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YOUTH MOVEMENT RIDES ON, MUSTANGS WIN 2ND STRAIGHT STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
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For the last four or five HS state tournaments, the matchups on paper have not played out on the stage. Today added to the trend as the Meadows Mustangs and A-TECH Mavericks featured a combined 6 players from grades 7-9. In the end, the Mustangs would prevail in the advantaged final to win their second straight HS state title, and the first ever state title in Nevada won by an all-middle school team.
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SEMIFINALS RECAP
The first semifinal featured a rematch of last year's state championship--Clark A and Meadows A. This time, though, the roster for the Mustangs was completely different while Clark returned much of their scoring with the exception of Parth Joshi. The teams split the first 4 tossups, but the Chargers were far superior on bonus conversion to take an 85-45 lead. The Mustangs fired back with 2 tossups but continued their shaky bonuses to eke out a 95-85 lead. Clark then took 2 of the next 3 to jump back ahead, 145-130. What followed to close the half may have had an impact for the rest of the afternoon. Georgia Lowry powered T10, William Russman took T11, and Elliot Lefebvre took T12. Combining those gets with Sophia Gallardo's steady leadership on bonuses gave Meadows A a 215-145 halftime lead. Playing behind for the first time of the day, the Chargers rebounded ferociously out of the break. Theo Perez powered T13 and Aaron Brown powered T14. Both bonuses were 30'd to put Clark ahead 235-215. After a Perez neg and failed rebound, Lowry took T16 to seesaw back in front by 15. Brown and Perez combined forces once again for back-to-back gets on 17 and 18 for yet another lead change. It wouldn't be the last one. Lefebvre took 10 on T19 and powered T20. Lowry powered T21. But the bonus conversion faltered yet again, keeping the Chargers within 1 cycle, 325-280. Timeout, Clark A. Knowing they'd probably need to get all 3 of the remaining tossups, Clark got a crucial power from Jack Stark and a follow-up 10 from Theo Perez to take a 335-320 lead with just one tossup left. Timeout, Meadows A. Both teams would probably agree that nerves took over on T24. Both teams would probably agree that the tossup went way too far before someone took a stab. But when the buzzer light went on, it was Elliot Lefebvre who won the race. Needing only one part, the Mustangs took the 2nd and 3rd bonuses to finish the 350-335 upset. For the first time in state history, a team made up of only middle schoolers would play for the HS state championship. The second semifinal featured Coral Academy A and A-TECH A. The Mavericks won the Pacific pool with a perfect 6-0 record while the Falcons finished 2nd in the Frontier with an excellent 5-1 record (the only loss coming to Clark A). |
MEADOWS MUSTANGS (A)
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The match began with a 3-tossup run from Coral, including powers from Daniel Obstgarten and Josiah Chong that were paired with a 10 from Vincent Kristosik. A-TECH A replied with a streak of 4 tossups, 3 from Mark Argento and 1 from Callum Maffey. After both runs, the Mavericks held a 110-70 lead.
Obstgarten answered back with a very fast power to put the Falcons back in the lead after a 20 bonus. A-TECH then strung together another run to close the half. This time Argento, Maffey, and Carlo Allietti each took 10. On the 9 bonus parts, the Mavericks took 8 of them and sprinted into halftime with a 220-105 lead.
Coral was far from done. They bolted out of the break with 5 tossups in a row to take a 20-point lead (240-220). The teams traded T17 and T18 before A-TECH took 2 in a row on T19 and T20 to go up 70. Another trade ensued on T21 and T22, prompting the Falcons to call timeout with a 70-point gap. On T23, Obstgarten took his shot to give the Falcons a chance at the end, but he fell just short on a tough neg, which sealed it for A-TECH. The Mavericks advanced to their first-ever state final, 370-265.
FINALS RECAP
Since A-TECH A entered with an undefeated record and Meadows A had one loss, the Mavericks only needed to win once to take the championship. The Mustangs would have to win twice in a row.
A-TECH took the first 4 tossups and tried to slow the pace down to prevent the Mustangs from hearing enough of the packet. In the early going, the strategy worked as A-TECH went up 125-0. After William Russman took 10 for the Mustangs on T5, Lowry took a couple of tough negs on T7 and T8 that led to easy rebounds for the Mavericks. After 8 tossups, they led 185-20, and timeout was called by Meadows.
