Fallon senior Steven Moon, who finished second in last year’s state tournament, and the Greenwave host the annual Earl Wilkens tournament on Saturday.
The high school winter sports season gets underway this week with tournaments spanning from Reno to Fallon to Hawthorne.
Fallon’s varsity girls and boys basketball teams will kick off the season today when they travel to Hawthorne for a three-day tournament at Mineral County’s middle and high school gymnasiums. The Greenwave freshman and JV girls and boys teams will also be in action when they compete in tournaments in Reno and Sparks.
Fallon opens the 3A season on Tuesday when it hosts Truckee at the Elmo Dericco Gymnasium.
The Greenwave boys team is coming off a first-round playoff loss when Chelle Dalager’s cagers fell to Wooster, the top team from the 3A West. Kevin Wickware’s team fell short of the playoffs despite having better records than the qualifying teams from the 3A West.
Staying local, the Greenwave wrestling team will host the annual Earl Wilkens tournament on Saturday, using both gyms in a dual-format that starts at 8:30 a.m. In last year’s state tournament, now-senior Steven Moon was the only Greenwave to medal as he finished second.
Oasis Academy’s boys basketball team will also be in action this week in Reno when it competes in a three-day tournament that begins today. The Lady Bighorns hit the floor on Tuesday when they host enCompass Academy at 4 p.m. at the city-county gym. The boys team will cap off the doubleheader at 5:30 p.m.
Both Oasis Academy teams didn’t make the playoffs last year.
The playoffs, though, will be closer to home than the previous year.
The 3A regional basketball tournament will be Feb. 16-18 at North Valleys High School in Reno, while the 1A West tournament will be at host sites and Sierra Lutheran in Carson City. The state tournament returns to the North this year with the 1A tournament running from Feb. 23-25 and the 3A on Feb. 24-25.
Lowry won last year’s girls state championship while Elko won the boys crown. In the 1A, the South dominated the boys while Coleville defeated Pyramid Lake in overtime to win the girls championship.
On the wrestling mat, the regional and state tournaments will not conflict with the basketball schedule.
The 3A Northern Meet is Feb. 3-4 at Wooster High School in Reno, followed by the state meet the following week in Winnemucca. Elko won the state wrestling title last year in Boulder City.