Sports

Malad dominated in the team points

The Knights wrestlers are back to back District V 1a/2a champions!

The Knights had 9 individual champions and a total of 23 individual medalists.

Malad hosted the district tournament this year on Friday, November 18th. The teams that competed were the 2a teams from our district as well as Grace which is a 1a school. The 6 schools gathered into the Malad high school gym and began wrestling at 9am. Malad wrestling fans showed up bright and early to cheer on their team. Coach Morrison “The Malad wrestling fans are awesome, they keep the momentum going for the wrestlers and coaches. Having the fans cheering means everything to these kids.”

Malad started the day off strong with Malad wrestlers dominating through the morning sessions. When it came to the medal rounds Malad was in a strong lead as a team. Malad had wrestlers in almost every weight in the finals matches. The atmosphere in the gym with the spotlight and cheering fans was an exciting experience for the young wrestlers. Wrestlers that place 1st-4th at the district tournament received medals. At a wrestling tournament wrestlers place individually but their wins also count toward the team points.

Coach Morrison said, “We had a great season with this team. The coaches are incredibly proud of their hard work and the great attitude they have. We have several kids on the team that are new to wrestling and they all learned a lot and showed great potential. We also have a good amount of kids that have been wrestling for several years, the experience and knowledge they bring to the team helped to push the team to the success they had. The boys pushed each other and cheered each other on. One of the things I love about wrestling in Malad is that our kids are not in competition with each other, they are truly happy to see each other succeed. Malad wrestling has a strong future with these young wrestlers.”

The Knights would like to thank their parents and families. Nothing compares to the amazing wrestling family in Malad.

They would also like to thank the coaching staff and their families for everything this season. The Knights were coached by Devin Morrison, Allen Edwards, Caleb Williams, Thomas Maddox, Jon Blaisdell, Josh Davis and Clint Price.

So many people made this tournament a success! Just a few to mention with a special thanks are Mr Robert Hannah, Brady and Kara Price, Russ Clark, Karen Edwards and Tyson Haven. Also a big thank you to our Dragon High School wrestlers who helped run the tournament and are great examples to our younger wrestlers.

District individual placers were: Champions

70lbs Kallen Price 95lbs Riggin Montgomery 100lbs Parker Price 110lbs

Jace Nalder 121lbs Oakley Maddox 127lbs Braun Nalder 134lbs Drake Morrison 150lbs River Taylor 160lbs Trevor Allen

The Knights wrestling team with their District Championship trophy

Runners up

65lbs Brecken Price 75lbs Jaxon Mills 100lbs Wade Clark

105lbs Ky Willie 189lbs Marshall Asay HWT

Grady Williams 3rd place

75lbs Joseph Angell 115lbs Jaxon Purdum 127lbs Bronson Smith 150lbs Cam Seamons 160lbs

Tavin Barnes 4th place

75lbs Rowdy Bates 89lbs Mason Eliason 105lbs

Dutch Potter

Malad finished the tournament in 1st place as a team with a huge win of 306 team points.

The team points were:

Malad 306

West Side 181

Bear Lake 146

Soda Springs (Tigert) 126

Grace 113

Aberdeen 107.5

BASKETBALL

Malad Elementary Girls Basketball

For five weeks, elementary aged girls filled the gym to learn the game of basketball. For some of them it was the first time that they played the game, while others were more seasoned, but for everyone of them it was a great chance to improve their skills and learn something new.

The format of the girls youth basketball program was simple but provided a great opportunity for the players to learn and improve. The older group, consisting of girls in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, met Monday nights and Friday mornings for clinics to be taught different skills, move through their drills and practice in their small team. Saturday morning games gave them the chance to use their new and improved skills as they scrimmaged amongst their four different teams.

The 2nd and 3rd grade girls similarly met on Fridays for clinic and practice time as well as on Saturday mornings for a 3 on 3 scrimmage. Pre-k, Kindergarten, and 1st grade girls gathered on Fridays for some of their first instruction as they learned the very foundational skills of basketball.

