BMS 7th-grade B-team wins district championship

RBC I “These kids hung in there, they developed as a team, they came to elective practices and they wanted it more than Steamboat did,” Barone Middle School seventh-grade boys’ basketball coach Maddy Garr said after his B-team beat Steamboat Springs in the District championship game, 24-22.
Meeker was the site for the 2013 District tournament, featuring guest teams from Craig, Rangely and Steamboat Springs in four brackets; seventh- and eighth-grade, A- and B-teams.
Meeker’s seventh-grade B-team was the only Rio Blanco team to advance to the championship game, and members will have a new trophy for Barone Middle School’s trophy case.
“I could not be prouder of these boys,” Coach Garr said of his championship team. “I pushed them hard. I knew they had more in themselves then they did, and to see them realize their potential is absolutely incredible.”
The BMS seventh-grade B-team beat Rangely in the first round to advance to the championship game. All other Rio Blanco County teams lost in the first round and played for the consolation championship, which featured Meeker against Rangely in both the seventh- and eighth-grade A-brackets, where Meeker won both games. Rangely did not have an eighth-grade B-team and its seventh-grade B-team lost to Craig in the consolation championship. Teams from Steamboat Springs won the championship games in the three other brackets. All the coaches were proud of their teams and excited about next year and watching the kids play at the high school level.

“Our kids played their best ball the last two weeks,” Rangely seventh-grade coach Mark Skelton said. “They were outsized but hustled and always played hard. It is a character-building thing at this level, and I think we built a lot of character. I’m excited about watching them down the road.”
Rangely eighth-grade coach Kyle Boydstun was also happy with the way his teams played at the end of the season.
“The injury bug got us a little and left us short on numbers, but I’m proud of the way the boys stepped up, played together and finished well,” Coach Boydstun said. “The last two weeks they were competitive with every team they played.”
Barone Middle School eighth-grade coach Mike Dinwiddie said, “I was really excited about the level of defense they were playing at the end of the season. All of them gave me all they had; I couldn’t ask for more. They are prepared for high school.”