La Vega's quest for 3rd straight state championship falls short
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (FOX 44) — A cold shooting night in the girls Class 4A Division One state championship cost the La Vega dearly, as the Lady Pirates fell to Decatur 53-41 at the San Antonio Alamodome on Friday evening.
The Lady Pirates shot only 23% from the field, 7% from 3-point range, and 57% from the free throw stripe.
Decatur led 12-7 after the first quarter, and 25-16 at the half.
Cra'Lajah Bradley led the La Vega effort with 12 points.
The Lady Pirates' runner-up season ends at 32-7.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Law Enforcement Torch Run in Decatur raises money, awareness for Special Olympics
May 17—Logan Mortensen, investigator for the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, found a place in the crowd among other officers and runners at the starting point of the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run in Decatur on Friday that benefits the Special Olympics. "It's for a good cause, and it's also good exercise," said Mortensen, 27, from Somerville. "It's for all the people out there with special needs; it's honoring them. ... We love when everybody participates for this cause." Started in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas, the Law Enforcement Torch Run sees more than 97,000 law enforcement members across all 50 states carry the torch, called the "Flame of Hope," into the opening ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions. With the support of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Torch Run has become the largest public awareness and fundraising group for the Special Olympics. Former Decatur police Chief Ed Taylor, who died last year, is credited with bringing the Torch Run to Morgan County and it is done in his honor. His wife, Carol Taylor, was at the event with their son Lane Barnes, who has participated in the Special Olympics, selling T-shirts. Taylor said her husband loved the Special Olympics program. "He has done things like a fundraiser where they'd go up on the roof of Walmart and stay up there until they raised a certain amount of money," she said. "He was up there one night, and I was at home in bed asleep, of course. There was a horrible storm. I mean it was thunder and lightning — a take-cover kind of storm. I thought I should really call him and tell him to come down. "And then I thought, that's useless because he's not moving." Taylor said all the local law enforcement are family. "It's an honor to just be here. It's just a wonderful, wonderful thing. ... It was a good group. I'm happy to see them all participating. It's good to see the Special Olympics program grow," Taylor said. "My son Lane has benefited so much from that program. I couldn't begin to tell you what the Special Olympics has done for him." There were T-shirts for sale for runners and anyone else interested. About 50 T-shirts were sold at $20 each, raising about $1,000 for the Special Olympics. There were about 25 runners with the torch on Friday. A Morgan County Sheriff's Office patrol car activated its sirens and lights ahead of the group, while two more plus a Decatur Police Department patrol car followed behind. "We love supporting our special Olympiads, and the Special Olympics is close to law enforcement," said Morgan County Sheriff Ron Puckett. "We want to partner with them, and we've done that for many, many years. So, having the opportunity to do that again this year is a great reward for us." Interim Decatur Police Chief Nadis Carlisle said fundraising is just one of the good things that comes from the Torch Run. "It means that we get to celebrate those who may be challenged somewhat," he said. "We give them things to do; we give them sports." — or 256-340-2460.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Decatur and Kentridge wage crossover battle ahead of next week's baseball action
Baseball playoff fates were decided for Decatur and Kentridge long before they stepped onto the field at Hogan Park at Russell Road in Kent for a non-league game against each other Thursday afternoon. Both are set to open District 3/4 action Tuesday, with Decatur coming in as the North Puget Sound League Class 3A champion and Kentridge as the No. 3 entry from the league's Class 4A division. The Gators posted a 15-1 record in taking the 3A No. 1 spot, falling to 18-2 overall with a 6-3 loss to the host Kentridge Chargers Thursday. The Chargers improved to 13-6 overall with the win after going 9-5 in 4A division play. Decatur is the No. 2 District 3/4 seed and will host No. 7 Peninsula to open Tuesday in double elimination action at a time and location to be announced. Kentridge is seeded No. 9 in 4A and knows it will host No. 16 South Kitsap for a loser-out opener at 4 p.m. Tuesday back at Hogan Park. 'This game didn't mean a whole lot, but it's a momentum thing,' said Shane Stober, who assists his brother Sheldon as a Kentridge coach. 'It's good to keep the momentum going.' Decatur sixth year head coach Chris Fox enjoys his team's 3A championship status coming off a 10-13 season in 2024 including playoffs as a 4A team. 'It's been a really, really good season,' he said. 'We're good to go. Good senior leadership has been huge for us this year.' The Gators have clicked in many departments. 'On the field it's been the bats that have carried us,' Fox said. 'We've hit 12 or 13 home runs, so we've got a lot of power in the middle of our order.' And there is more in their favor. 'Our pitching 1-3 has been solid,' Fox said. 