Braves Raves
By Amylynn Richards
BOYS BASKETBALL
The boys hosted Mount Vernon Christian on Friday, Jan. 28, beating the Hurricanes 79-35. Team highlights: Kyle McKnight, 17 points; Landy James, 16 points; and Garrett Wilbur, 13 points. “The team played a very well especially in the second half,” says Coach Scott Novak. “All 11 players scored in the game. The team got great play and energy off the bench from Bobby Poulton, Connor Anderson, Garret Wilbur and Sten Mejlaender.
The boys hosted another league game on Saturday, Jan. 29 against Shoreline Christian. The Braves won 64-56. Team highlights: Landy James, 16 points and 9 rebounds; Kyle McKnight, 15 points and 5 rebounds; Spencer Novak, 10 points and 5 rebounds; and DJ Carr, 10 points, 11 rebounds.
“The starting five stepped up this game and played well for us,” Novak said.
Friday is the final home game of the season at 7:30 p.m., and is senior night. The Braves wrap up the regular season in Concrete on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.
The boys’ are the only undefeated team in the league, with 10 wins; the overall season record is 14-2. The boys are ranked by Massey ratings as third in the State.
WRESTLING
The Braves hosted a last-minute match at home against Lakewood high school on Monday, Jan. 24. Lakewood won 52-12. Team wins: Hunter Johnson by pin in 5:07; Dahlton Zavala by pin in 1:08; and Travis Silva by pin in 1:01. The exhibition match winner was William Zeimantz, who won by pin in 46 seconds
On Wednesday, Jan. 26 the team traveled to Friday Harbor to take on the Vikings. The Vikings won 30-21. The sportsmanship award was presented to Hunter Johnson. Team wins: Hunter Johnson by pin in 3:38; Robert Duckworth by pin in 1:03; Travis Silva won 9-6; and Cameron Wischhusen by pin in 3:53 versus Willy Dunn. Coach Mike Compton said, “Cameron avenged a couple of losses to Dunn earlier in the year, and that was certainly the Match of the Week.”
The girls’ team wrestled at the Lady Wolfpack invite at Jackson High School, in Everett. “It was a tough tournament, but Amber Drye won one match by pin,” reports Coach Compton. “It was a good tournament to help get ready for the Girls’ Sub- Regional at Squalicum this Saturday.”
REGIONALS
The girls’ wrestling team will travel to Squalicum for the Sub-Regional championships on Saturday, Feb. 5. The team competes at 10 a.m. The boys’ wrestling team competes at Concrete high school on Saturday, Feb. 4, beginning at 11 a.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The girls hosted Mount Vernon Christian on Friday, Jan. 28. The game was a slow start for the Braves, culminating in a heartbreaking Hurricane win, 29-23. “Friday was disappointing for the girls,” said Coach Marla Quesnell, “we played great defense, but the ball didn't want to go in the net.”
The Lady Braves were struggling to get on the scoreboard well into the third quarter; the Hurricanes were ahead 25-8. With three minutes left in the third quarter, the Braves put the pressure on the Hurricanes, and took the score into the double digits by quarter’s end (25-12).
The girls kept the pressure up throughout the fourth quarter; the Hurricanes had a modest five point lead (25-20) with just four minutes left in the game. The Braves closed the gap to a mere four points in the final 60 seconds of the game; the Hurricanes were starting to get tired and the crowd cheered the girls on, but the Hurricanes scored with 58 seconds left, and scored a final time at 34 seconds. The Braves showed the crowd what they are made of, and made a valiant effort until the very end.
High scorer for the Braves was Priscilla Ponce-Venegas, who brought eleven points in for the Braves.
Coach Quesnell says the team will keep working hard as playoffs approach, because “there is still a lot of basketball to be played.” The Braves have two more games left in the season.
ELKS FREE THROW
La Conner fourth grade student Matty Lagerwey has won the Skagit Elk Hoop Shoot and is on her way to compete against other regional Hoop Shoot winners for the State Championship on Saturday, Feb. 12 in Bellevue. The winner of the State competition will progress on towards State-Regional’s to quality for National competition.
The Elks National Free Throw Program is open to all boys and girls, ages 8 through 13
The Elk Free Shoot champs for La Conner school are Ashley Thomas, girls 8-9; Matty Lagerwey, girls 10-11; Layla Westendorf, girls 12-13; Skyler Morse, boys 8-9; Henry Cayou, boys 10-11; and Matt Finley, boys 12-13.
YOUTH BASKETBALL
The K-8 Brave basketball teams and their coaches will be honored during halftime of the boy’s varsity game. Game time starts at 7:30 p.m.
