the Year – Brian Fisher, Notre Dame

First team: Ryan Scott, Sr., C, Notre Dame; Nick Affronti, Sr., 1B, Notre Dame; Matt Haggerty, Sr., OF, Seton Catholic; Devon Deraad, Sr., Util, Notre Dame.

Second team: Chris Kobar, Jr., C, Williams Field; Chandler Crow, Sr., 3B, Paradise Valley; Ryan Rodriguez, Sr., OF, Campo Verde; Austin Schnabel, Sr., P, Notre Dame.

Division III

First team: Nathaniel Ellingsen, Sr., C, Scottsdale Christian; Carter Gladstone, Sr., OF, Valley Christian.

Second team: Ryan Johnson, Sr., 1B, Combs; Zach Scott, Sr., 2B, Scottsdale Christian.

Division IV

Second team: Forrest Redlin, Sr., P, Tempe Prep.

Defending champion Corona del Sol, Desert Mountain, Mesquite, Chaparral and Gilbert will play in the eight-team regional showcase, which is the undercard to the prestigious national tournament which consists of powerful programs Oak Hill Academy out of Virginia, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, Orange (Calif.) Lutheran, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and Houston Yates. Phoenix Shadow Mountain, Goodyear Millennium and Avondale Westview round out the local eight-team field.

The regional pool play games will take place on No.v 26, 27 and 29 at the high schools. The final matchups and the national tournament will be held on Dec. 13 and 14 at Grand Canyon University.

Corona del Sol and Desert Mountain may be the top two teams in Division I heading into the season, while Gilbert could be a preseason top-5.

Chief Operating Officer Chuck Schmidt said the board members did not have any issues with the way the AIA has handled its finances.

“The board looks at what (the AzFCA) put out as, I would say, false,” Schmidt said. “It’s a matter of semantics. Overall we’re very transparent. We have all the information, and if superintendents want to look at it, if a coach wants to look at it, we have provided that. We have that ready…Truly, I don’t think there is a ‘missing or undocumented expense.’ Everything’s documented.”

Remembering Art Wagner

The shocking news of Art Wagner’s death last week hit Schmidt particularly hard. The two had grown close over the years, developing a friendship that went beyond work.

Wagner, the AIA board president and Higley district athletic director, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday. Schmidt will speak at Wagner’s ‘Celebration of Life Ceremony’ tonight at 6 p.m. at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts.

He talked Monday about the time they sat in the Menger hotel in San Antonio, discussing Theodore Roosevelt and his recruitment of Rough Riders from that hotel to fight in the Spanish-American war.

“He and I loved that history stuff,” Schmidt said. “We sat there for hours and just talked. That’s going to be my memory of Art.”

The ruling was made at the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Executive Board meeting, which was held at University of Phoenix Stadium. An advisement is the lowest penalty given to bylaw offenders and doesn’t have any tangible repercussions for next season.

Shaun Aguano (Chandler) and Steve Belles (Hamilton) both coached in the Semper Fi All-American Bowl at Chase Field on January 3, 2012 without getting prior permission from the AIA.

Several local coaches have helped out at various All-Star events over the past few years, but the issue didn’t come up until this year, when a proposed All-Star game on Jan. 21 drew the attention of the AIA. In the past, the football players would compete against Calif. All-Stars after the school year ended, but the Arizona Football Coaches Association wanted to move it up so the seniors could get another look before Signing Day.

The Jan. 21 game took place as scheduled, but no high school coaches were involved in the process. If next year’s All-Star game is again played during the school year, coaches can participate if they receive prior permission from the AIA.

Arcadia:  Max Schuman  C;  Joshua Arndt   3B

Coronado:     Savoy Harney  SS/P;  Andres Hernandez  3B/P

Chaparral:   Colter Kilgour  C;  Dillon Bigcrane  P/1B/OF;  Christopher Nimtz  2B/SS

Desert Mountain:   Benjamin Rodriguez  C;  Jacob McAdams  Utility;  Cody Erickson  P;  David Greer  3B/P

Saguaro:  Brett Adams   C;  Turner Lace  SS

* 11 a.m. – Division III and IV Girls

* 12:30 p.m. – Division I and II Girls

* 2 p.m. – Underclassmen Girls

* 3:30 p.m. – Division III and IV Boys

* 5 p.m. – Dunk and 3-point contests

* 6:15 p.m. – Underclassmen Boys

* 7:45 – Division I and II Boys

Jaron Hopkins was last year’s star, winning the slam dunk contest and scoring 28 points in the underclassmen game. This year, the contest to watch is the 6:15 p.m. underclassmen boys contest.

The white team will feature reigning Tribune Player of the Year Casey Benson, Highland small forward and BYU commitment Jake Toolson, Mountain View star power forward Payton Dastrup and reigning East Valley scoring leader Jordan Howard of Perry.

The black team includes Pinnacle star small forward Dorian Pickens, Dobson shooting guard and ASU commitment Kodi Justice, flashy Desert Mountain point guard Rolando Rhymes and the impressive Gilbert Christian duo of Sam Jones and Roberto Reyes.

These games are always played at a breakneck pace, so expect point guards like Howard, Benson and Rhymes to thrive, but temper expectations for a guy like Dastrup, who is probably the best East Valley prospect but plays a half-court game.

The white team also has athletic Cesar Chavez forward Pablo Rivas, a guy who may wow the crowd with some big-time dunks. This class is the deepest Arizona has ever produced (all are seniors next year), so enjoy watching them before they scatter off to various colleges.