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Colorado City’s El Capitan Eagles soar at regionals but fall short in Arizona state semifinals – St George News

st. George — The El Capitan Boys Basketball Team won the Arizona 1A North Canyon Super Regional Championship title but fell short in the state tournament after losing in the semifinals on Friday night.

The El Capitan Eagles of Colorado City, Arizona won back-to-back regional titles in the 1A division of Colorado City, Arizona.Photo credit: El Capitan High School, St. George News

The boys from the border town of Colorado City arrived at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona, 26-2 as the 4th seed in a semifinal state game against the state’s top team at North Valley Christian Academy. set a season record for Their season ended with a 79-71 loss.

Acting head coach Nathaniel Burnham said: “It’s been a very successful season and I feel we fell short of our ultimate goal.

of eagles They were undefeated in the Canyon region during the season with an 11-0 record. They only dropped two games before the state tournament and both were sent to larger 2A schools outside Arizona.

On December 1, they lost to Needles High School in California, 40-34, and on December 20, they lost to Kanab, 78-49. North Valley Christian Academy won the state championship by defeating the Eagles and defeating Babo Kivari, he 56-36.

“It’s a credit to this group of players to finish 26-3,” Burnham said. “They gave it their all and fought hard all season. Our only 1A loss was against the provincial champions.”

The team is also made up of students from Centennial Academy. Private schools have been given permission to enroll their students in athletics for the El Capitan team. Centennial Academy is located in a suburb of the city of Colorado known as Centennial Park. Enrollment between the two schools is about 400.

The team helped retain their first ever Battle Border Trophy by beating rivals the Water Canyon Wildcats 51-47 at the Hildale campus.

in the North Canyon Super Regional, the Eagles defeated the Ashfork Spartans on February 2 in the first round, 61-19. In the second round they continued to shred their competition, leading the Cougars of Rock Point by 18 points. The final score was 53-35. At the regional championship, Williams High won the trophy as he defeated the Vikings 57-48.

The first and second rounds of the state tournament were played in nearby Fredonia, Arizona.

On February 8, they beat the Mogollon Mustangs by a score of 63-51, followed by a 46-40 victory over the Gregory School on February 11, earning them a place in the 2023 AIA State Championships, earning them a boost from regional play. kept the momentum going. tournament semi-finals.

El Capitan Eagles senior guard Nathan Barlow, 5, helped his team win back-to-back regional titles.St. Michaels, Arizona, February 4, 2023 | Photo Credit: El Capitan High School, St. George News

“We couldn’t be more proud of them,” Burnham said.

Senior Nathan Barlow led the team in scoring for the season, averaging 13.0 points per game and leading the team defensively with 2.4 steals per game. Other season leaders included senior Aidanholm, who averaged 4.6 assists per game, and senior Ethan Hammon, who was the rebounding and blocking leader. Hammon averaged 9.5 rebounds per game and he recorded 3.5 blocks per game.

Principal Shauna Hamon unveiled the team’s flag in a small gymnasium. Hamon said the team has won back-to-back regional titles and she probably would have won three in a row had it not been for the suspension of the sport due to the COVID pandemic.

“I’m very proud of these boys,” said Hamon. “They have built an impressive reputation for our school, not only because of their athleticism, but their academic reputation and because they are really good-hearted kids.”

Burnham said they will lose a lot of talent, but will be poised to win another regional title next year and pursue their ultimate goal of a state title.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Nick Yamashita has extensive small town media experience covering a variety of subjects and events for Virgin River Times and Southern Nevada Progress. Before his career in journalism, he held various jobs in the criminal justice system. Yamashita holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Southern Utah University. He is an award-winning photographer and writer. He has been published in his academic papers and poetry collections. In his spare time, he practices and teaches martial arts.

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