(Desert Vista's fans celebrated with their school's volleyball team after it won the 2014-15 Division I volleyball title. Photo by Mark Jones/maxpreps.com)

Maybe it’s the spicy chicken wings and warm pretzels.

Or the grilled cheese and waffle fries.

Or the enchiladas and three bean salad. 

Or maybe Desert Vista’s female athletes are excelling for other reasons during the 2014-15 school year besides some of the school’s lunch menu items.

So far, Desert Vista’s girls have won a badminton singles title, team and individual cross country titles and the program’s first volleyball title. Also, they have already claimed two of the first Gatorade Player of the Year awards (Cross Country Runner of the Year Dani Jones and Volleyball POY Jenna Tunnell) given out each year.

And Kristine Anigwe, a Cal commit and maxpreps.com preseason first-team All-American, is capable of picking up a third Gatorade POY for the Lady Thunder. aia365.com talked to the school’s athletic director, T.J. Snyder, to learn if it’s the training or the enchiladas that is giving his female athletes an extra boost since school started.

Credit a team effort for the rise of Desert Vista’s girls programs, Snyder said. The push to the top for all of the teams began about five years ago when weight training and conditioning coach Doug Cristofis introduced advanced physical education classes that school administrators backed. 

There are 17 advanced sections to Cristofis' lesson plans, which are also preventing injuries to Desert Vista's athletes, Snyder added. 

“Doug brings a very balanced philosophy that has really helped elevate our girls across the board,” Snyder said.

Last year is when Desert Vista really began to enjoy the fruits of its labor, when the basketball, cross country and swim and dive teams won their first state girls titles.

During the 2013-14 campaign, Desert Vista’s swim and dive program snapped Xavier’s 14-year state championship streak in the state’s largest division. That momentum carried into this season as Desert Vista’s girls cross country team defended its title behind a state record breaking performance by Jones.

Coaching also is playing an important role in the rise of the Lady Thunder. Desert Vista hired Dr. Jeff Messer, the state’s top cross country high school coach, two years ago, and Molly West won her 500^th volleyball match this season.

The upward trend of success for the girls figures to continue during the remainder of this school year, with Desert Vista’s basketball, soccer and track and field teams leading the way.

“It comes down to building relationships with the kids and pushing themselves and helping them learn how to get better,” Snyder said.