Camp Verde High School fall sports came to an end for the 2012 season, and it’s time to shift all the focus to a new season of sports: basketball and wrestling.
The fall season was a little rough for the Cowboys as the football team suffered through a rebuilding year; the volleyball team experienced ups and downs ending with a 10-13 record; the cross-country team focused on building a stronger team; the boys soccer team just barely missed the state playoffs with a 7-9-4 record; and the girls soccer team lost in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs to No. 2 seeded Desert Christian.
Camp Verde’s winter sports season was the Cowboys’ best during the 2011-2012 school year.
The wrestling team was runner-up for the state championship title while winning an individual championship and others also placing. The girls basketball team made it to the Final Four and the boys basketball team made it to the first round of the state playoffs.
Yet, just many other high school sports teams, CVHS’ wrestling and basketball teams are still getting used to the Arizona Interscholastic Association changes and the affects they have on the road to state championships.
The changes regrouped the school districts so the athletic teams would play closer to home, decreasing travel time and cost. They also condensed the previous conferences to have fewer state championships, which saves the state money.
As a result, Camp Verde is scheduled to play teams from schools that are three times its size. This can affect a small school’s chances of making it to the state playoffs because other teams have a bigger pool of talent to choose from.
“It is all based on a geographic location model,” said Mark Showers, the CVHS athletic director for 16 years. “Transportation time and cost has dropped dramatically, but there is no equity of competition.”
Nevertheless, each team should make a good run this season and replace some of the departed senior talent.
“The wrestling team is right where they were last year,” Showers said. “They have good young wrestlers, and Camp Verde wrestling is always a strong program.”
Since Head Coach and CVHS Principal Bob Weir took over the program 21 years ago, Cowboy wrestling became a tradition.
“Weir put forth more time and built a strong program,” Showers said. “He started building a program at the middle school level and works with kids starting at a young age. That’s why the program is so successful.”
With a veteran coaching staff, including Mario Chagnolla, Jim Bowser and Tracy Tudor, working with the wrestlers, the team will have a good shot at the state championship this year. They lost the title to
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Nov. 7, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
