Wellington wins the Chaparral Tournament Championship. (Courtesy photo by Katie Ford)

Sumner Newscow report — The Wellington boys are Chaparral Roadrunner Classic Tournament Champions!

The Crusaders defeated Chaparral 58-48 to win its first Chaparral tourney title since 2014. Wellington is on a six-game winning streak and is 8-4 heading into the second stretch of the season.

“This is a big win for our program and our school,” said Joe Newman, Wellington’s head boys basketball coach. “To bring home the Roadrunner championship for the first time in 11 years against a strong team like Chaparral on their home court says a lot about the heart and determination of these schools.”

Wellington got off to a slow start. The Crusaders led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter and then got outscored 14-5 in the second to trail 21-14 at the half.

Newman states:

“Early on we were missing a lot of shots at the rim. At halftime, we talked about being more aggressive offensively and attacking the basket. The guys responded and executed really well in the second half.”

Wellington would outscore Chaparral 23-17 in the third quarter and trailed 38-37 into the fourth.

Then the Crusaders took over, outscoring Chaparral 21-10 in the last quarter. Chaparral sent Wellington to the line numerous times, and the Crusaders converted 10-of-18 at the line.

Wellington had three players in double figures. Grady Norris led all scorers with 14. Brody Weir had 13 and Dusty Bannister had 11.

With the win, Wellington is sitting in the upper echelon of the Class 4A-West with the second half of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Div. IV schedule in front of them.

Newman states:

“We’re definitely pleased with how we’re playing right now. The key to keeping this up is staying focused, continuing to work hard in practice, and not getting complacent. We have to take it one game at a time and keep that hunger and determination that’s brought us this far.”

Wellington 58 Chaparral 48
Wellington — 9 5 23 21 – 58
Chaparral — 7 14 17 10 – 48
Wellington: G. Norris 14, Weir 13, Bannister 11, Burnett 9, J. Norris 5, Basso 4, Newman 2. Total: 11(5) 21-35 58. Chaparral: Co. Hostetler 19, Ca. Hostetler 4, Schmidt 2, Greve 3, Walker 8, Da. Hostetler 5, Struble 4. Total: 7(8) 10-18 48.

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Wellington’s Carter Burnett and Dusty Bannister were named to the All-Tournament team.

The All-Chaparral Tournament team was released:

Carter Burnett – Wellington
Dusty Bannister – Wellington
Grant Fisher – Conway Springs
Eli Benge – Conway Springs
Conner Hostetler – Chaparral
Jack Walker – Chaparral
Landon Boldra – Circle
Keaton Koenigsman – Circle
Manny Myers – Mulvane
Canon Lazier – Mulvane
Gage Clevenger – Clearwater
Trust Townsend – Wichita Warriors
Colton Davis – Wichita Warriors.