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Sports for Mar. 13, 2008

Redskin Gals Lose at Regionals

GUNNISON-  The Lady Skins lost a heartbreaker this past Saturday to the Crested Butte Titans, 57-53, thus dashing their dream of a spot in the Great Eight.  The Lady Skins squared off against the Titans in a dominating first half battle run as the Skins opened up a commanding 20-9 first quarter lead.   The Titans  gained their stride when senior Emma Colburn, lit up the scoreboard  and kept the game from getting completely out of hand, keeping pace with La Veta’s offense. As the half drew to a close, the Skins found themselves in control and holding onto a 10 point lead.

    The Redskins opened up a dominating 14 point lead  midway in the third in part to the great defense of Emily Moll and Kyndall Alvarez, but the Titans would not give up.  Emma Vosburg hit a three pointer, followed by 2 from Colburn and the Skins’ lead slipped to 4 before Carlee Koutnik returned a score followed by an inbound stolen pass by Alvarez which put the Skins ahead by 8 with 2.21 remaining in the third.  Great defense and lay-ups in open lanes put the Redskins up by 12 but two costly errors allowed the Titans to scratch back to within 8 as the quarter ended.

    It is said that when it rains, it pours.  Well, as far as mistakes go, the Skins reined supreme.  Vosburg opened the fourth with a three pointer and the first of many fourth quarter turnovers by the Skins gave Crested Butte an open door.  Colburn walked right through to begin the Titan comeback.  At 6.56 remaining, Vosburg hit her second three pointer to tie the game.  The two teams traded shots and a defensive rebound by Shea Brgoch and down court pass would have given the Skins a chance to take the lead.  A missed shot and Colburn rebound allowed Crested Butte to take the ball downtown and score putting the Titans ahead for good.

    As the clock was nearing the mid way point of the fourth, a lose ball foul put Shelby Morgan on the line with a chance to tie the game.  She hit one out of one shot to bring the Skins within one.  This was as close as they would get.  For both teams, missed shots and turnovers dominated play in the last three minutes, making this anybodies game. As the clock was winding down with 31 seconds remaining. Alvarez  three point attempt circled the rim and fell into the waiting arms of titan Vosburg.  A subsequent  missed Titan shot and La Veta rebound with 22 seconds gave hope to the multitude of Redskin fans who made the trip over Monarch Pass.  A costly turnover by the Lady Skins saw their season slip into the books as their season ended. 

     In the end, hot shooting Colburn hit 24 and Vosburg had 19.  For the Skins, Alvarez was high scorer with 18, followed by Morgan and Koutnik with 7.

Junior High Grapplers Wrestle with Success

WALSENBURG- The John Mall Junior High Grizzlies played host to a quad tournament this past Tues. March 4  at Peakview Gym.  Results are as follows: Andre Ortiz (2-0); John Paul Vigil (1-1); MichaelRyan Griego  (1-1); and Bernie Archuleta (1-1).  Other participants included Michael Smithy-Helms, Jason Sims, and Deborah Aguirre.

     Last Saturday, the team traveled to Colo. Springs to participate at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.  The team had 10 wins and 7 losses.  Ortiz placed first; Vigil, Smithy-Helms and Archuleta placed third.

     The Grizzlies will again be in action on their home mats this Sat. March 15 with action beginning at 9:30. 

Skins’ Season Ends

GUNNISON- The La Veta boys′ basketball team will be staying home this week, They missed their opportunity to play in the Great Eight after losing Saturday to the Ouray Trojans 72-62.

   From the opening tip-off, the Redskins were never really in the game as they fell behind 5-0.  The Trojans’ defense held La Veta’s scoring machine at bay as they opened up an 11-4 lead.  Dakota Mason helped bring his team to within three points, but the Trojans hit two three-point shots to close out the first quarter with La Veta trailing 22-11.

     The two teams traded shots in the second, but the Skins could not seem to find the opening they needed to overcome their deficit. They trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, simply being outplayed by the Trojans.

A Season in Review

-an editor’s perspective

WALSENBURG- Now that both the boys’ and girls’ basketball season has ended and the wrestling matches are over, the Panthers have much to cheer about.

    The biggest news of the spring season was the state championship medal Bryan Crespin brought home as the first heavyweight champion in Walsenburg. Crespin also brought many records with his victory, including wins, regional championships and victories by pin-fall.  Senior Jon Aguirre’s regional championships and trip to state should not be overlooked. Placing sixth was an accomplishment.  John Mall has always had a reputation for producing champions and those two will not be the last.   Coach Vialpando has developed a disciplined team that will bring home more honors in the coming years.

    The basketball teams gave excitement and disappointment. The two seniors, Cami Reynolds and Ashley Archuleta, demonstrated leadership which will guide the young Lady Panthers for the rest of their high school career.  Though the team came out on the short end of the scoreboard this season, they learned discipline and sportsmanship.  Coach Bustos did a great job and next season, the Lady Cats will usher in a new era.

     Coach Harriman helped his Panther team develop and learn from their mistakes.  While the previous year’s success were not matched, these young men are the new era of Panther basketball.  While they gave up height to most of their opponents, the powerful outside shooting of seniors Craig Eccher and Mike Vigil lit up the three-point line.         For the other seniors, Michael Rodriguez and Nick Souza,  their leadership taught this young team the fundamentals of teamwork.    It’s been a pleasure meeting you all and covering all your tremendous achievements.

 

Kudos Athletes

LA VETA-  Now that the first half of spring sports is over, the Redskins have a lot to shout about.  Their boys’ and girls’ basketball teams just completed successful seasons, and the wrestling team sent five grapplers to state.    

    While the basketball teams failed in their bids for a berth in the Great Eight, they gave the hometown crowd plenty to cheer about this season.  For the Lady Skins, the high scoring games of Kyndall Alvarez were among the highest in 1A basketball.   Kendall’s average was over 25.  Senior Shea Brgoch’s abilities under the  boards and leadership helped guide her younger teammates.  For the rest of the young women, you have demonstrated what it takes to be winners. To finish 20-2 is a remarkable record.

    The boys struggled midseason and overcame difficulties associated with the resignation of their coach.  They looked beyond those distracti­­­ons and began a string of wins which propelled them to the number-one seed at districts only to fall to the Creede Miners.  For Brian Andreatta, Shane Brownlee, Dakota Mason and the rest of the squad, congratulations for giving us an exciting season.  To Coach Price, congratulations on keeping the team focused.  No matter the final scores, you will always be giants to your supporters.

    To Coach Ortivez and his squad, the grapplers performed well all season. Though the Redskins did not place at state this year, being there was an accomplishment.  The younger wrestlers, James Smalley, Derrick Franklin, Nick Northup, Jon Ortivez and Steve Kimbrel, qualified for state and were among the top 16 wrestlers in their weight class.  To the other members of the wrestling squad, congratulations and hang in there.   There’s always next year.

    It has been a pleasure watching all your successes and accomplishments this season.  I can hardly wait till I hear, “Batters-up!”

Cement plant concerns

Building inspector suggests a negotiated move out of Northlands to site near prison WALSENBURG — The Walsenburg City Council convened a special meeting Friday, March

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