Delta coaches Luis Meza, center, and Clayton Curtis congratulate 152-pound senior Hunter Brasfield after an upset win sent him into the 4A Region 4 semifinals.
Hotchkiss senior Joe Boyle controls Ruben Chagoya of Basalt to win a 3A Region 1 title. He is one of 7 Hotchkiss state qualifiers.
Hotchkiss and Paonia boys will square off this week on the basketball courts. Both are 6-4 in league play.
Delta senior Brooke Taylor scores two of her 12 points against Summit after grabbing an offensive rebound.
Paonia 195-pounder Tyler “TK” Kendall sets Rangely’s Drew Collins up for a pin.
Paonia freshman Bo Pipher sets TJ Richard of North Park up for a pin in Saturday’s regional semifinal round. He is one of 13 Paonia wrestlers headed to state!
Surrounded by coaches and his dad, Conner Beard signs Letter of Intent to play football for the University of Nebraska Kearney.
Hotchkiss' Jacobe Galley signed a Letter of Intent to play football and study engineering at Colorado Mesa University.
Hotchkiss senior Cody Bartlett signed his National Letter of Intent to run cross-country for Hawaii Pacific University.
Photo by Tamie Meck Delta’s 3200m relay team placed fourth at last weekend’s 4A state track meet in Lakewood. Its time, 9:32.92, set a new DHS record. Team members are; left to right, Clarissa Whiting (Sr), Mykayla Music (Fr), Skylyn Webb (Sr) and Cleo Whiting…
Photo by Rich Meck Hotchkiss distance runners, and sisters, Natalie Anderson (left-center) and Mae Anderson start the 3200m run together on the opening day of the state track meet. They were fourth and fifth in the 3200 and fourth and sixth, respectively, in…
Photo by Tamie Meck Andy Pipher and son Bo meet Bo’s opponent during the Parade of Champions at the 2013 state wrestling tournament. Pipher was recently named 2013 Colorado Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).Paonia…
Photo by Tamie Meck Hotchkiss sophomore Wes Hardin saw little action as a varsity freshman but is proving to be a solid player after starting his first game this season. Hardin scored eight points in the Bulldogs’ 47-22 win over Gunnison.If the Bulldogs have any one thing going for them this season, it's depth. Hotchkiss opened the season with a 55-44 win over Olathe, then defeated Gunnison in last Thursday's home opener, 47-22.
They lost Saturday to Vail Christian, 65-44.
"We're coming around," said head coach Kyle Crowder after Thursday's win. There are still some personnel issues to work out, "But it'll be nice to be playing 10 or 11 guys."
There are still some mistakes to clear up, too. While they led 27-9 at the half, Hotchkiss got into foul trouble and shot 50 percent of its first-half free throws against Gunnison. With only five field goals, its second-half shooting lacked direction. But it's kind of hard to play that focused with such a big lead, said Crowder.
Of the Bulldogs' 11 varsity players, seven are seniors. Against Olathe they started Taylor Schreiner, Mason Oxford and Tye Bayles and sophomores Andrew Tiedeman and Wes Hardin, "And they played so well that I couldn't take them out of the starting lineup" against Gunnison, Crowder said. Starting players combined for 30 of the team's 47 points against Gunnison.
Despite limited time on the court, Jacobe Galley scored 10 points. Hardin added eight, including two 3-point shots within 30 seconds of each other in the third period. Schreiner also contributed eight points.
Crowder said his players all understand that it's not who starts or who finishes, but who works hard for the team that matters. And everyone's working hard. "Right now everybody's fighting for those (starting) positions ... It's good. It's nice to have a bunch of guys who are not selfish. They're just there for the right reasons."
Schreiner, a three-year varsity player, said he's enjoying a little time on the bench after last season. The Bulldogs had talent, but little depth, and ended the season with a 6-7 record in the Western Slope League. One of their starting seniors missed the first part of the season after having knee surgery.
"It's pretty nice to be able to sit on the bench and still watch us win," said Schreiner after the win over Gunnison. "Last year we didn't get much rest."
Hotchkiss held the Cowboys to single-digit scores in each quarter. Gunnison managed only three first-period points and trailed 27-9 at the half. Schreiner said he was surprised by the point spread, since Gunnison won both of its games last season.
Chris Allen, a 6-foot-4 junior, played two quarters of solid defense with only one foul against Gunnison. This was his first basketball game. "Nine practices," said Crowder, "it's all he's ever done in his entire life. By mid-January he could definitely be there."
Schreiner said that this year's team has as much talent as it had when he was a freshman. That year the Bulldogs were 13-3 in the WSL. It was the last year the Bulldogs made the state playoffs. Despite the 11-point win over Olathe, it was a tough game, but it allowed the team to get past their early-season jitters. "We've got all the pieces, we've just got to figure out how to put them all together."
