There’s plenty to talk about as the fall sports season is winding down.  In a nutshell, the Braves took care of business in Teton County over the weekend in a 41-6 win over Jackson, Hailey Ricks claimed the 4A girls state title as the Lady Braves finished third.  And after falling in five games to Rock Springs in the second of two upsets at the 4A West Regional volleyball tournament, Star Valley bounced back to beat host Evanston to claim third place in next week’s state tournament bracket.

Cross-Country Culmination

For the third straight year, the Lady Braves finished as the third place team in Wyoming’s 4A classification.  While the ladies came up short in their bid to unseat three-time defending champion Cheyenne Central, the Lady Indians were knocked off by Gillette instead.  The big news for Star Valley fans was an exciting finish which saw sophomore Hailey Ricks claim the individual state title with a time of 19:48.  Jessica Lemaster of Central was just six seconds back.  Brooke Nethercott placed sixth and Brittney Nethercott finished eighth for a tremendous accomplishment atop the ladies standings.  Abby McArthur finished 28th and freshman Dakota Bateman finished 30th to round out the top five for the ladies.  Christy Clinger and Ashley hall were not far behind.  See the entire individual results here. The team results are here.

A hearty congratulations goes out to Ricks and the Lady Braves for their accomplishments this season.  The squad should prove to be formidable next year as they move to the 3A classification with just one senior on the team in McArthur.

As for the Braves, they finished with the second best score of any of the teams out of the Western Conference after finishing fourth last weekend at the regional meet.  The Braves finished seventh overall, led by an another sophomore in David Livingston who ran a time of  17:39, good enough for 14th place.  Joshua Call was next with a time of 17:57 and 20th place.  Jared Inskeep was third on the team with 18:07 and 28th place.  Nathan Merritt and Mike Rider rounded out the top-five score with times of 18:59 and 19:00 respectively.  Freshman Zach Dubisz and sophomore Ben Sabat were not far behind.

Individually, Alex Sorenson of Evanston held off Austin Reitsma of Laramie by just one second to claim the title with the Red Devils finishing 10th.  See individual results here.

The Natrona Mustangs held off the Laramie Plainsmen for the team title.  Sheridan rounded out the top three.  See the team results here.

Braves earn playoff birth with 41-6 victory over Jackson

Star Valley earned the 59th win in the series between the Braves and the Broncs which dates back to 1931.   The win coupled with a Worland loss against 3A West Champion Cody gave the Braves the #4 seed in the Western Conference.  Star Valley will now travel to Douglas to face the two-time defending state champions.

Star Valley capitalized on three Jackson turnovers in the first quarter to jump out to a 17-0 lead.  The Braves added ten more points to hold a 27-0 lead at halftime advantage.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Braves added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Jackson scored their lone touchdown of the game against the Star Valley reserves.

In all, five different Braves scored touchdowns.  Logan Abrams, who was questionable for the game, played in extended action, compiling  150 all-purpose yards.  He rushed for a touchdown and threw a touchdown to junior Conner Hoopes.  Abrams passed for 135 yards, setting a new school record for passing yardage in a season with 1,491 yards.  This breaks the previous record of 1,481 yards held by Ashley Brown, set in 1988.  Abrams is also just one touchdown off the school record having passed for 15 this season.  Tennyson Draney threw 16 in 2005.

T.J. Guild rushed for a season-high 115 yards and a touchdown.  Guild also had another rushing touchdown and a punt return for a score called back due to penalties during the contest.

Senior Logan Haderlie started out the second quarter with an interception which he took back for INT-TD.  Star Valley’s final toucdown came from sophomore Jacob Shumway who came into the game at quarterback and scored from 19 yards out.

John Strang made all five PATs and also kicked two field goals from 28 and 36 yards.

Lady Braves rebound after disappointing upset

The Rock Springs Lady Tigers had not taken a single game from Star Valley in two meetings earlier this season, but knocked off the Lady Braves in five game to advance to the regional championship in Evanston.  However, it wasn’t even the biggest upset of the day as #4 Natrona upset top-seeded Evanston on their home floor to also advance to the finals.

Star Valley was able to gather themselves together and beat Evanston on their home floor despite losing both regular season matches to the Red Devils.  The ladies held on for a 15-13 game five victory.  It was the third time this season the two teams have gone to game five.

Upsets were hardly rare on the weekend as top-rated Kelly Walsh also lost in the 4A East and will be playing from the #3 seed.  The Lady Braves will be the #3 seed from the West in next weekend’s state tournament which appears to be wide open.  Click here for a look at the 4A West Regional Bracket