It was a big year for the high school athletics program, spawning state champs, deep runs into the post season and more than a few all-section and all-state athletes representing the Fountain Hills High School Falcons.

Following is a look back at the past 12 months in athletics, beginning with the winter 2012-13 season, continuing into spring 2013 and finally coming to a close with the recently concluded fall 2013 season.

Half of the teams that took the field, court, course and mat are included in this week’s edition of The Times with the remainder to appear in the Jan. 8 issue.

Girls basketball

It was a massive season for the girls basketball team as the local ladies went on to claim a 21-6 record and take second place at the sectional tournament in 2012-13.

The Falcons began the year with a 63-30 win over Scottsdale Prep, kicking off a 12-game winning streak that would carry the team to the season’s midway point before ever seeing a loss.

The regular season ended with a rare loss to Salt River (53-47) before the Falcons headed into the sectional tournament.

The Falcons bested Payson and Camp Verde before falling to Valley Christian (57-46) in the championship round.

At state, the Falcons bested Blue Ridge before being toppled in a close match-up versus Page, 46-34.

According to head coach Amanda Baca, she couldn’t ask for much more out of such a successful season.

“We started off with a shooting clinic in late November and progressed in a positive direction as the season went on,” Baca said.

“Our record was pretty good and the girls had a lot of fun and were very competitive.”

Boys basketball

The 2012-13 boys basketball season may have started with a whimper, but it ended with a bang.

A young team of Falcons had some trouble getting the ball rolling, opening with back to back to back losses against Estrella Foothills, Gilbert Christian and Florence before finally finding a win on the road against Coronado.

Play remained even in sectional games (5-5) through the remainder of the season with the local squad taking a few extra thumps in non-sectional competitions along the way (12-17).

The regular season ended with a victory over Salt River in late January before the Falcons were ousted from the sectional tournament in the first round with a 68-39 loss to Estrella Foothills.

Some of their best performances were yet to come, though, as the Falcons found some extra fire in their belly once the state tournament got underway.

Seeded 21, the Falcons upset two teams in a row as they went on to claim a close win over Alchesay (66-61) before besting Chinle with a buzzer-beating final basket, 74-73.

The Falcons were finally defeated in the state tournament semifinals 71-55 by the team from Snowflake, bringing their season to an end.

“[The Falcons] competed and never gave up,” said former head coach Matt Johnson.

“It was a grueling season with the toughest schedule in the state. But in the end, it was worth it to get to the elite eight.”

Girls soccer

Finishing 13-7-1 overall and making it all the way to the girls soccer state quarterfinals, the 2012-13 season will go in the books as a big success for the Lady Falcons.

Viewing those three months of competition through the ever-critical eye of a coach, however, Alison Mabery said that she recognized the ups as well as the downs.

“Our team hit a low point during the first tournament, playing against bigger schools and playing through injuries,” she said.

“After that tournament the girls really turned things around, going on an 11-3 run.”

Her first year with the team, Mabery said the Lady Falcons learned to play a new style of soccer and everyone on the pitch rose to the challenge.

“They became a very good, aggressive team, and they were always a team that fought until the last minute. This was apparent in games we won or tied in the final minutes of regulation and holding Notre Dame Prep to a 1-0 game.”

Boys soccer

It was a back and forth year for the boys soccer team, almost perfectly balanced with a final record of nine wins, 10 losses and a single tie occurring at the midway point. In sectional play, the Falcons went 7-7.

The boys soccer squad had a rough start back in December of 2012, opening the season with three straight losses against Scottsdale Christian, Notre Dame and Coronado before going on to thump Scottsdale Prep in their first victory, 5-0.

What followed was a series of two losses followed by two wins, then repeated, with a tie occurring at about the middle of the season.

This was all balanced on the back end with the regular season coming to a close with three wins in a row against teams from Scottsdale Prep, Saguaro and Valley Christian.

The Falcons played well enough to make it into the state tournament last season, going on to beat Seton Catholic in the opening round, 2-1, before falling to Coronado, 4-2, in the quarterfinals.

According to head coach Anthony Galietti, one can’t expect much more out of a young team playing with a lot of heart.

“I am very proud of this team for all they have accomplished with only four varsity players back from last year,” Galietti said at the season’s conclusion.

“Even though we were still given the hardest schedule in the state, we were still able to reach the state quarterfinals with a lineup predominantly made up of juniors and sophomores.”

Wrestling

The 2012-13 season ended up being a good run for the high school wrestling squad.

The season prior, the Falcons struggled just to keep enough wrestlers on the mat due to a smaller roster.

This past year, however, head coach Luke Salzman and his assistants had more athletes than they knew what to do with as a massive 34-member roster kicked things off in late November of 2012.

According to Salzman, this made for some healthy team competition as the boys battled just to earn a spot on the varsity squad.

The first meet of the year saw the Falcons struggling to keep up with Combs, losing on the road 57-21.

With the first meet out of the way, however, the local grapplers started to get their act together, going on to put forth a 2-1 showing at the first home meet of the season before taking seventh in the massive 17-team tournament at Buckeye.

The regular season continued to see the Falcons wrestle about even heading into the final match-up versus Winslow, losing 48-15.

After the Division III sectional event, the Falcons sent Andrew Capirchio, Tyler Forrest and Peter Carillo onto the state tournament with 160-pounder Capirchio taking first at sectionals.

At state, both Carillo and Forrest wrestled well as Capirchio went on to take second place overall to wrap up the season.

Softball wrap

Finishing the season at 9-17, it’s hard to deny that 2013 was a challenging year for the Lady Falcon softball team.

With a lot of new players on the field, the Falcons did manage to pull off a handful of big wins, though.

Head coach Bill Nye said he’s excited about the road ahead, as he feels this past season has built a solid foundation for the Falcons moving forward.

“This has got to be one of the most interesting seasons I’ve ever had,” Nye said.

“We’ve got some girls with great potential, and it shined through here and there this year, but we had a lot of breakdowns and made a lot of errors.”

The Falcons began the 2013 calendar with a 14-4 loss to Tempe Prep before putting on a 2-2 performance at the Phoenix Country Day School tournament.

The team’s first non-tournament win came on March 19, when the ladies beat Arizona Charter Academy 21-5.

The Falcons’ hot streak came when they finally returned to the home field midway through the season, beating Coronado, Florence (twice) and Holbrook four games in a row before hitting another dry spell.

The Lady Falcons lost their season closer 13-5 against Saguaro, giving one of the tougher teams in the state a run for its money until the final innings of play.

Track wrap

The 2013 season was a good one for the high school track squad with 19 athletes going on to compete in the state meet and three school records being broken.

This season began in Paradise Valley for the Falcons at a special relay meet that saw the Falcons going toe to toe with some of the best schools in the state.

The caliber of competition this season was high throughout with the local squad taking part in a handful of massive meets featuring more than 20 teams from every division.

And, despite taking on teams from bigger schools with much bigger rosters, the team from Fountain Hills continued to do well with quite a few standouts rising to the top.

Sierra Jarriel broke the school record in the 3200 at 11:32.89 while teammate Brooke Yost broke the record in the triple jump at 32’11.50”.

Finally, the girls’ 4x800 team came in with a new school record. Leah Carillo, Madie Blaes, Brooke Yost and Sierra Jarriel worked together to cross the line at 9:51.11 this past season.