NOTES: Bulldogs star league MVP in 3A hoops
Boys basketball coaches in the Class 3A Southern League didn’t need much time to debate who should be named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
The top award went to Virgin Valley senior forward Jason Wittwer in a unanimous vote.
“It was the easiest pick of the night,” Virgin Valley coach Rich Bohne said.
The 6-foot-3-inch Wittwer averaged 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 steals as a senior, leading the Bulldogs (19-7) to the 3A state tournament for the first time since 2005.
“Our team kind of revolved around what he was going to do,” Bohne said. “He wasn’t one-dimensional.”
Wittwer played through a grade-two left ankle sprain in the 3A state semifinals, scoring 11 points in a 79-74 loss to Lowry.
Bohne was named the league’s Coach of the Year, and the Bulldogs’ Austin Cloes and Cameron Jensen were named first-team all-league. The team was rounded out by Moapa Valley’s James Frehner and Josh Thompson and Boulder City’s Kyle Dimpel and Preston Swasey.
Wittwer and Jensen also took 3A first-team all-state honors. Sparks’ Angel Guillen was voted MVP, and Sparks’ Dick Lee was named Coach of the Year.
RIVAS AWARD — Las Vegas High boys soccer star Joaquin Rivas was named the Gatorade Nevada Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Rivas, a senior forward, led the Wildcats (17-4) to their second straight Class 4A state title. The UNLV signee tallied 34 goals and 18 assists as a senior.
ARCHERY CHAMP — Though archery is not sanctioned by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, Southwest Career and Technical Academy’s archery team recently won a state title in an event governed by the National Archery in the Schools Program.
The Coyotes have been invited to attend NASP Nationals in Louisville, Ky., on May 7 and 8.