The volunteer coaches, including Trevor Jones, Bobbi Summers, Caleen Picket, Alex Probst, Bri Adams, Terry Jones and Joe Miller, were excited about the program and the foundation they were providing for future Lady Dragon basketball players. High school girls basketball head coach Trevor Jones shared that working with the young girls was “an absolute blast!” Several members of the high school team also stepped in to help teach the young girls throughout their clinics and practices, sharing their talents and helping out the youth.

Parents and friends volunteered to help coach the teams for the Saturday games. Their willingness helped to make this program go as well as it did and deserve a shout out of their own.

With such talent on the horizon, Lady Dragon basketball is sure to be great for years to come!

MES Girls have participated in clinics and scrimmages over the last 5 weeks Future Dragons had a blast during the youth program!

MHS Girls Basketball

The MHS gym hasn’t been quiet long following the end of the fall season sports. Girls basketball is well underway and the Lady Dragons have been taking the gym for practices and games as they start into their new season. With a few games on the court, some wins and some losses, the team is settling into their groove and ready to take on the season.

The Lady Dragons began their games hosting the jamboree with teams from Shoban, North Gem and American Falls. The games featured two ten minute quarters against two of the four teams. The MHS basketball team went up against Shoban, winning 26-10, and American Falls, trailing 11-16. Coach Trevor Jones said about the jamboree, “It was nice to get to playing basketball. There were moments of wow and plenty to remind us of things to work on.”

Coach Jones and the Lady Dragons next traveled to Ririe to face off against the Bulldogs. Malad came out with a few jitters and struggled to find their range in their first full game of the season. Ririe has an excellent program with several seasoned athletes returning after a stellar season last year. With the Bulldogs' experience and taking advantage of Malad’s poor shooting, Ririe was able to take the win over the Lady Dragons.

Over the weekend, the MHS basketball team earned a big win as they played the Butte County Pirates in Arco, Idaho. Both teams battled back and forth as they moved the ball across the court. From the very get go, the two teams traded leads. Just as soon as Malad would get a sizable lead, Butte County would surge and cut the lead back down. As the game began to wind down, both teams were in bonus shot territory. The Lady Dragons hit their free throws while the Pirates missed, allowing Malad to increase their lead and take the win, 65-56. Coach Jones commented about the game, “It was fantastic to see our girls dig deep with that kind of pressure and keep fighting and earn that win! It is fun to see these girls gain confidence and put together a complete game. Putting up 65 points in our second game was a glimpse of what they can obtain when they go out there and have fun running the court.”

After these first few weeks of practices and games, Coach Jones is excited to see where his team will go. He said, “We have a good starting point. We were shown some strengths and weaknesses and will be working on those. We are definitely going to have some growing pains and bumps and bruises along the way, but it will be exciting to see the girls’ toughness and fight as they look to earn respect on the court and look to become a serious contender by the end of the year.”

As their new season takes off, the team is eager for their opportunities to play and grow. Even before practices began, the Lady Dragons helped with the Malad girls youth basketball program. It was great for both the high school girls and the elementary girls to play and interact together. Coach Jones shared, “It was an absolute blast! So fun to see all ages interact and the girls sharing their talents and helping out the youth.”

The team is working to be a high energy basketball team this year. They hope to push the ball hard, use a full court press against their opponents, get a lot of good looks for a shot and especially get a lot of good quick shots off. These goals aren’t just for the varsity team but for every MHS girls basketball team. Coach Jones said about their team goals, “We want to be competitive at all three levels this year.” He continued to say how the coaches are looking forward to having three full teams this year and the opportunity to develop a program for future teams.

The Lady Dragons play next on November 29 against the Bear River Bears for their first home game of the season and then again on November 30 as they travel to Logan.

MHS Lady Dragons