At the end of another exciting season of San Juan Basin League basketball, several local athletes representing Mancos High School and Dolores High School received all conference honors.
Among the players honored was freshman Caden Showalter, who burst onto the high school basketball scene and averaged 16.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. The big man also made his presence felt on the defensive end, averaging a team-high 3.3 blocks per game.
After scoring a season-high 32 points during his team’s 52-32 victory over Ridgway on Feb. 17, Showalter attributed his success to size and strength.
“I brought high intensity,” Showalter said. “I knew I was stronger than them and bigger than them. I just used that against them.”
Representing the Dolores girls’ team on the SJBL all-conference team was senior Madi Archuleta, who made the most of her final season.
Bringing consistent leadership and pin-point outside shooting to her young team, Archuleta averaged 6.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game over the first 10 games of the season.
The senior’s finest game of the season came on Feb. 2 when she scored a team-high 18 points during her team’s 46-43 overtime loss to Ignacio.
“I couldn’t even think,” Archuleta said after the game. “It was so loud that I couldn’t even hear myself think.”
Emerging as a multifaceted threat during his second-season of high school basketball, Dolores sophomore Tristan Swagerty averaged a team high 16.2 points and 13.3 rebounds per game last season.
Showcasing an offensive arsenal that included a deft midrange jumper, as well as an effective post game, Swaggerty scored more than 20 points in five games and a season-high 30 points during his team’s 67-41 win over Antonio on Dec. 2.
“You pretty much can’t go wrong when you have the whole team playing unselfishly on the court and you can trust everybody with the ball,” Swagerty said, when asked about his success. “We like to share the wealth.”
During a rebuilding season for the Mancos High School girls’ team, senior Brittney Peacock emerged as a leader on and off the court and her efforts were rewarded with all-conference recognition.
Over the course of the season, Peacock averaged a team high 12.9 points per game and also pulled down 3.8 rebounds per contest. In her final home game, Peacock scored 32 points and helped her team to a 52-32 victory over Dolores.
“This was the perfect way to end it,” Peacock said. “I’m very blessed and I owe it all to the guy up there.”
In just his second season of high school basketball, senior Dakota Smith emerged as a force for Dolores, averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
One of Smith’s best games of the year came during a 54-43 loss to Ignacio on Feb. 2 during which the sophomore scored a team-high 18 points.
Relying on a combination of long-range shooting and slashes to the basket, Mancos junior Caleb Yoder averaged 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Yoder’s ability to pass the ball was also evident throughout the season, as the junior averaged a team-high 5.1 assists per game.
