Columnist Spencer Patterson: Local teams kept busy over holidays

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Jan. 4, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

Spencer Patterson's prep sports column appears Thursday. Reach him at 259-4085 or spencer@lasvegassun.com.

Conference season tips off this week for area basketball and soccer teams, but before we move forward, let's take a look back at all the action that took place during winter break.

The past two weeks have seen local squads participate in a plethora of holiday events, both here in Southern Nevada and out of town. So here's a quick rundown of everything that went on while schools were out of session.

Western also made some serious noise in the HPC, advancing all the way to the Gold Cup championship game before falling to Abramson (La.) in the finals. The Warriors knocked off several strong teams along the way, including nationally ranked Arlington Country Day (Fla).

Durango (3-1 in Millennium Cup play), Green Valley (2-2 Gold) and Bonanza (2-2 Gold) also played well in the 68-team extravaganza, while second-year schools Desert Pines (3-1, third place Silver Cup) and Foothill (3-1 Bronze Cup) served notice that they are improving rapidly.

While 18 of the area's 21 4A schools battled in the Holiday Prep, Vo-Tech participated in the Indian Springs Tournament, knocking off the host Thunderbirds for the title.

The following week, Western continued its red-hot surge, going 6-0 to capture the Las Vegas Prep Championship at Las Vegas High. The Warriors defeated Cheyenne in the title game and appear ready to battle Gorman and Durango in the loaded Southwest Division.

The Desert Shields, playing their first contests in more than a week, finished 5-1 in the event, while Green Valley and Durango both went 4-1.

Valley had a successful week as well, posting an overtime win versus Southwest Miami in a non-tournament game, then going 3-0 to win the Reid Gardner Tournament in Overton. The Vikings defeated Chaparral in overtime in the finals, with the Cowboys winding up 2-1 in the event.

Two local schools traveled to San Diego for the Torrey Pines Holiday Prep Classic, with Palo Verde finishing 2-2 and Foothill going 3-1 at the tournament. Centennial also headed out of town, winning one of three games at the Carson City Tournament up north.

Finally, the top-ranked Gaels looked impressive in reaching the finals of the Texas Invitational, downing Texas foes CC Ray, Marshall and highly touted Duncanville along the way. In the title game, however, a sluggish Gorman fell 65-54 to Westlake (Texas) -- just Gorman's second loss this season.

Bonanza continued its strong early-season play in the Centennial event, posting six victories en route to the tournament title. The Bengals finished their championship run with a win over Antelope Valley (Calif.) in the finals, and placed forward Ronda Williams and guard Lyndsay Gensler on the all-tournament team.

The host Bulldogs also fared well in their event, going 5-1 and reaching the finals. Palo Verde and Desert Pines both went 4-2. Horizon (Colo.) took home first place in the gold bracket at Basic, with Silverado holding its own with a 2-2 showing in the elite draw. Foothill finished with the best record among local teams, going 3-1 in the bronze bracket.

Bishop Gorman, which picked up victories over 3A foes Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley during the first vacation week, ran its winning streak to five games with three victories at the Surf & Slam Tournament in San Diego. The Gaels downed Archbishop Wood (Pa.) in the finals, with Liz Cansdale earning tournament MVP honors and Breona Gray joining her on the all-tourney team.

Centennial captured the Palm Desert Winter Classic in California, posting four victories over California opponents in the process, while Durango went 4-1 and took third place in the San Pasqual Lady Eagles Tournament in Escondido, Calif.

Silverado and Basic traveled north to McQueen's State Farm Championship, with the Skyhawks going 3-1 and the Wolves finishing 0-4.

Last week, Eldorado hosted the fifth annual Lady Devils Soccer Classic -- an event dominated by California schools. Mt. Carmel won the gold division with a 1-0 win over Monte Vista, while Madeira and Palo Verde shared the silver division crown.

The Panthers went 3-0-1 to lead all locals, with Cheyenne and Rancho finishing 2-1-1 and Green Valley, Cimarron-Memorial and Centennial all going 2-2 in gold division play.

Cimarron-Memorial placed 30th among 87 teams at Reno's prestigious Tournament of Champions, with Rayes Gonzales (152) and Brandon Garcia (275) taking home third and seventh place, respectively, in their weight classes. The following weekend, the Spartans went 4-0 to win the Wolves Duals at Basic, besting Moapa Valley in the finals.

Palo Verde wound up 15th out of 90 teams at Reno's Sierra Nevada Classic last weekend. The Panthers' Ryan Worthen was the runner-up at 189 pounds, losing to McQueen's Ryan Bader 6-5 in the finals.

Centennial will host the second annual Bulldog Grappler Tournament this weekend, with 10 teams competing in a series of dual and individual matches. Along with locals Basic, Bonanza, Cheyenne, Clark and the host Bulldogs will be squads from California, Utah and Colorado. Action gets under way Friday at 4 p.m. and continues Saturday at 10 a.m., with individual finals slated to begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday...

The January/February issue of Sports Illustrated for Women features a one-page feature on Green Valley's girls programs, complete with photos of the school, its gymnasium wall of championship banners, the volleyball team and golfer Monica Brown.

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