Danny Olson, left, and Damiano Ballajos, qualified for the 23rd annual National High School Coaches Association Wrestling Championships.

PANACA — Do you consider heading to a wrestling tournament where there will be as many as 64 of the best high school wrestlers in the nation in your weight class a bit frightening?

Two boys from Lincoln County High School are looking at doing just that next month.

Damiano Ballajos and Danny Olson are hoping to attend the 23rd annual National High School Coaches Association High School Wrestling Championships, Junior Division, March 28-30 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach, Va.

The national coaches association championships is the most prestigious high school event throughout the country, bringing together more than 2,500 wrestlers, many of whom are their own state champions. Also in attendance will be many college coaches from around the country.

Ballejos said to qualify for an invitation to the tournament a person must be the state champion, or runner-up, in his division at least once in his high school career.

He said that’s why he and Olson were invited to attend. Olson, a sophomore, was 2A state runner-up at 106 pounds in 2011, and Ballejos, a senior, is the defending Class 2A state champion at 120 pounds. He said teammate Derrik Samson (132) also is considering attending.

Their performance in the upcoming 2012 Nevada State wrestling tournament later this month does not matter to their being able to attend the nationals.

What does matter is being able to raise the needed funds over the next month for airfare, lodging and meals, and the boys are seeking ways to do that.

Ballajos said some family members might accompany the boys on the trip, but at their own expense.

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

Photo by Dave Maxwell

LINCOLN COUNTY — Southern Nevada Water Authority wants more groundwater from rural Nevada.

New documents filed with the state water engineer show the Las Vegas-based company is asking for as much as 105,000 acre feet of groundwater per year from four valleys in Lincoln and White Pine counties.

SNWA seeks more from Lincoln, White Pine

The applications are for nearly 46,000 acre feet more than was granted by the state water engineer in rulings in 2007 and 2008.

After the Nevada Supreme Court later rejected the decisions, a marathon water hearing session was held in Carson City last fall.

SNWA Deputy General Manager John Entsminger said new research done in target basins in recent years indicates more water is available.

“During the hearings, we introduced a lot of new data,” he said. “We submitted only new data collected in the period between the last ruling and this one.”

State water engineer Jason King has until March to rule on the bulk of the water SNWA is asking for, most of it coming from Spring Valley, a large basin east of Ely and west of Great Basin National Park.

SNWA plans to build a multibillon dollar, 300-mile pipeline to carry the water from there and other pumping stations to Las Vegas.

King said he would allow six weeks for SNWA and other participants to draft their own versions of what his ruling should say.

In Spring Valley, the situation is much more stark and simple … totally unsustainable and unsound.

Simeon Herskovits, Attorney

Opponents to what they see as an all out water grab would deny any water at all.

New Mexico-based environmental attorney Simeon Herskovits, representing the opponents, says SNWA would drain the basins, damage the environment and effectively shut out current and future water users across rural Nevada.

“In Spring Valley, the situation is much more stark and simple … totally unsustainable and unsound,” Herskovits said.

He also feels that SNWA has not proven it can afford to build the pipeline, with costs now approaching $4 billion, and failed to demonstrate Southern Nevada really needs the water.

In 2011, rulings that went in favor of SNWA allowed for the eventual withdrawal of as much as 104,854 acre feet a year, with 77,000 of it coming from Spring Valley.

“Southern Nevada needs to diversify away for its 90 percent dependence on the Colorado River,” Entsminger said.

One acre foot of water is equivalent to a regulation-sized football field covered to the depth of 1 foot. It is enough to supply the needs of two average-size homes in the Las Vegas Valley for one year. When stretched through reuse, experts report, 105,000 acre feet can adequately supply the needs of nearly 360,000 average single-family homes.

SNWA says it plans to develop the water withdrawal in four stages, beginning with 35,000 acre feet per year from Spring Valley, then increasing every five years if the pumping is deemed environmentally sound and is not conflicting with existing water rights or domestic wells.

Herskovits says any such water massive withdrawal of the water will do exactly what SNWA says it won’t do. He said it is another example of the agency using “massive overkill to get what it wants.”

The overriding concern of opponents to SNWA plans is that it will simply turn rural Nevada into another Owens Valley, Calif. About 100 years ago, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bought up most of the water rights in the lush Owens Valley, south of Bishop, and has been pumping out nearly all the water ever since.

What was once described by an early California resident as a valley of “ten thousand acres of grass,” is now a virtual wasteland of sagebrush, greasewood and woody shrubs.

