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.
As Delta High School graduate Jake Ames signs his national letter of intent to Colorado Mesa University, his family and Delta boys’ head basketball coach, Von Mitchell look on. Members of the Ames family include: from the left, father Rob Ames, sisters Ellie (lap) and Katie, son John, and mother Tracey. Coach Mitchell looks over Jake’s shoulder.
On Thursday, May 31, 2012, Delta High School graduate Jacob Ames signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Colorado Mesa University.
Ames gained recognition for his shooting skills during the past Delta High School basketball campaign and has been an avid student preparing for action on the basketball court.
According to Ames, he shot around 70,000 shots between seasons a year ago as he began preparing for his senior year at Delta.
Ames' routine was a progressive one as he began his workouts taking shots from close in (three to five feet) and worked his way out to beyond the three-point arc.
Most of the workouts were an hour or longer. The actual number of shots per workout varied. Ames' dedication to shooting might closely correlate to a job that paid great dividends to the Panthers in the 2011-12 season.
"He did not take a day, except for approximately 14 days," stated Jake's father, Rob Ames. "In the last two years he went camping and had a trip to Lake Powell to account for those 14 days."
Ames could have gone to many colleges but chose to stay close to home with his choice to attend CMU.
Michael Bear, another Delta High School graduate, had a successful career of basketball both in Delta and at CMU. Ames and Bear have spent time together discussing the college scene and the rigors that come with it. If there was ever any doubt as to Ames' ability to be successful, it will be pushed aside. A conversation between Bear and Ames revealed how Bear made his stay at Mesa so memorable. Bear told Ames one thing that says it all for most serious-minded students and athletes. Bear told Ames, "All it takes is will." And, Jake Ames has the will to get the job done.
Ames will redshirt his first season and learn the Maverick's system of basketball by practicing with the team and adapt to the college life in general. After that, Ames will have four years of eligibility to play basketball.
Though his intended course of study may change, for now Ames has chosen to pursue a degree in marketing.