Monday, May 23, 2016 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas Sun Standout Awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Gerald Pentsil win inaugaral award to cap storied Eldorado career
- Sun Standout Award: Bishop Gorman High School football team
- Game of the Year: Chaparral High School football vs. Faith Lutheran
- Rising star: Undefeated wrestler Ty Smith best underclassman
- Team of the Year: Centennial High girls basketball team
- Female Student-athlete of the Year: Guadalupe Gomez-Navarro
- Female Athlete of the Year: Boulder City's Jeanne Carmell passes her way to award
- Male Athlete of the Year: Nick Quintana had 15 home runs in 89 at-bats for Arbor View
- Male Student-athlete of the Year: Christian Ong
- Moment of the Year: Desert Oasis team manager makes most of playing time
- Coach of the Year: Clark's Chad Beeten had the winning game plan
- Support Staff of the Year: Tony Betka's work behind the scenes gets athletes to games
Centennial went from being Nevada’s best program to one of the nation’s best this season, finishing 31-1 to win the school’s eighth state championship in girls basketball.
Along the way, the team beat four nationally ranked opponents to finish No. 4 in the USA Today poll.
“I have been coaching 23 years and I don’t know of any (Nevada girls) team, north or south, with this ranking and notoriety,” said Karen Weitz, the Bulldogs’ coach for nearly 20 years.
Centennial went 3-1 in the Nike Tournament of Champions, an invitation event for the nation’s top 16 teams, in Phoenix over the holidays to finish third and enhance its reputation nationally. The Bulldogs also gained attention after a profile aired on ESPN to document Nevada’s mercy rule system and how Centennial chose not to score after building big leads against some opponents.
The Bulldogs limited one opponent to six points in two games, but couldn’t extend their lead past 50 points under the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association mercy rule without risking punishment. That meant playing time was limited for the Bulldogs’ starters, while reserves were often relegated to passing the ball around the perimeter and not trying to score when they checked in.
Centennial’s great season came with another reward — the Bulldogs became one of 15 girls teams nationally fully sponsored by Nike.
“We told them, ‘There are thousands of thousands of high schools, and you guys got picked to represent the Nike brand,’” Weitz said.
Next season, Centennial returns standouts in junior Sam Thomas (15 points and eight rebounds per game), juniors Jayden Eggleston and Pam Wilmore, who each averaged 17 points per game, and sophomore Justice Ethridge. It loses just three seniors.
“We play every game like it is our last,” Ethridge said. “We played like we practiced. As long as we go hard, we continue (to win).”
Team of the Year finalists
• Arbor View girls soccer: Won a fourth straight state championship and finished 21-1-1.
• Boulder City flag football: Outscored opponents 766-108 with nine shutouts in an undefeated season and extended a winning streak dating to 2014 to 43 games.
• Green Valley wrestling: Built on one of Nevada’s foremost dynasties with a fifth straight state championship.
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