This Week In Rocket Varsity Sports

Boys Basketball

January 20th
@ Halestead Invitational
vs Andale
Time TBD

Girls Basketball

January 17th
vs Circle
7:30 pm

Boys Swimming

January 19th
@ Campus Invitational
4:00 pm

Boys Wrestling

January 19th
@ Maize
6:00 pm

Girls Wrestling

January 19th
@ Maize
6:00 pm

Rocket Boards Lead To Wins

by Cameron Mock

Rocket basketball traveled to El Dorado this past Friday and got the job done. On the backs of Cooper Nace and Jace Evans both scoring a double double on rebounds and points. The Rockets “used their size advantage” according to Coach Welch. The 65-46 victory over El Dorado is the second game in a three-game winning streak the Rockets have going for them. When asked about the Friday night game Coach Welch stated, “We got the ball inside and scored inside and then I think our bigs definitely controlled the board. We haven’t seen the numbers yet but I think we out rebounded them by a fair margin.” The Rockets went into the half leading 42-22, and would continue their dominance throughout the rest of the game to bring home the 65-46 victory. On the night Cooper Nace had 11 Rebounds with 14 points and Jace Evans had 13 Rebounds with 19 points to lead the Rockets. Kellan Simoneau played a big role as well scoring 16 points on the night. On Monday the Rockets were matched up with Cheney in the first round of the 53rd Annual Rupp Invitational Tournament. The first quarter was close between the Rockets and the Cardinals with the score being 9-8 at the end of the first quarter. The lead continued to grow for the Rockets in the second quarter with the Rockets holding a 24-21 lead at the end of the first half. The third saw a jump in scoring mostly thanks to Simoneau’s 13-point quarter, making the score 47-31. The fourth quarter sealed the Rocket victory with the Rockets trading points with Cheney as both teams scored 18 points in the quarter making the final score 65-49. Simoneau led the Rockets in scoring with a 30-point game, but he did have some help from both Jace Evans and Cooper Nace with both scoring 12 points in the victory. The Rockets are currently on a three-game winning streak, and hope to continue it this coming Friday against Andale in the semifinals of the Rupp Invitational.

Rockets 4th At Difficult Newton TOC

by Cooper Bates

The Rocket Boys and Girls wrestled this past weekend with the boys participating in one of the toughest tournaments in the state at the Newton Tournament of Champions and the girls wrestling at the Clearwater Invitational. The girls placed 9th at Clearwater on Saturday with only two girls participating and a team score of 41 points. Ryleigh Page placed 1st at 110 lbs. with 22 team points and Carrigan Dellinger placed 2nd at 115 lbs. with 19 total team points. The boys’ team placed 4th in the Tournament of Champions in Newton on Friday and Saturday with a team score of 151.5. Considering the number of 6A and 5A schools participating in the tournament, as well as some of the best wrestlers in the state, this was an excellent showing for the Rockets. The team had a number of top places in the tournament. Rhett Briggs placed 6th at 157 lbs. scoring 15 team points and Trenton Richwine placed 6th at 106 lbs. as a non-scoring wrestler. Johnny Leck placed 5th at 106 lbs. with 13 team points and Cole Rogers also placed 5th at 190 lbs. There were three 4th place wrestlers including Adam Bilby at 113 lbs. with 20 team points, Damon Ingram at 126 lbs. with 19.5 team points, and Pierce Probasco at 175 lbs. with 19 team points. There were two 3rd place wrestlers including Bronx Wood at 215 lbs. with 20 team points and Milan Colvin at 285 lbs. with 21 team points. The Rockets will travel to Maize on Thursday for a dual against the Eagles, who finished in 2nd place at the Newton Tournament of Champions.

First Win Of The Season

by Eden Gregg

The Lady Rockets played at El Dorado on Friday. The Lady Rockets played really well on Friday giving the team their first win of the season. In the first quarter, the Lady Rockets outscored the Wildcats 6-2. Jessa Lee scored 5 of those points making a 3-pointer and 2 free throws, Cameron Yardley also scored a free throw. In the second quarter, Cheyenne Martin and Lee both scored 2 free throws, and Mady Barger scored two 2-pointers to give the Lady Rockets a 14-7 halftime lead. The Lady Rockets maintained the lead in the third quarter as Yardley, Martin, and Barger all scored a 2-pointer to end the third quarter with a 20-16 lead over the Wildcats. The Lady Rockets were very productive in the fourth quarter as they put up 14 points. Reese Goetz made a 3 pointer, Martin and Barger both scored 2-pointers, Martin also made 4 free throws, Goetz, Yardley, and Ella Swearingen also all made a free throw. The Lady Rockets outscored the Wildcats 14-9 in the quarter to secure the 34-25 victory for their first win of the season. Coach Page stated, “It felt good to be in a game and felt good to get the win. We learned some things there. In the fourth quarter, we were able to make some good decisions and finish the game out.” The next game for the Lady Rockets will be at home against the Circle Thunderbirds on January 17 with the varsity game starting at 7:30 pm since the boys are at the Rupp Invitational this week.