SNWA General Manager Patricia Mulroy has promised not to let the SNWA pipeline create another Owens Valley.

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

PANACA — Lincoln County junior forward Chandler Katschke had a career-high 39 points and 17 rebounds, but was overshadowed by the strong, physical work of Aaron Burns and Lewis Larrabee, of Needles, Calif., as Lincoln lost to the Mustangs 87-79 Friday.

Chandler Katschke hits for two of his 39 points in a loss to Needles, Calif., Friday. It was Katschke’s best outting of his career, plus pulling down 17 rebounds.

Larrabee had 32 points for the Mustangs and Burns added 26.

Derek Cheeney had 17 for the Lynx who were playing for pride to close out the season.

The Lynx spent most of the game trying to stay equal with the very athletic Mustangs, even making a 10-0 run late in the third quarter to draw within four points. But Needles responded with a 12-0 run to regain command. Nonetheless, coach Matt Cameron said he thought this game was one of the best they had played all year.

“We came out with energy, determination, aggressiveness. We played as a team. I’m proud of them,” Cameron said.

Lincoln returns all but one person for next year, Cameron said.

“We’ve got a lot of plans in the off season to get us tuned up for next year. We’ll be one of the teams to beat.”

In Saturday’s final game of the season, Katschke again led the way as he tallied 22 points and the Lynx raced to a 27-11 first-quarter lead en route to a 78-58 win over the Laughlin Cougars.

The Lynx’ only senior, Jordan Davis, added 14 points and Preston Avery scored 12 for Lincoln County (6-8, 11-14).

Colton Hill led Laughlin (1-13, 3-14) with 20 points and teammate Anthony Nelson had 10.

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

Photo by Dave Maxwell

LINCOLN COUNTY — Pahranagat Valley had three individual champions and Lincoln County had one at the Class 2A Southern League wrestling tournament Saturday in Laughlin.

White Pine had five individual champions on the way to winning the tournament title with 245 points. Laughlin took second with 176 points, followed by West Wendover with 102 and Indian Springs with 101.

Jeffery Jones (113), Jeremy Minick (120) and Andy Linares (195) each took home a title for the Panthers, which had 96 team points. Danny Olson won at 106 pounds for Lincoln County. Clayton Higbee (132) placed second for the Panthers, as did Damiano Ballajos (120) for Lincoln County.

Jacob Alhstrom (126) and Derrik Samson (132), both finished fourth for Lincoln County and Brandon Carter (182) was fourth for Pahranagat Valley.

The top four finishers in each weight class will participate in the state meet Friday and Saturday at Cox Pavilion next to the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Class 2A Southern League Tournament, Team Scores

White Pine 245½, Laughlin 176, West Wendover 102, Indian Springs 101, Pahranagat Valley 96, Tonopah 85½, Spring Mountain 83, Lincoln County 64, Round Mountain 52

Championship Matches

106 — Olson, LC, p. C. Gamberg, WP, 1: 56. 113 — Jones, PV, d. Hall, WP, 5-4. 120 — Minick, PV, d. Ballejos, LC, 11-5. 126 — Bing, WP, d. Wilson, IS, 19-4. 132 — Ashby, WP, d. Higbee, PV, 9-0. 138 — Minniear, Lau, p. Miller, WP, 4:32. 145 — Sargent, IS, p. Stanton, WP, 4:20. 152 — Andersen, WW, d. Beggs, Lau, 7-1. 160 — Almberg, WP, p. Burkett, Lau, 3:16. 170 — Finicum, WP, d. B. Elekana, SM, 7-2. 182 — Keppner, WP, p. Jacobs, Lau, 3:11. 195 — Linares, PV, p. M. Elekana, SM, 0:33. 220 — Gromis, Ton, p. Dyer, SM, 3:42. 285 — Lakes, Lau, p. Prieto, WW, 1:42.

Third-place Matches

106 — Maddox, WW, p. Del Quadro, Lau, 2:49. 113 — Wilson, IS, p. Lyons, WP, 1:58. 120 — Souza, WP, p. Reynolds, Lau, 4:34. 126 — Jobe, Lau, d. Ahlstrom, LC, 15-7. 132 — Romero, Lau, p. Samson, LC, 0:53. 138 — Heath, IS, p. Reynaso, SM, 2: 23. 145 — Ratliff, WW, d. Hodge, Lau, 7-2. 152 — Garcia, WP, p. Ayers, Ton, 1:19. 160 — Carman, Ton, d. Rubino, WW, 8-4. 170 — Heatherington, Lau, p. Edwards, IS, 2: 30. 182 — Wallace, Ton, d. Carter, PV. 195 — Galaviz, WW, d. Singh, WP, 6-1. 220 — M. Gamberg, WP, d. Gutierez, WW, forfeit. 285 — Kissels, Ton, p. Mafua, SM, 1:32.

