With Canyon View gone who emerges as the new DII Power?

One of the more interesting story lines going into the seasons is what happens to DII? Canyon View won the division by a whopping 113 points last year but are now moved up to Division 1. They held that margin over Arizona College Prep, who is also now in Division I. DII was not the strongest Division to begin with and just lost it's two best teams. So who is the front-runner? All signs point toward Deberry and Marana Mountain View,, however some new teams coming up from Div. III may be able to add some intrigue to the team race.

1. Marana Mt. View: 77.5 Returning Points

Coach Deberry will rely heavily on returning talent Ostroski, Gradillas, Weaver, and Valencia, all of whom were top 4 at last years State Tournament. With Canyon View and ACP moving up they appear to be in the drivers seat with most returning points and placers.

2. Salpointe Returning Points 77

The Lancers move up to Division II will suit them well. They return 4 State Placers in Lux, Higgins, Jones and Jones. That immediately pushes them firmly into the top 5 in Division II and gives them some key building blocks headed into next year.

3. Cienega: 65 Returning Points

Cienega returns 3 placers, they will have a hard time filling the holes left by graduating their State Champions at 215 and Hwt from last season. However with a little boost from incoming freshman could challenge Marana Mt. View for the top spot.

4. Mica Mountain Returning Points 51

I can't imagine Coach Patterson was too discouraged to get bumped up to Division II. Getting away from Sahuarita, ALA-GN, and Crismon means they are poised now more than ever to be a serious contender. They return just 4 qualifiers headlined by State Champion Landon Edwards, but that gives them a fighting chance to be top 5 out the gate in their first year at DII.

5. Kofa Returning Points: 46

Kofa comes down to Division II and looks to immediately be a top 5 team. Some may say I'm being generous here but they return 46 points wrestling in Division I which you feel like has to be significantly more in DII. They will build around returning State Champion David Elias and last year's 5th place Roman Jaimes. If they can fill some gaps in the line-up they can be very competitive in DII.

6. Buena: 51.5 Returning Points

With three returning State Placers Buena positions themselves nicely to be near the top of Division II. Brown, Freeman, and Haymore return as state placers and will be key for the young team to build around.

7. Flowing Wells: 43.5 Returning Points

Anchored by returning State Champion Alejandro De La Rosa, Flowing Wells could be in contention to break into the top 5.

8. Mountain Pointe 42.5 Returning Points

Mountain Pointe returns two placers in Valrie and Quino, along with 2 other returning qualifiers this could be enough to push them into the top 5.

9. Campo Verde 20 Returning points

Campo is a team with a lot of upward potential. They only have one returning placer in Rustin Bingham (6th 175) but they do have 6 returning qualifiers. If those guys can find their way to the podium they could move up these rankings in a hurry.