Cole Sterns is 8 years old, and for many kids his age, being able to run faster than classmates and friends serves as a badge of honor. Kids like Sterns, however, get to display more precious hardware than having the kind of speed and athleticism that has earned him numerous gold medals. Sterns won three events last month at the Grand Canyon State Track & Field Games, giving him eight first-place finishes in nine events since May. His triumphs also earned him a spot in next month's AAU National Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa. He just hopes he will be able to attend. Because of a late notice and a lack of funds, Sterns might be unable to compete in the event, which runs from Monday through Aug. 7. "I just want to go," said Sterns, who runs the 100- and 200-meter races and also competes in the long jump. "I started doing it in Tucson, and then Phoenix, and now I want to do it at nationals." The sub-bantam division phenom, who lists U.S. Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson as his favorite athlete, posted personal bests in all three events at the regional qualifier in Phoenix. Sterns' father, Darian, travels daily to Nogales for his job as a border patrol agent. He coaches Cole in his spare time. Darian Sterns is a former Pima College track athlete, and now Cole is reaping the benefits of his speed-training lessons. "Cole is an athletic kid. I don't want to brag about my own son, but he's pretty good," said his mother, Roberta. "He's in a neat phase right now where he really enjoys it all." Desert Thunder wins tournament

 

The Tucson Desert Thunder 14-U girls fast-pitch softball team went 5-0 to win the Triple Crown Sports All American Championship in Albuquerque on Sunday. Pitcher Shawna Bleyl of Pusch Ridge High School led the Thunder with three victories, and Lauren MacNeal of Catalina Foothills won two more. The Thunder defeated the Arizona Ice 2-1 in extra innings on Sunday. Karissa Buchanan of Sabino went 3 for 3, scoring a run to tie the game. With the game tied at 1 and time expired, the game went to the International Tie Breaker. The bottom of the sixth inning started with Torey Craddock of Salpointe on second base. Molly Brossart of Sabino hit a fly ball over the right fielder's head to score Craddock for the game-winning run to secure the championship. The Thunder opened the tournament with a victory over the Colorado Renegades 5-0 on Thursday and a 9-3 victory against the Sierra Vista Diamonds later that night. The Thunder's third victory came against the Phoenix Scorpio and also went into extra innings. The fourth game was a 1-0 victory over the Phoenix Rebels. Little League news

 

The Tanque Verde youth softball program had a week to remember when its Majors Division team won the state tournament last week. Tanque Verde went undefeated in its title run and advanced to the West Regional, which begins Saturday and lasts until Aug. 9 in Vancouver, Wash. The team's first game will be Sunday against the Nevada state champion. In other Little League state tournament action: ● District 8 Nogales won the Senior League baseball state championship and will play this week in the Division 4 regional tournament in Mesa. ● Sunnyside, the District 12 representative, finished runner-up to North Scottsdale in the Junior League baseball state tournament. District 5 winner Sabino Canyon placed third. ● District 12 baseball champion Santa Rita finished second to Deer Valley at the Majors Division state tournament last weekend in Fountain Hills. ● District 5 champ Coronado took third with a 4-1 mark at the 11-year-old baseball state competition. Notes

 

● Kenzie Fowler, a local softball standout, managed to excel among more than 700 players at this month's Triple Crown World Series in Park City, Utah. Fowler, who originally went to the tournament to watch her sister, Mattie, play for the 10-and-under Desert Thunder, was named the MVP of the entire competition after she was added to the roster of the Pirettes, a 12-U team from Grand Terrace, Calif. Kenzie Fowler pitched 49 innings and did not allow any runs or hits in the Pirettes' run to the title. ● The Arizona Cats 16-U softball team will compete in the ASA national tournament in Bloomington, Ind. The event runs from Monday through Aug. 8. Led by a group of Southern Arizona high school standouts, including Bianca Santa Cruz of Cholla and Kaleigh Gates of Sunnyside, the Cats batted higher than .500 as a team at the regional qualifier earlier this month in New Mexico. The Cats 14-U squad also qualified for its ASA national tourney, which will be held on the same dates in Midland, Texas. ● Ryan Davis, a local 14-year-old who took home first place at the Junior U.S. Archery National Championships two weeks ago, lost his first-round match at the Junior World Championships last weekend in Lilleshall, England. Fellow Tucsonan Maggie Huff, 16, also lost in the first round at the worldwide tournament. Both archers competed in the Recurve Cadet divisions for boys and girls.