'And our defense is good up the middle at catcher, shortstop and second base.' It was Kentridge that came out and won Thursday, though, starting off with one run each in the bottom of the first and third innings. Teegan O'Brien doubled over the left fielder's head to score Owen Finlayson all the way from first base in the first inning and Ethan Sugimoto walked and came around on a Finlayson double and a Manny Harris sacrifice fly in the third. Three unearned runs were added on two errors on one play in the fourth for a 5-0 Chargers lead after Levi Baca singled and Brendyn Malapitan and Landon Todd both walked to load the bases. Donovan Lopez hit into a two base error down the right field line and a relay throw was also missed. Decatur answered with three runs in the top of the fifth to cut the advantage to 5-3. Nate Gilmore blasted a double to deep center, advanced to third on a Tyler Buol grounder and scored on a single by Landon Le. Landin Parker singled to load the bases. Eric Davili singled in Buol ahead of an RBI sacrifice fly by Spencer Holloway. Kentridge came back with one in the bottom of the sixth as Malapitan walked and scored on an infield single by Cordo del Fierro and ensuing errant throw. The Chargers held on as the Gators tried to put together a two out rally in the top of the seventh and final inning. Holloway hit an infield single and CJ Gatterson doubled to put runners on second and third before Finlayson fielded a grounder at shortstop and fired to first for the final out.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
Vote now for The News Tribune's Boys Athlete of the Week (March 10 to 15)
Vote for The News Tribune's Boys Athlete of the Week for contests played between March 10-15. Voting will remain open until noon Wednesday. The poll is located below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below. Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. Votes emailed will not be counted. Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley ( or Tyler Wicke (twicke@ or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) with the athlete's first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday. Cameron Bain, Auburn Riverside baseball — Junior starter posted five shutout innings (two hits) with no walks and six strikeouts in Thursday's 9-0 win over Cleveland. Tyler Buol, Decatur baseball — Gators infielder went 3-for-4 with an RBI single before taking the mound and earning the save (1 IP, 0 ER, 2 K) in Tuesday's 5-3 win over Kentwood. Imani Brown, Auburn Mountainview baseball — Went 2-for-4 with two RBI in win over Auburn on Thursday. Kade Cagampang, Kent-Meridian baseball — Freshman shortstop went 2-for-2 with three RBI and a walk in Thursday's 14-6 win over Renton. Noah Chavira, Cascade Christian baseball — Cougars third baseman launched the go-ahead three-run home run in Cascade Christian's 6-2 win over Vashon Island on Friday, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBI. Kainoa Coit, Peninsula baseball — Sophomore second baseman went 2-for-3 with a double, walk, and RBI single in Wednesday's 7-1 win over Bainbridge. Tyler Cornwall, Auburn baseball — Collected two hits, scored a run and drove in three runs in loss to Auburn Mountainview on Thursday. Joe Giles, Curtis baseball — Sophomore designated hitter went 2-for-2 with two runs, two walks, and an RBI in Friday's 16-3 win over Kentwood. Eric Havili, Decatur baseball — Went 3-for-4 with two triples, two runs scored and two RBI in win over Kentwood on Tuesday and added a hit and RBI in win over Auburn Riverside on Friday. Spencer Holloway, Decatur baseball — Senior shortstop went a combined 4-for-7 at the plate with two RBI and a walk in consecutive wins over Kentwood (5-3) and Auburn Riverside (4-2) on Tuesday and Friday. Rylan Holmberg, Olympia baseball — Junior outfielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI, then scored the go-ahead run in Olympia's 4-3 win over Timberline on Friday. Cooper Hordyk, Curtis baseball — Collected a hit, a pair of walks and drove in two runs in 16-3 win over Kentwood on Friday. Kolton Jensen, White River baseball — Sophomore southpaw tossed four shutout innings, allowing two hits with no walks and a strikeout in Friday's 11-2 win over Fife. Jensen went 1-for-4 with a single at the plate. Jacob Kerwood, Mount Tahoma baseball — Junior right-hander tossed five solid frames, allowing two hits and one run (none earned) with three walks and 10 strikeouts in 11-1 win over Spanaway Lake on Saturday. Kerwood went 1-for-1 at the plate with three runs and an RBI. Mason Pike, Puyallup baseball — Senior ace went five strong innings (2 H, 1 ER) with no walks and nine strikeouts in Tuesday's 10-4 win over Mount Vernon, going 1-for-2 at the plate with two walks and an RBI. Alian Piza, Clover Park soccer — Senior forward scored twice in Friday's crosstown rivalry win over Lakes, 3-0. Evan Reece, Fife baseball — Senior right-hander tossed three shutout innings (one hit) with no walks and three strikeouts in Wednesday's 8-5 win over Central Kitsap, going 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate. DJ Ringenbach, Puyallup baseball — Went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI in win over Mount Vernon on Tuesday. Nery Ruiz, Enumclaw soccer — Sophomore forward notched a hat trick (three goals) in Thursday's season-opening win over Federal Way, 5-3. Caden Shoul, Auburn Mountainview baseball — Senior right-hander posted 3 ⅔ strong innings (2 H, 1 ER) with two walks and four strikeouts in Wednesday's 6-3 win over rival Auburn, adding a game-tying RBI single at the plate. Graham Wagner, Enumclaw baseball — Hornets second baseman drove home the game-winning run with a go-ahead single in the eighth inning of Friday's 4-3 win over Anacortes. Charlie Walker, Vashon Island baseball — Pirates senior went four strong innings surrendering one run (none earned) with two walks and six strikeouts, adding a 3-for-4 day at the plate in Friday's 6-2 loss to Cascade Christian.
