Morning Sports: March 18, 2026

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1. 

   jim jurosek

   March 18, 2026 at 12:30 pm

   Congratulations to the Sheridan boys basketball players who were awarded with all conference and all state recognition. To Brayden Brutlag, Beck Haswell, Nate Miner, and John Spielman, you are well deserving. You are all leaders and we thank you for the hard work that you put in this year and for sharing your gifts with your team and our community. Coach Jeff Martini is forced into an impossibly difficult situation in making these choices, especially in light of the members of this years championship team. He only has room to place a few players on the post season teams and inevitably some deserving players are left behind. Riley Friday played with enthusiasm, passion, spirit, confidence, and selflessness. His passion and confidence were contagious and spread throughout the team at times during the season when the team needed a boost, especially during the tournaments. His value to his team was unmatched and his scoring ability kept him on the floor for long periods when excellence and toughness were needed. His play was crucial to the Broncs success at the regional and state tournaments. His fabulous play matured just when they needed him most.
   Tanner Hamrick was clutch and he made big shots throughout the season. He is a smart and selfless player whose quickness, ability and confidence contributed to Coach Martini having him in the game when toughness was needed, especially at the end of games in the tournaments. Breck Reed is an amazing player and athlete. His athletic abilities, intelligence and experience added so much to this years team. He was asked to come off the bench this year because it helped the team function better. He accomplished that job with grace and humility. His experience contributed so much to the teams success especially at the tournaments. When Brayden Brutlag got into foul trouble in the championship game Breck was there. His play was smart, confident and extremely competitive. He was one of the leaders on the team. As one of the point guards he ran the team well. His defense forced a lot of turnovers.
   Colton Patterson was one of the most improved players on the team. I think he surprised everyone this year when his abilities began to blossom. He played with an aggressive, physical competitiveness that contributed so much to the team. Colton was a valuable defensive player who outwrestled opposing players for rebounds at crucial points in games. He came up with some huge buckets in both tournaments at times when his team most needed them.
   Alex Osborn was another greatly improved player on the team this year. We all saw his confidence and play out on the floor improve substantially as the season progressed. His defensive abilities, rebounding, and shot making all contributed to this year’s championship run. He was a team player who played his role so well.
   And to Colton Philipp, Zach Kintzi, and Fisher Peldo you guys were a big part of this team also. This team had 12 team members. You were a big part of practices and games even though you didn’t see the court as much as you would have liked. I would guess that you guys contributed to the team and influenced other kids in ways that you don’t even know of. So good luck to you whatever your future holds. I have no dog in this fight. I don’t know any of the players or families or coaches. I just like to watch excellent teams with great coaches move through a season and fight to see how good they can become. The improved ability of every player is a reflection of just how effective the 4 coaches were. We all were privileged to witness this one in a lifetime season this year. When you are left out of being selected for post season recognition it can be frustrating or even painful, especially when you are deserving. This year the stars aligned to bless Sheridan with so much great ability and talent and 4 great coaches. The Broncs deserved to have 6 or 7 players on the all conference team. That’s how good they were. But that’s not how it works in reality. Its more of a political process than a true reflection of all of the players who deserve recognition. Again, Coach Martini is placed in an impossible situation. I am sure if he could he would include as many of his players as possible. I hope that all the players can take a long term view of what’s to come for them as they move through their lives into college baseball, continuing to develop their football skills, being a solid anchor on next years bronc team or whatever venture comes next. There was a lot of love and selflessness on this year’s team. I hope those qualities remain throughout your lives. There really weren’t any stars. There were just a lot of hard-working, skilled, determined and selfless players, and 4 effective coaches who embodied the love and teaching kids what selflessness really means to a team. I hope that you will remember the tight-knit team that you had and not necessarily so much the awards that came after you had found what you were looking for in winning the state championship. And I hope that all the players and coaches can feel good about their valuable contributions in so many ways to this years incomparable team. And when you are old and gray and sitting around talking and someone asks if you were on that 2026 team you can say, “yea, I was on that team”. And they can say, “damn that was a good team”.

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