Preps: Silverado wrestlers set to make some noise

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 9:28 a.m.

With its full varsity lineup on the mat for the first time all season this week, the Silverado wrestling team served notice that it should be a legitimate contender at next month's Southern zone and state championships.

Buoyed by the return of 215-pounder Darrell McDonald, a state qualifier last year who has missed most of this season with nagging injuries, the Skyhawks downed a tough Chaparral squad, 46-20.

Silverado improved to 10-1 overall and stayed atop the Sunrise Division with a 4-0 league mark. The team's only loss came at the hands of undefeated Cimarron-Memorial, the class of the Sunset Division with a 12-0 overall record.

"It's nice to get everybody back," said Skyhawks' coach Bob Clements, who has seen six of his top wrestlers battle injuries throughout the season. "If we can stay healthy, I'd say we're a top five team in the state."

Silverado boasts five seniors with unbeaten dual meet records: 125-pounder Yonas Woldu (a senior transfer from Indiana), 140-pound senior Mario Paladino (the defending 4A state champion at 130 pounds), 145-pounder Tom Rucci, 152-pounder Mike Barthlow and 189-pounder Tom Cass.

In addition to those five, who likely will enter the Southern Zone 4A Tournament as number one seeds, the Skyhawks also have four wrestlers with just one loss apiece.

"This year we're looking to do something big," Clements said. "We're just trying to stay away from injuries."

Puerto Rican tour

Cimarron-Memorial's Colby Hyt had an outstanding sophomore season last year, batting .444 and posting a 3.00 earned-run average.

But don't be surprised if the first baseman/left-handed pitcher improves on those numbers after an off-season in which he competed with the country's best during a two-week tour of Puerto Rico.

Earlier this month, the 16-year-old Hyt joined 11 teammates from around the United States on the Roberto Clemente All-Star Team. The only Nevadan on the squad, Hyt helped the Americans to a 4-4-2 record against the top amaeur teams in Puerto Rico.

"We were pretty solid, but you're not going to play as well with guys you've never played with before," Hyt said. "But we managed because we had a lot of talent on the team."

The switch-hitting Hyt, who batted fifth in the Spartans' order last spring, found himself in the leadoff spot after his all-star team's two practice sessions. That experience should bode well for Cimarron-Memorial, which could wind up with a more versatile lineup.

"When you're deep in the order, you can swing at almost anything, but when you're leading off, you have to be more selective and get on base," Hyt said.

Some fries with that?

Six area boys basketball players have been nominated for the ultimate honor in their sport -- the chance to earn a coveted spot on the McDonald's All-American Basketball Team.

Bishop Gorman's Mo Terry, Durango's Stephen Simister, Las Vegas High's Mario Finley, Western's Jimmy White and Vance Lawhorn and Green Valley's Jamar Glasper have made the initial pool of 1,500 high school seniors, which will be pared to two squads of 10.

The final selections will be made public Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The game will take place March 25 in Norfolk, Virginia.

End of the road

After 21 years as a boys and girls soccer coach in the Las Vegas area, Cimarron-Memorial's Pat Webb has decided it's time to leave his familiar spot on the sideline.

"I've just reached the point in my life where I've decided it's time to retire," Webb said. "But I will miss the kids."

The 59-year-old Webb has coached the Spartan girls for the past seven years and coached the Spartan boys from 1992-1996. Before that, he built the Clark boys and girls programs into state powerhouses during his 14 years at that high school.

Webb, who also teaches math at Cimarron, won the first-ever Nevada state boys soccer championship with Clark in 1988 and was named the National High School Coach of the Year the following season at a ceremony headed by former President Gerald Ford.

Lynn McCann, a Spartan assistant this season, will take over as the Cimarron head girls coach next year.

Hot rivalry

In response to the growing popularity of the annual Durango/Gorman boys and girls basketball contests, Gorman athletic director Chuck Gerber has announced that his school will sell advance tickets for the events, slated for Feb. 9 at 4:45 and 6:30, respectively.

Tickets will be available to non-students at halftime of two upcoming Gorman home events -- the girls game against Cimarron-Memorial Feb. 2 and the boys game versus Bonzanza Feb. 4.

Durango fans can buy tickets through their school's athletic office, while Gorman student tickets will be distributed by the student government.

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