While they sacrificed their opportunity for late-game strategizing, Meadows knew they had to stop the bleeding now or the Finals would never see a Game 2. In the final 4 tossups before halftime, each team took 2 tossups and traded 3 bonus parts each. Halftime showed A-TECH up 235-70. The Mavericks were 10 minutes away from ending it.
At halftime, the Mustangs tried to make an adjustment to the pace of the game. Knowing they'd need as many tossups as possible to make a comeback, they opted to rush bonuses for the entire half. Lefebvre came out of the break and took T12, and the Mustangs rushed through to get 10 on the bonus. While it wasn't much, the pace changed dramatically in their favor as Russman, Gallardo, and Lefebvre combined for the next 3. Five bonus parts out of nine left them back by only 65, 235-170.
A-TECH then stopped all of the momentum cold with a fast 10 and even faster power from Argento to push the lead back to 135 (300-165). When T18 went dead, it started to look like the Mavericks would be able to run the clock out.
Enter Georgia Lowry.
Gallardo and Lefebvre started the comeback with a 10 and a power, and then Lowry took over. Ten on T21, power on T22, power on T23. When she nailed her final buzz, the clock expired with only the bonus left to go in a 300-300 tie. Needing just one part, the Mustangs missed the first 2 and hoped the easy part was still to come. It did, and they completed the furious comeback to keep the season alive. Final score, 310-300.
Now with everything coming down to just 1 game, all bets were off. Having taken a tough loss, it A-TECH started completely unfazed. After 3 tossups, the Mavericks had taken 2 of them with 100% bonus conversion for an early lead. Their slower pace started to work again as Meadows struggled to find the same energy that was needed for the frantic comeback in Game 1.
The big difference this time was that the Mustangs wouldn't allow themselves to play A-TECH's style. Russman powered T4, Lefebvre took T5 and T6. The Mustangs rushed through 3 bonuses, scored 7 of 9 parts, and quickened the pace again. Unlike Game 1, they wouldn't fall victim to another A-TECH flurry. Caleb Cordon took T7 for the Mavericks, and the Mustangs ended the half with five in a row (1 from Russman and 4 from Lefebvre). At halftime, Meadows led 260-95.
Now it was A-TECH's turn to try their luck at a comeback. They got themselves off to the best possible start in the second half, rebounding 2 straight Mustang negs to pull within 105 points. Gallardo answered with a massive power on T15 and Argento answered back with 10 on T16. Down by 130 points, A-TECH needed to start their run again. Unfortunately for them this time, a vicinity neg allowed the Mustangs to hear the rest of the tossup and take a rebound 10. They proceeded to take the next 3 tossups (Lowry, Lefebvre, Lefebvre) and effectively end the game. When the clock expired, the Mustangs had pulled it off, 430-175.
For the Mavericks, it is their highest-ever finish at the Nevada State Championship. They have already qualified for HSNCT. Mark Argento and Carlo Allietti were named to the All-State Second Team.
As for Meadows, it's their second straight title, but this one comes with history. It's the first time a team of all middle schoolers has won Nevada. Sophia Gallardo is now the youngest-ever captain to win a Nevada State Title. Elliot Lefebvre was the highest scorer of the tournament and made All-State First team. William Russman is the youngest-ever Nevada State Champion. And Georgia Lowry is the first player in Nevada history to win both the MS and HS titles in the same season, having won the MS tournament with Meadows B last weekend. The Mustangs will make appearances at both SSNCT and MSNCT later this spring.
Obstgarten answered back with a very fast power to put the Falcons back in the lead after a 20 bonus. A-TECH then strung together another run to close the half. This time Argento, Maffey, and Carlo Allietti each took 10. On the 9 bonus parts, the Mavericks took 8 of them and sprinted into halftime with a 220-105 lead.
Coral was far from done. They bolted out of the break with 5 tossups in a row to take a 20-point lead (240-220). The teams traded T17 and T18 before A-TECH took 2 in a row on T19 and T20 to go up 70. Another trade ensued on T21 and T22, prompting the Falcons to call timeout with a 70-point gap. On T23, Obstgarten took his shot to give the Falcons a chance at the end, but he fell just short on a tough neg, which sealed it for A-TECH. The Mavericks advanced to their first-ever state final, 370-265.
