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Weekend Sports Wrap: Jirak wins four titles; Braves are State Runner-up; Basketball teams place second

• State Indoor Track & Field

The Star Valley track athletes made the annual trek to Gillette for the State Indoor Championships with the Braves finishing as the 3A State Runner-up and the Lady Braves finishing fifth. 

First for the guys, they finished with 99 team points as the Cody Broncs won the team title with 153. Evanston was third with 69.

 

The Braves got state championship performances from Habtamu Wetzel in the 3200 Meter run and the 1600 Meter run. The 4 x 800-Meter Relay team comprised of Jase Burton, Habtamu Wetzel, Matt Heywood and Peter Lorch took the event championship. Khale Clinger also won a championship in the High Jump. Jase Burton was second in the 3200 Meter and fourth in the 1600. 

The Lady Braves scores 59 team points, just one point behind Worland for the fourth position. The Cody Fillies won the title with 106 points and Torrington was second with 74. Evanston was third with 61. 

Duke University commit, Valerie Jirak, won the 55 Meter Dash, the 200-Meter Dash, the 400 Meter run and the Long Jump; scoring 40 points with her efforts. 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STATE INDOOR TRACK RESULTS

Kambree Johnson sprints up court after collecting a steal against the Cody Fillies. (SVI Photo by Dahl Erickson)

• 4A West Regional Basketball Championships

The Lady Braves faced a stiff challenge as they took on the defending 4A state champs and the Fillies did not have a slow start like the match up on their home court. Cody jumped out to a ten point first-quarter lead and never looked back in a 66-29 final. 

Future Idaho State Bengal, Molly Hays, had a dominating performance, finishing with 24 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Her freshman sister, Grace, finished with 15. 

The Fillies made six of 12 three-point attempts from five different players and won the rebounding battle, 29-14. 

The Lady Braves’ offense never really got on track as the deficit grew. Kambree Johnson led the team with eight points while Sheridan Coles and Makala Christiansen each finished with six. 

The weekend was still a success as the Lady Braves did win twice and qualified for the State Tournament next weekend as the Western Conference #2 seed. They will play Cheyenne East as the #3 seed from the Eastern Conference. East was tabbed as one of the top teams in the classification all season but were upset by Sheridan in the semifinals. 

The game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off time at Casper College on Thursday, March 7. 

Cooper Lancaster rises for a jumper and is challenged by Jackson’s Gavin Keelin. (SVI Photo by Dahl Erickson)

 

The Braves met up with the Jackson Broncs in the championship game and after falling behind by ten points in the first quarter, were never able to overcome the deficit in a 48-42 final. 

Jackson’s Andrew Hanna had a huge game with 22 points and 18 rebounds as the Broncs out rebounded the Braves 34-25. Maisen Borchardt hit a trio of three-pointers and finished with 11 points and Seb Brunner chipped in ten. 

After shooting 50% from the three-point line in a convincing victory over Riverton, the Braves suffered a poor shooting performance from long-range, hitting just four three-point baskets out of 19 attempts. Max Jensen led the team with 16 points but missed significant time during the game with foul trouble. The rest of the team struggled from the field with Kash Lancaster, Cooper Lancaster and Simon Gaskell each finishing with six points. Gaskell also finished with ten rebounds. 

With the loss, the Braves take the Western Conference #2 seed into the State Tournament in Casper on Thursday, March 7, against the Cheyenne East Thunderbirds. The game is slated to tip off at 12 noon at Casper College. 

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