A rising tide raises all ships. The quote, often attributed to former President John F. Kennedy, could characterize the Dolores athletic programs.
The elevated level of interest and participation across all the Bears athletic programs, especially during a strong fall sports season, appears to be filtering to the DHS boys hoops program. With an influx of rising stars mixing in with the returning talent, the Bears have ambitions of making the upcoming season a special one.
Dolores welcomes in new head coach Nick Traweek to guide the program this winter, looking to lead the program into contention in a wide-open San Juan Basin League.
Coming off a four-win season last year, Dolores brings back three seniors, led by returning captain Tray Traweek. The guard is the team’s top returning scorer, and he also led Dolores in rebounding last winter.
Classmates Michael Nielson Jr. and Zach Rantz look to provide leadership for a program that will lean heavily on an underclassmen surge.
“We’ve got a fast team and we’re going to be really deep this year,” assessed Nick Traweek, “and so we’re going to use that speed to get up and down the court and pressure other teams.”
Returning starter sophomore Koby McClellan demonstrated his perimeter range this past season, while fellow starter junior Michael Rantz stuffed the stat sheet with hustle plays.
With over 30 student-athletes emerging for early season practices, Traweek is excited about how that will elevate the program.
“A lot of our younger guys are working really hard – we’ve got a big sophomore and freshmen classes – so it’ll be fun to see them get opportunities at the varsity level,” added Traweek.
Looking to make sure that the Bears stay in good academic standing, Traweek has put emphasis on study sessions before practice, where peers are able to support one another and help keep grades up.
Meanwhile, assistant coach Brice Searles ran off-season training with the Bears, contributing to fundamental development and conditioning.
“He (Coach Searles) has been an awesome asset for the program,” said the DHS head coach, “so the kids have been able to get a head start.”
After DHS relied on three-point shooting last winter, Traweek hopes that the Bears will be able to get more good looks around the rim this year. “We’re looking for our defense to help set up our offense, and we’ll definitely attack the basket a ton this year,” he said.
Dolores will open the schedule with a home contest against former SJBL foe Ignacio on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Then, DHS will hit the road to Mosca and Rangely in consecutive weekends for tournament action over the weekends of Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 13-14, respectively.
After the holidays, the Bears will return to the floor to meet Monticello (Jan. 7) before opening SJBL play a few days later at Ridgway (Jan. 11). The Bears begin a stretch where they will be home for seven of their next nine contests when they take on Mancos and Ouray on Jan. 17 and 18. Senior Day will be on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at home against Nucla before the Bears cap the regular season on the road against their Highway 184 rivals, Mancos.
“This team has got a great attitude, they’ve been respectful, and they’re focused on just making sure that they play hard on each individual play, and then the chips will fall where they may,” said Traweek.
