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2024 NAQT NEVADA STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP: A Sweet Repeat; Mustangs Go Back-to-Back, Run Streak To 34 Wins
SEMIFINALS RECAPGame 1 of the semifinals was one of the best played matches of the season. On one side was Meadows B, who entered the contest after sweeping prelims with a 7-0 record. Their opponent was Meadows C, who went 6-1 in prelims with the lone loss coming to Meadows A.
The first half featured a run by each team. C struck first with impeccable balance as Jackson Sandoval, Zareena Khan, Chase Park, and Kayleb Hague all cracked the scoresheet. They jumped out to a 105-50 lead after 7. B stormed right back with 3 consecutive cycles--2 powers from Sahil Wadhwa and a 10 from Clara Tsang. The run pushed them ahead at the half, 165-135. Fast forward to tossup 22 for the real drama of the afternoon. Hague took 10 followed by a 10 bonus, leaving Meadows C trailing 240-205. Timeout C. During the timeout, the team settled on a strategy they had practiced for the last 2 weeks--the auto-skip. With only 27 seconds remaining, C knew they probably needed both remaining cycles as 30s on bonuses were tough to come by. When the game resumed, Hague powered with 17 seconds left to make it 240-220. C immediately announced their intent to skip the entire bonus, meaning T24 would happen. With just 8 seconds remaining, Zareena Khan came through with the biggest buzz of the day, a power that left C needing just one bonus part to win. They took the first and clinched the finals berth. Final score: C-245, B-240. Semifinal #2 had a different narrative arc to it. Meadows A entered at 7-0 after winning all matches in prelims. On the other side, Rogich A made their first-ever appearance in semis, going 6-1 in prelims. This time, experience won out. Having just seen how weird, wild stuff can happen on that theater stage, Meadows A made sure to not put themselves in a position to be upset. They had 2 runs of 3 cycles, broken up each time by a Rogich 10. With bonus conversion coming in spades, the Mustangs led at halftime 250-50. The second half was more of the same, ending with the Mustangs ahead 475-120 and earning a shot to repeat their title. The final result shouldn't overshadow what Rogich A did, though. The Rough Riders had their best-ever 1 day run since entering the LVQBA. Because of their performance, they qualified for their first-ever appearance at MSNCT. Team Nevada gained a new member today, and all of us at the LVQBA sincerely hope the rest of the country gets to see what Callan Farkas, Andrei Nasol, Kaia Lowrey, and Ari Gazala bring to the table. With both semis completed, a Meadows state title was guaranteed. Now it was simply a case of which letter would finish on top. |
THE MEADOWS
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FINALS RECAP
Meadows A entered the final with the advantage, sitting at 8-0 to C's 7-1. With C's only loss coming to A in prelims, the Final was a chance to see if they could reverse the fortunes and repeat the feat that was done by their High School classmates last weekend.
Through 8 tossups, they led by 5 (100-95). At that point, the core on Team A took control and never returned it. What followed was a run of dominance that effectively ended the game. It went like this:
Six consecutive cycles and a 295-100 lead.
The second half was a display of the balance that Meadows A shows when things are really going well. Lefebvre and Winston Luh handled almost all of the tossups, but all 4 Mustangs kept taking 2 and 3 parts on wheelhouse subjects. As the time ticked down, the result was never in doubt. A core that found their groove last year while learning the game made sure to never let the target on their back derail their title defense this year. Final score: A-475, C-135.
With the win, it's now 2 consecutive state titles for the Mustangs. The A team has now won 34 matches in a row, dating back to the final round at MSNCT last year. It is also the first time in the history of the state that a high school and its feeder hold both state championships at the same time.
Through 8 tossups, they led by 5 (100-95). At that point, the core on Team A took control and never returned it. What followed was a run of dominance that effectively ended the game. It went like this:
- Sophia Gallardo 10 (30 bonus)
- William Russman power (20 bonus)
- Elliot Lefebvre 10 (10 bonus)
- Gallardo 10 (30 bonus)
- Lefebvre 10 (30 bonus)
- Lefebvre power (10 bonus).
Six consecutive cycles and a 295-100 lead.
The second half was a display of the balance that Meadows A shows when things are really going well. Lefebvre and Winston Luh handled almost all of the tossups, but all 4 Mustangs kept taking 2 and 3 parts on wheelhouse subjects. As the time ticked down, the result was never in doubt. A core that found their groove last year while learning the game made sure to never let the target on their back derail their title defense this year. Final score: A-475, C-135.
With the win, it's now 2 consecutive state titles for the Mustangs. The A team has now won 34 matches in a row, dating back to the final round at MSNCT last year. It is also the first time in the history of the state that a high school and its feeder hold both state championships at the same time.
2024 NAQT NEVADA STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP: Mustangs Run To Second Title In Three Years
As it has for the last few seasons now, the NAQT Nevada High School State Tournament left everyone guessing up through the final rounds. Last year, it was Faith Lutheran who needed to run the gamut in semis and an advantaged final to win the title. This year, The Meadows Mustangs repeated the feat and captured their second state championship.
