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.
Cedaredge’s Drew Beach shoots over a Hotchkiss defender at the 2011 BOW Tournament.
The pre-season for basketball is over and wrestling and swimming have competed in several tournaments and meets in 2011. The next few months will set the stage for post-season competition as teams across the state begin league schedules.
Several local basketball teams sport decent records heading into the crucial part of their schedules. Paonia's Lady Eagles have the best record at 5-1 and are tied for the league lead with Hayden. Rangely is third at 5-2 in the 2A WSL conference. Soroco is 3-0 in boys' play in the 2A WSL while Meeker is 4-1. Paonia has gotten off to a slow start and are currently 0-5.
In 3A WSL play, Grand Valley and Rifle have 3-1 records while Olathe is 4-2 in the girls' division. Olathe's boys sport a 4-2 mark with Gunnison, and Grand Valley next at 3-2. Cedaredge is 3-3 and Hotchkiss 2-2 in the early going.
Class 4A WSL standings show Glenwood Springs on top with an impressive 9-0 record. Steamboat Springs is second with their 6-3 mark and Moffat County is third at 6-4. Delta's Lady Panthers own a 4-2 record and are in fourth place presently.
Palisades' boys have the lead in that division with their 7-2 record. Delta is currently in second place with their 6-3 slate.
Glenwood Springs holds at third with a mark of 5-3.
The new year in basketball started early for Delta's Panthers as they traveled to Gypsum to take on Eagle Valley's Devils on Jan. 3. A home matchup with Battle Mountain is set for Thursday, Jan. 5 with games set for 6 and 7:30 in girls and boys games respectively.
Delta hits the road to Cortez on Friday where they will play three games in two days at the Cortez Invitational. Game times for those contests are undetermined at this time.
The remainder of Delta County's schools will be in action on Friday, Jan. 6, and all are on the road.
Cedaredge is in Gunnison for girls and boys action at 5:30 and 7 p.m. and Hotchkiss is in Parachute where they will face Grand Valley's Cardinals at 5:30 and 7 p.m. as well.
Paonia is slated to play in DeBeque on Friday, Jan. 6, with one game only. That contest will feature the Eagles' boys in a game slated to start at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday's basketball schedule has Cedaredge at Olathe for 2:30 and 4 p.m. games, Hotchkiss at Rifle at 4 and 5:30 p.m., and Paonia at home against Plateau Valley with the girls playing at 2:30 p.m. and the boys at 4.
Early next week's action in hoops has Delta hosting Palisade for games at 6 and 7:30 p.m. and Hotchkiss' Bulldogs playing a boys game only against Ridgway in Hotchkiss at 5:30 p.m. Paonia's girls are on the road to Grand Junction to face the Lady Tigers' junior varsity in a game scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Wrestling action is set for this weekend as well. Saturday's (Jan. 7) schedule has Delta and Paonia at the Montrose Tournament while Cedaredge and Hotchkiss are in Gypsum to take part in the Eagle Valley Invitational.
In swimming, Amanda Hatch's squad will be hosting five teams at Bill Heddles Recreation Center. Action begins at 9 a.m.