FINALS RECAP
Since A-TECH A entered with an undefeated record and Meadows A had one loss, the Mavericks only needed to win once to take the championship. The Mustangs would have to win twice in a row.
A-TECH took the first 4 tossups and tried to slow the pace down to prevent the Mustangs from hearing enough of the packet. In the early going, the strategy worked as A-TECH went up 125-0. After William Russman took 10 for the Mustangs on T5, Lowry took a couple of tough negs on T7 and T8 that led to easy rebounds for the Mavericks. After 8 tossups, they led 185-20, and timeout was called by Meadows.
While they sacrificed their opportunity for late-game strategizing, Meadows knew they had to stop the bleeding now or the Finals would never see a Game 2. In the final 4 tossups before halftime, each team took 2 tossups and traded 3 bonus parts each. Halftime showed A-TECH up 235-70. The Mavericks were 10 minutes away from ending it.
At halftime, the Mustangs tried to make an adjustment to the pace of the game. Knowing they'd need as many tossups as possible to make a comeback, they opted to rush bonuses for the entire half. Lefebvre came out of the break and took T12, and the Mustangs rushed through to get 10 on the bonus. While it wasn't much, the pace changed dramatically in their favor as Russman, Gallardo, and Lefebvre combined for the next 3. Five bonus parts out of nine left them back by only 65, 235-170.
A-TECH then stopped all of the momentum cold with a fast 10 and even faster power from Argento to push the lead back to 135 (300-165). When T18 went dead, it started to look like the Mavericks would be able to run the clock out.
Enter Georgia Lowry.
Gallardo and Lefebvre started the comeback with a 10 and a power, and then Lowry took over. Ten on T21, power on T22, power on T23. When she nailed her final buzz, the clock expired with only the bonus left to go in a 300-300 tie. Needing just one part, the Mustangs missed the first 2 and hoped the easy part was still to come. It did, and they completed the furious comeback to keep the season alive. Final score, 310-300.
Now with everything coming down to just 1 game, all bets were off. Having taken a tough loss, it A-TECH started completely unfazed. After 3 tossups, the Mavericks had taken 2 of them with 100% bonus conversion for an early lead. Their slower pace started to work again as Meadows struggled to find the same energy that was needed for the frantic comeback in Game 1.
The big difference this time was that the Mustangs wouldn't allow themselves to play A-TECH's style. Russman powered T4, Lefebvre took T5 and T6. The Mustangs rushed through 3 bonuses, scored 7 of 9 parts, and quickened the pace again. Unlike Game 1, they wouldn't fall victim to another A-TECH flurry. Caleb Cordon took T7 for the Mavericks, and the Mustangs ended the half with five in a row (1 from Russman and 4 from Lefebvre). At halftime, Meadows led 260-95.
Now it was A-TECH's turn to try their luck at a comeback. They got themselves off to the best possible start in the second half, rebounding 2 straight Mustang negs to pull within 105 points. Gallardo answered with a massive power on T15 and Argento answered back with 10 on T16. Down by 130 points, A-TECH needed to start their run again. Unfortunately for them this time, a vicinity neg allowed the Mustangs to hear the rest of the tossup and take a rebound 10. They proceeded to take the next 3 tossups (Lowry, Lefebvre, Lefebvre) and effectively end the game. When the clock expired, the Mustangs had pulled it off, 430-175.
For the Mavericks, it is their highest-ever finish at the Nevada State Championship. They have already qualified for HSNCT. Mark Argento and Carlo Allietti were named to the All-State Second Team.
As for Meadows, it's their second straight title, but this one comes with history. It's the first time a team of all middle schoolers has won Nevada. Sophia Gallardo is now the youngest-ever captain to win a Nevada State Title. Elliot Lefebvre was the highest scorer of the tournament and made All-State First team. William Russman is the youngest-ever Nevada State Champion. And Georgia Lowry is the first player in Nevada history to win both the MS and HS titles in the same season, having won the MS tournament with Meadows B last weekend. The Mustangs will make appearances at both SSNCT and MSNCT later this spring.
Registration For 2024-25 Season Now Closed; Wait-list Open
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