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 Paonia’s Jason Sturgis denies Reid Gates of Cedaredge in the battle for third place at the Delta Classic basketball tournament. Cedaredge won 55-43 in overtime.Reid Gates scored 14 points to lead the Cedaredge Bruins to a 55-43 win in overtime Saturday against Paonia and place third at the First Colorado National Bank Classic Tournament held in Delta on Dec. 21-22.
Ben Linnell scored 10 points and Jason Sturgis nine for the Eagles.
Paonia's defense allowed the Bruins only one field goal and four first-period points.
Gates scored four points and James LeDonne hit back to back three-pointers to tie the game at 19-19 at halftime. Trent Walker added another three for the Bruins, and Aaron Henrie scored his only goal of the game in the second.
Three-point shots by Taylor Katzer and Sturgis gave the Eagles a narrow three-point lead heading into the final period. Paonia faced foul trouble in the fourth, sending the Bruins to the line where they shot six of 12.
With Paonia trailing 35-38 late in the game, Eric Carney forced two Bruin turnovers that resulted in field goals by Linnell and Sturgis and gave Paonia a slim one-point lead. Cedaredge tied up the game on a free throw by Tylor Beach, and Katzer put Paonia ahead by two with less than 30 seconds remaining.
Gates drew the foul, and shot 2-2 to end the game in a 41-41 tie.
In overtime, Gates drew an early foul and again hit 2-2 from the line. Before Paonia could pull together a plan, Dillon Smith scored a field goal, and Walker put up two quick goals to give Cedaredge an eight-point lead; Lane Clawson, a lead blocker for Paonia, fouled out with 2:52 remaining in overtime.
Cedaredge maintained control of the ball. Henrie drew two fouls and was 3-4 from the line, and Corey Reynolds added a field goal.
Walters scored the Eagles' only overtime points on a lay up. Walker was fouled and shot 2-2 to give the Bruins a 56-43 win and secure third place for the tournament. Gates ended the game with 14 points, and Walker scored two 3-point shots and a game total eight points.
Linnell was high-scorer for Paonia with 10 points, and Sturgis and Katzer each added nine.