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

Nevadapreps.com contributed to this story.

Northern Lincoln County was hit hard with snow Monday. Despite receiving more than 6 inches in some areas, school was not canceled, so Paris and Drew Cole, as well as the other students and faculty at Pioche Elementary School, bundled up for the day.

Photo by Penny Cole

Lincoln’s Elle Scott gets pushed hard in the back with an elbow from Kasey Lively, of Needles, Calif. Lincoln won the game 58- 40 and heads to the semifinals of the 2A Southern League tournament Friday to face Calvary Chapel at Durango High School in Las Vegas.

PANACA — For the first time since at least 2006, the Lincoln County girls are the undefeated 2A Southern League champions. They completed the task last weekend with two home wins over second-place Needles, Calif., and seventh-place Laughlin.

Defense and controlling the rebounds was the story in the Lynx’s 58-40 win over Needles Friday.

Since 2006, Needles has dominated the Lincoln girls, winning 11 of 13, but this year the Lynx students turned the tables and beat the Lady Mustangs twice, with another possible match-up coming in the regional tournament finals Saturday.

“We’ve worked really hard all year on our defense where they are playing with their feet, not reaching in all the time, and the girls are really starting to come around and get it down,” said Lynx coach Lori Cheeney. “Putting pressure on the other team in order to get them to make mistakes instead of having to steal it all the time, and it is starting to click for us now.”

Jaycee Wadsworth had 15 points and Lacee Babcock added 14 points to lead the Lynx by the Mustangs.

Kourtney Gloeckner added 10 points for Lincoln County (14-0, 22-4).

Abby Chandler paced Needles with 12 points.

Then on Saturday, the players put the cap on the regular season with a 58-25 win over Laughlin.

Lacee Babcock scored 17 points and the Lynx busted out to a 34-6 halftime lead en route to an easy win over the Cougars.

Chelsea Lloyd added 14 points and Jaycee Wadsworth scored 11 for the Lynx.

Diana Durazo had eight points as the leading scorer for Laughlin (2-12, 2-16).

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

Photo by Dave Maxwell

Nevadapreps.com contributed to this story.

Mike Sparrow, left, and Dan Frehner were presented the Silver Beaver award for outstanding service to the Boy Scouts.

LINCOLN COUNTY — February is Boy Scouts of America month, and the second week of February marks Boy Scouts Week. Two men from Lincoln County recently received their Silver Beaver awards. Dan Frehner of Pioche and Mike Sparrow of Hiko were presented their awards at a banquet held in their honor in Provo, Utah.

A Silver Beaver is an award given by Boy Scouts of America at the council level recognizing many years of hard work, self-sacrifice, community service and dedication in implementing the Scouting program. The award recipients must be nominated in order to be eligible. Nominees are judged and chosen based on years of service, degree of impact they have had on youth, and their involvement in community service.

Frehner has a long-standing record of helping young men in their Scouting endeavors. He has served as a Scout committee member and a wood-badge trainer (adult leadership training camp) at least four times. He also has served as a county commissioner, on various state committees and as a bishop for his church.

Sparrow has served in many areas of Scouting including Scoutmaster, junior leadership trainer, and is currently serving as an Eagle Scout counselor. He has been a coach in several sports at Pahranagat Valley High School and is actively serving in his church and community.

These two men share a love for Scouting and enjoy helping young people learn and succeed. They also share a love of service and a dedication to their church and community. The Boy Scouts of America congratulated Frehner and Sparrow.

JOHN AHLSTROHM | CONTRIBUTOR

Photo courtesy the Sparrow Family

John Ahlstrohm is a former district Scout committee chairman.

ALAMO — Pahranagat Valley girls secured the No. 1 seed for the 1A Southern League tournament this weekend with easy home wins last week over Lund and Adleson.

It is the third consecutive season for the Panther girls to be undefeated in league play. In addition, they are going into the state tournament as the No. 1 team for the fourth consecutive year.

Bailee Hosier blows by Melynda Boren of Lund down the lane in a game in Alamo last week. The Panther girls won handily and now await the winner of the Indian Springs-Lund game in the semifinals of the 1A Southern Regional in Las Vegas on Friday.

