Jan. 19 marked the beginning of the Chaparral basketball tournament. The tournament was three days long, and eight teams participated. 

Playing well may not have gotten the team wins, but it did gain them awards. 

The first of these awards was for the whole team, named ‘The Owie Award.’ It is given when a team loses their first two games but wins their last one, earning them the place of second to last.

“We got ‘The Owie Award’ because it hurts to win games,” junior Nash Johnsen said.

Despite playing well, Conway Springs struggled to win against their competitors. 

“[I felt] pretty good,” freshman Logan Osner said. “I mean, with the teams we played, we played pretty good. Some of the games didn’t come out the way we wanted, but we just need to practice and get better so we can get those games turned around.”

The second and third awards were earned by Johnsen. One was  earning second in the free-throwing competition held between the eight teams. The first day of the tournament he made 17 out of 20, the second day 16 out of 20, and the third day 19 out of 20. 

Johnsen and junior Taylor Wykes succeeded in making the All-Tournament team.  The award was given to the best players of each team, determined by all the coaches. 

“I felt relieved [when I heard],” Johnsen said. “I didn’t know if I really did too well at the tournament, but I guess other people saw I did good.” 

Johnsen said knowing his role on the court helped him achieve this award and could help others achieve it as well. 

“Don’t try and do too much,” Johnsen said. “Prove yourself on defense before you try doing too much on offense. Practice hard.”