VHS Weekend Wrap-Up – February 26, 2018
Boys Varsity Basketball – Coach Hinkle
Valdez vs. Monroe
Friday (2/23)-
This weekend the Valdez Buccaneers traveled to Fairbanks to take on an Aurora Conference opponent, the Monroe Catholic Rams. On Friday night the Bucs got off to a slow start, yielding a 15-0 deficit to Monroe. At halftime, Monroe led 28-12. The Bucs rallied in the second half, but ultimately lost 59-44.
Valdez only yielded one offensive rebound and gave up a mere 8 two-point field goals in the game, but Monroe excelled beyond the 3-point arc (going 13 of 26). The Bucs were led offensively by Bennett Hinkle (11 points, 5 rebounds), Jalen Freeman (9 points, 5 rebounds), and Logan Heckathorn (8 points, 3 rebounds).
Saturday (2/24)-
The Buccaneers began Saturday more competitive and focused than the previous night – trailing by only one point after the first quarter (11-10), and 4 points at halftime (24-20). Monroe was able to extend their lead by the end of the third quarter (36-30), and eventually pulled away in the fourth to win 46-35.
The Bucs interior defense continued to be tremendous – yielding only 4 FG’s (8 points), but the Rams were able to convert three point attempts (going 11 of 27 for the game). Conversely, the Bucs shot 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, and scored 30 of their 35 points inside the lane – with the remaining 5 coming from the free throw line.
Bennett Hinkle led the Bucs offense with 12 points and 9 rebounds, followed by Logan Heckathorn with 7 points, and Jalen Freeman and Aidan Hinkle with 6 points apiece.
Notes-
- The weekend losses cemented the Buccaneers 2017-2018 Aurora Conference record at 8-2, solidifying them as the #2 seed heading into the Aurora Conference tournament slated for March 8-10.
- Friday nights loss ended the Buccaneers win streak at 15 games.
- All 4 Buccaneer losses have occurred within Monroe Catholic’s Boileau Hall.
- The Bucs travel to Kodiak to take on the Bears this weekend (March 2 and 3) in the regular season finale.
JV Boys Basketball – Coach Lee Chadwick
The JV had a good weekend against a strong Monroe Team. Although we lost both games, we have made great progress over the course of the season.
Friday’s game score was 41-53. Jimmy Chavez had 12 points, followed closely by Rafael Alfaro and Doug Cummings each with 10.
Saturday’s game score was 62-66. This was an exciting game featuring a strong comeback from a halftime deficit of 21-31. Doug Cummings led the scoring with 16. Gage Critchlow was 3 of 5 on 3 point shots, with a total of 11 points.
Nordic Skiing State Championships –
Coaches Timi Miner & Mel Koontz
February 22-23, 2018
Mass start in the 10km Classic
The Valdez Buccaneer Nordic Ski team traveled to Fairbanks to complete in
State Nordic Championships. Seniors Ben Swanson and Tolgonai Nasipbek
kyzy completed in two days of racing in balmy Fairbanks. On Thursday,
February 22, 2018 Swanson placed 59 th out of 93 in the freestyle, finishing a 7.5
kilometer course in 26:16. Tolgonai Nasipbek kyzy completed 5 kilometers in
26:13.
On Friday, skiers competed in the longer classic races and faced cooling
temperatures accompanied by wind. Swanson completed 10 kilometers in 37:08,
putting him 51 st out of 91 skiers. Nasipbek kyzy finished 7.5 kilometers in 48:00,
coming in 87 th out of 88.
The snow was noticeably slower and softer than last year for all skiers. The top
skiers came in about 8 minutes slower than last year. Region IV dominated,
Molly Gellert from West Anchorage took first place for the girls in the freestyle
with a time of 14:52, and Gus Schumacher from Service High School finished in
19:27. In the classic race, Schumacher from Service took first again, finishing in
29:23. For the girls, Kendall Kramer from West Valley surpassed Gellert to take
first, finishing in 26:52.
Coach Miner has observed Senior Ben Swanson’s progress the last two years
and noted that he remained consistent and reliable, yet he continued to push
himself through the ranks and beat his previous skate time at state. He also
improved his sportsmanship and stayed to cheer on the remaining skiers after
the crowds had left. It was a great pleasure working with Tolgonai this season.
She went from barely running a lap around the track and never having been on
skis before to competing in state Nordic skiing championships. Through it all,
she had a smile on her face and was always happy to just finish a race. Tolgonai
proved that hard work and determination pay off in the end.
Although Josten Carlson was unable to join us for state, he made huge
improvements in his technique and speed this year.
It has been a whirlwind of a season for the Bucs Nordic Ski Team. Due to a
large number of seniors last year, our team was small, yet mighty this year. It is
our hope that Nordic skiing will be revived in the Snow Capital of Alaska. After
school skiing is now available to elementary students 2nd – 5th grades on
Wednesdays and middle school students on Mondays.
