Columnist Spencer Patterson: Various sports ready to spring into playoffs

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, May 3, 2001 | 12:02 p.m.

Spencer Patterson covers high school sports for the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4085 or at spencer@lasvegassun.com.

This weekend marks the close of regular season competition in all spring sports, and that can only mean one thing: the playoffs are just around the corner.

This year's postseason will feature enough action to satisfy even the most rabid high school sports fan, with 12 4A regional tournaments slated to take place in Southern Nevada next week, followed by six state events the week after that.

Here's a quick sport-by-sport guide to what's on tap:

The top four teams in all four divisions will participate, with five berths to the upcoming 4A State Tournament on the line, three for Sunrise teams and two for Sunset squads. That quintet will join three northern representatives at state, May 17-19 at Lied and Burkholder fields.

As in baseball, the format will be double-elimination, with four teams from each division vying for five spots in the state tournament, May 16-18 at the same site.

The top three team finishers from each region, along with three squads from Northern Nevada and 15 individuals from non-qualifying schools, will meet up at the Dayton Valley Country Club in Dayton, for a two-day, 36-hole event to crown the 2001 4A state champion.

Two sessions will be offered, one from June 11-15 and the other from June 18-21. Cost is $125 and includes a camp T-shirt, mesh shorts, a photo package and a Blazer basketball. Call 363-7805 for more information.