On Tuesday, against Lund, sophomore guard Bailee Hosier led the way with 17 points, one of her best outings of the season, in the 45-14 victory. Sophomore post Kimberly Lewis added eight points and eight rebounds as the Panthers had a balanced scoring effort each period.

Lund’s top scorer was Melynda Boren with four points. The Panther defense and poor shooting by Lund limited the Mustangs to no more than four points in any quarter.

Friday morning, freshman Jamie Hansen had 12 points as the Panthers wrapped up an undefeated Class 1A Southern League campaign by downing the Adleson Lions 43-9. The nine points are the lowest total Pahranagat Valley has allowed all season. The previous low was 10 against The Meadows, the first game of the year Dec. 1.

Bailee Hosier and Kennedy Huntsman each added six points for Pahranagat Valley, which led 21-0 after one quarter.

The Panthers (7-0, 22-4) earned a first round bye into this week’s league tournament, which started Tuesday at Lund and Beatty.

The girls’ first game is the semifinals Friday at 6:20 p.m. at Sunrise Mountain High School in Las Vegas. The championship game is noon Saturday at Durango High School in Las Vegas.

The No. 1 and 2 finishers in the league tournament advance to the 1A state tournament at the Lawlor Center in Reno Feb. 24-25.

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

Photo by Dave Maxwell

Nevadapreps.com contributed to this story.

Mason Stirling scores two of his points in the win over Adelson School on Feb. 10. The Panthers now advance to the 1A Southern League semifinals Friday in Las Vegas.

ALAMO — In the final game of the season, Pahranagat Valley High School secured the regular season title and is now gearing up for the playoffs.

Tyler Higbee had 19 points as the Panthers capped an undefeated Class 1A Southern campaign by routing the Adelson Lions 81-34 Friday.

Kade Wadsworth added 14 points and Derek Hansen scored 13 for Pahranagat, while Austin Poulsen got 10 points.

Ross Behrin led Adelson School with 13 points.

Adelson, from Las Vegas, and completing its first year in the league after several years as an independent, showed more athletic ability than perhaps expected.

PVHS coach Brian Higbee said Adelson (2-6, 7-9) is an up-and-coming program.

“We could tell they are tough by our preparedness. We knew we were going to have to play, not somebody we could not take lightly, and that was evident the first part of the game as they were able to stay with us,” Higbee said.

Eventually, the Panthers’ speed and pressure defense took its toll on the Lions, who wilted quite a bit and only scored 10 points in the second half.

“I’m proud of my kids for the effort and energy that they brought for four quarters,” Higbee said.

Alamo (8-0, 17-8), now awaits the winner of this week’s first-round game between Tonopah and Sandy Valley in the regional semifinals Friday at 8 p.m. at Sunrise Mountain High School in Las Vegas.

DAVE MAXWELL | LINCOLN COUNTY RECORD

Photo by Dave Maxwell

Nevadapreps.com contributed to this story.

Caucus participants denied full caucus experience

Dear Editor,

Why was the Lincoln County caucus conducted as if it were a primary? If the people wanted to just have a primary, then the people of the state would have simply kept a primary. However, they elected to be a caucus state and attempt to be leaders instead of followers.

But a caucus means that before any voting is done there is a time set for open discussion by all concerned voters. Delegates represent candidates and voters are permitted to speak for their candidate of choice or ask for clarification if they so chose. This part of the caucus was denied to Lincoln County voters and people just filed in and out, filling out a ballot and dropping it in a bucket during the entire time from 9 a.m. until noon.

When they got home and turned on their TVs and saw the news or watched either CNN or Fox’s coverage that afternoon or evening they probably felt let down. Lincoln County residents never had the opportunity to hear or participate in any public discussion prior to voting and those of us who looked forward to that part of the caucus before we made a decision on how we were going to vote were denied that opportunity. Often the person who handed out the ballot was the only one permitted to make any comments and, if this had been a primary, that would not have been permitted. This was a farce not a caucus. What were our local political leaders afraid of?

I hope the citizens of Lincoln County were able to watch the Las Vegas caucus that was held for the Jewish and Seventh Day Adventist (voters), as well as anyone else who had not had the opportunity to vote earlier on Saturday for religious or work reasons, that was broadcast live in its entirety by several stations who were filling time while waiting for election results. It turned out that they showed us democracy in action and what a caucus was supposed to be. Too bad we couldn’t have seen it before our pretend caucus.

Dixie Tienken