Ella Goodrum vs. Clearwater.

By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — A 60-47 victory pretty much secured the Wellington girls’ basketball team its third consecutive Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Div. IV title. The boys also capped a big 60-34 win at Clearwater Friday evening.

For the girls, the Crusaders improved to 8-0 in league with only Collegiate and Andale at home on the horizon. Wellington could clinch an outright title on Tuesday against a Collegiate team that lost to El Dorado last night.

This was the game Wellington had circled, by far the most competitive game since the Orange and Black Classic Tournament in Colby.

The Crusaders were trailing for much of the game last January against Clearwater. There was none of that on Friday. The Crusaders opened with an 18-10 first-quarter lead and would never let Clearwater sniff any closer. Wellington would lead 32-25 at the half and opened up a double-digit lead 48-34 in the third en route to a 13-point victory.

Kirstyn Gregory shot a three late in the third quarter.

Val Norwood led all scorers with 15, while Lyndi Barton had 14 – including 8 in the first quarter. Dru Zeka, who hit four 3-pointers for the game, had 12. Other scorers were: Britt Zeka 9, Kyndall Rusk 5, Cruz Cornejo 3, Kirstyn Gregory 2.

Historically, Wellington has not shot well in the Clearwater open-air facility, and Friday was no exception. The Crusaders were 22-of-63 from the field for 34.9 percent. But they got points when needed, including a nice run late in the third quarter when the Crusader Kyndall Rusk hit a 3-pointer and deuce followed by a Cruz Cornejo deuce to secure a 14-point lead going into the fourth.

This was a big game for Clearwater, celebrating senior night in its last home game of the year. Had it beat Wellington, it would have shared the league title. It was the rough and tumble game Wellington needed heading into sub-state. Clearwater was led by Justine Berlin with 15. Elizabeth Tjaden and Kaylee Hamilton scored 10 apiece.

Wellington now sits at 17-1 and has clinched the No. 1 seed in sub-state, meaning it will be home for both games provided it wins the first round. Wellington will probably host Ulysses, the No. 16 seed, at 4-16 in the first round and, if victorious, host many schools that would be No. 8 or 9. The standings as of today are here:

The Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League standings as of today:

Landyn Glenn makes the save vs. Clearwater.

The boys had a very good outing despite Wellington’s head boys’ basketball coach, Joe Newman, being out with sickness.

The Crusaders were in control from the onset. Getting 20 points from Carter Burnett and 18 from Dusty Bannister, the Crusaders roared past the Indians. Wellington was leading 12-10 at the end of the first quarter before outscoring Clearwater 22-10 in the second to lead 34-20 at the half.

It would get better in the third, with Wellington outscoring Clearwater 24-5 and forcing a running clock in the fourth.

Nolan Russell looks for the deuce vs. Clearwater.

The Crusaders needed this win in the worst way as far as the Class 4A-West sub-state positioning is concerned. The Crusaders are sitting as the No. 8 seed, which would give them a home-court advantage in the first round. Trouble is Wellington hosts Collegiate and Andale this next week. That’s going to be a tough task.

Here are the 4A-West standings as of today:

Here are the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League standings:

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