Hayward 8th grade boys play in state tournament

The Hayward eighth grade boys traveling basketball team played in the Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament hosted by Merrill March 23-24.

This elite tournament, which is organized by The Great Northwest Basketball League, brought together 56 of the top community-based eighth grade boys basketball teams from across the state to play either six or seven games over the two-day weekend.

The tournament is organized by size of communities, much like the WIAA state high school tournaments, so that top teams can compete on a level playing field with other programs their size.

Item Hayward eighth grade team finished 11th in their field with a 3-3 record. Hayward put up a tournament high of 83 points, led by a 40 point performance from Adel Amparo in an 83-63 win over Rhinelander, which was the most points by any player in the tournament.

The Hayward boys brought a fast-paced potent scoring punch, which gave some teams problems. While most teams struggled to score 50 points, the Hayward boys averaged 53.5 points per game.

Onalaska defeated La Crosse Central 63 to 45 to win the Division Two Championship.

Playing for the Hayward squad were Mikey Quaderer Jr., Joey Gajewski, Adel Amparo, Luke Halberg, Carter Lohman, Levi Belille, Francisco Espadas, Beck Johnson, Sully Sportel and Simon Hansen. The coaches included Curtis DeCora and Aaron Halberg.