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SEMIFINALS RECAPAfter losing to Clark A in the first round of prelims, Meadows made it to semis as the 2nd seed in the Pacific Pool. They faced off against the team that upset them last year, Faith Lutheran A. With the Crusaders running the table in prelims, they cruised to the top seed in the Frontier Pool.
Tossup 1 started with a Ben Vinocur neg followed by an Akash Abraham rebound plus 10 on the bonus. Clearly unfazed, both Ben and his brother Sam recovered to combine for the next 6 tossups. Senior Cole Verdirame added a 7th consecutive tossup to put the Mustangs up 195-20 after 8. After a Luke Strole 10 on T9, Ben Vinocur powered T10 right at the end of the half, as the Mustangs led 205-40. As expected, though, the defending state champions started to make a run. Abraham and Strole went back-to-back on T11 and T12, cutting the Mustang lead down to 110. Ben Vinocur, kickstarting what was arguably his finest-ever 1 day performance, fired back with 2 tossups of his own to reestablish the distance. From there, the teams traded tossups the rest of the way, allowing Meadows to bleed the clock and salt away the victory. Final score: Meadows, 290; Faith A, 200. In the second semifinal, Clark A was coming off of a prelims round that saw them be the highest scoring team of the day. They took on A-TECH, making their first-ever appearance in semis after surviving a mini-playoff with Coral A and Clark B. This match was a showcase of the Charger firepower that we've seen all year. Aaron Brown, Theo Perez, and Parth Joshi mostly played a game of hot potato throughout the first half, each taking their turn at the buzzer and helping the Chargers build a 240-20 halftime lead. Knowing they'd potentially play Meadows in the Finals, they began the second half with a mission of keeping their edge. By the end of tossup 18, they had all sealed it away, leading 340-105. The Mavericks acquitted themselves well in the second half, though. Carlo Allietti and Callum Maffey combined to take 5 tossups in the second half. Unfortunately, the bonuses just didn't fall their way (which never helps when going up against a buzzsaw). While A-TECH scratched a few more tossups late in the game, Clark won going away, 440-120. The rematch of 2022 was now set. FINALS RECAPFor Finals, the Chargers enjoyed the all-important advantage. They needed to win once; Meadows needed to win twice. On top of that, Clark was already warmed up from having just played their semifinal. Meadows had to wait a full match to get back on stage again.
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THE MEADOWS
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As Game 1 of a potential 2 began, it was the Mustangs who were unfazed by the layoff. Ben Vinocur took the first 3 tossups while Sam shepherded his crew through the bonuses. Meadows led 50-0 after 3.
Parth Joshi got the Chargers on the board with a quick 10 followed by 10 on the bonus. What followed next was a sequence that greatly altered the rest of Finals. While it was Ben Vinocur who had done most of the scoring to that point, all three of his teammates cracked the scoresheet in different ways. Cole Verdirame powered T5. Senior Rocco Santo Pietro took a critical 10 on T7. Sam Vinocur came through for 20 on a bonus, and all of a sudden, the Mustangs led 145-15. Timeout, Clark.
After the timeout, the Chargers regrouped quickly. Perez took 10. Then Joshi took 10. The bonus conversion hit on half. Clark was back, trailing only by 80 with halftime approaching. Then it was Ben Vinocur's turn to stall the momentum. He powered T11 and T12 to close the half, and Meadows led 185-65.
The second half began with the expected Clark run, something they'd done several times against Meadows earlier in the season. They cut the Mustang lead to 50, thanks to Joshi and Brown. With the Meadows coaching staff nearly calling timeout, they let it ride.
It ended up being the right call.
Ben Vinocur took the next 4 tossups--10s on T15 and T16, powers on T17 and T18. While it wasn't a done deal yet, the Mustangs had made it hard for the Chargers to come back in time. Tossups from Joshi and Perez were matched by Verdirame and Vinocur to ensure there would be a winner-take-all Game 2. Final score: Meadows 345, Clark A 220.
In Game 2, the Chargers responded exactly the way you want a team to after losing the advantage in the Final. An easy power from Joshi and 10 from Perez built the Charger lead to 55 after 2. The Mustangs took the next 3 to jump ahead by 40, but Perez and Joshi brought Clark back yet again to go up by 5, 100-95 after 7.
Two tossups for each team were traded, keeping Clark in front 175-155 after 11. Halftime was still 3 cycles out thanks to the high-level tossup play in this one. By the time the clock expired, the two teams had gotten through 14 cycles, combining for 7 powers. The flurry ultimately resulted in a 10-point lead for Meadows at the half, 185-175.
10 cycles remained to decide a state champion.
With 6 cycles remaining, it looked like Clark was finally going to catch the Mustangs. They closed the Mustang lead to just 45 points, 285-240. Once again, the Mustang coaches thought about calling timeout; and just like last time, they let it ride for one more cycle. The patience was rewarded.
Vinocur took T19. T20 went dead. T21 was a Perez power, slashing the deficit to 50 with just 3 to go. The crowd began doing the math--only 135 points left on the table. There was still a great chance for Clark to jump ahead at the end. Fittingly, it would be Vinocur who ended all doubt. He took 2 of the final 3, including a power on T24 to put an exclamation point on a state championship. Final score: Meadows, 370; Clark A, 285.
For the Mustangs, it is their second championship in the last three years. A slow build that started with blowout losses to Clark and Faith in the first weekend of the year ended with triumph.
Parth Joshi got the Chargers on the board with a quick 10 followed by 10 on the bonus. What followed next was a sequence that greatly altered the rest of Finals. While it was Ben Vinocur who had done most of the scoring to that point, all three of his teammates cracked the scoresheet in different ways. Cole Verdirame powered T5. Senior Rocco Santo Pietro took a critical 10 on T7. Sam Vinocur came through for 20 on a bonus, and all of a sudden, the Mustangs led 145-15. Timeout, Clark.
After the timeout, the Chargers regrouped quickly. Perez took 10. Then Joshi took 10. The bonus conversion hit on half. Clark was back, trailing only by 80 with halftime approaching. Then it was Ben Vinocur's turn to stall the momentum. He powered T11 and T12 to close the half, and Meadows led 185-65.
The second half began with the expected Clark run, something they'd done several times against Meadows earlier in the season. They cut the Mustang lead to 50, thanks to Joshi and Brown. With the Meadows coaching staff nearly calling timeout, they let it ride.
It ended up being the right call.
Ben Vinocur took the next 4 tossups--10s on T15 and T16, powers on T17 and T18. While it wasn't a done deal yet, the Mustangs had made it hard for the Chargers to come back in time. Tossups from Joshi and Perez were matched by Verdirame and Vinocur to ensure there would be a winner-take-all Game 2. Final score: Meadows 345, Clark A 220.
In Game 2, the Chargers responded exactly the way you want a team to after losing the advantage in the Final. An easy power from Joshi and 10 from Perez built the Charger lead to 55 after 2. The Mustangs took the next 3 to jump ahead by 40, but Perez and Joshi brought Clark back yet again to go up by 5, 100-95 after 7.
Two tossups for each team were traded, keeping Clark in front 175-155 after 11. Halftime was still 3 cycles out thanks to the high-level tossup play in this one. By the time the clock expired, the two teams had gotten through 14 cycles, combining for 7 powers. The flurry ultimately resulted in a 10-point lead for Meadows at the half, 185-175.
10 cycles remained to decide a state champion.
With 6 cycles remaining, it looked like Clark was finally going to catch the Mustangs. They closed the Mustang lead to just 45 points, 285-240. Once again, the Mustang coaches thought about calling timeout; and just like last time, they let it ride for one more cycle. The patience was rewarded.
Vinocur took T19. T20 went dead. T21 was a Perez power, slashing the deficit to 50 with just 3 to go. The crowd began doing the math--only 135 points left on the table. There was still a great chance for Clark to jump ahead at the end. Fittingly, it would be Vinocur who ended all doubt. He took 2 of the final 3, including a power on T24 to put an exclamation point on a state championship. Final score: Meadows, 370; Clark A, 285.
For the Mustangs, it is their second championship in the last three years. A slow build that started with blowout losses to Clark and Faith in the first weekend of the year ended with triumph.
ALL-LVQBA Teams Announced for HS and MS
The annual All-LVQBA Teams have been revealed for the 2023 regular season. As usual, recognition is given for First Team, Second Team, and Honorable Mention. In order to qualify for First Team and Second Team, a player must have heard at least 70% of the tossups in all matches prior to the regular season playoffs. Honorable Mention recognition is given to the top player from a school if they do not have representation on the First Team or Second Team.
High School honors are listed first, and MS honors are listed second.
High School honors are listed first, and MS honors are listed second.
All-LVQBA 1st Team |
All-LVQBA 2nd Team |
All-LVQBA Hon. Mention |
Ben Vinocur, Meadows
Luke Strole, Faith Lutheran Theo Perez, Clark Parth Joshi, Clark |
Aaron Brown, Clark
Daniel Obstgarten, CASLV Akash Abraham, Faith Lutheran Shawn Frost, Meadows |
Carlo Allietti, A-TECH
Thomas Noone, Liberty Carlos Matamoros, Equipo |
All-LVQBA 1st Team |
All-LVQBA 2nd Team |
All-LVQBA Hon. Mention |
Dhruv Soundarapandian, CASLV
Elliot Lefebvre, Meadows Mark Argento, Lone Mountain William Russman, Meadows |
Andrei Nasol, Rogich
Kayleb Hague, Meadows Zareena Khan, Meadows Georgia Lowry, Meadows |
Max Del Gatto, Faith Lutheran
Sylvia Lenker, White Mason Bacon, Aliante |
2023-24 League Information
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