3-on-3 draws record numbers

Near 100-degree temperatures didn't seem to deter boys and girls and men and women from stepping out onto the hot pavement of the old Plains airport runway Saturday for a day of basketball.

Eighty teams signed up for the 7th Annual Wildhorse ShootOut Tournament at the Amundson Sports Complex, which ran from 9 a.m. to almost 4 p.m. Saturday. The final competition finished at 3:40 p.m. when the Polson Wolf Pirates defeated the Hamilton Shake and Bake 9-4 in the seventh and eighth grade boys division.

Teams came from as far away as Browning, along with multiple teams from Missoula, Kalispell, Polson, Superior, Frenchtown, and the Mission Valley. Some of the teams had players from multiple communities, said Erika Lawyer, the primary coordinator of the event. She said that between 70-75% of the teams had previously competed in the Wildhorse ShootOut Tournament, sponsored by the Wildhorse Sports Association, the nonprofit organization that operates the complex. However, this was the most teams they've ever had in the competition, according to Lawyer, also president of WSA. Lawyer guessed that they had more than 700 people at the event.

Eleven teams had one or more players from Sanders County, including McGowan Grocery, which included Ava Lawyer and Emelia Rivinius of Plains and Solveig Nygaard and Aubrey Baxter of Thompson Falls, which took first place in the girls grades 9-10 division. Team Dunkin' Ballz, composed of Max Hannum, Sam Burgess and Kaiden Robins, all of Thompson Falls, nabbed second place in the boys grades 11 and 12 class.

The tournament's divisions included: coed 1st and 2nd graders; coed 3rd and 4th graders; girls 5th and 6th, boys 5th and 6th, girls 7th and 8th, boys 7th and 8th, girls 9th through adult, boys 9th and 10th grade, boys 11th and 12th grade, and open men's.

First place by Division included: Upstate Ballerz of 1st and 2nd grades (from unknown), 3/4-Broncs, 3rd and 4th grade from Frenchtown, Desert Horse Minis, 5th and 6th grades of Mission Valley, Advanced Chimney Builders, boys 5th and 6th grades from Missoula, Core 4, girls 7th and 8th grades (from unknown), RNG, boys 9th and 10th grades of Mission Valley, Blue Berries, 11th grade to adult of Mission Valley, Donda Academy, boys 11th and 12th grades of Mission Valley, and men's open. Former Plains teacher George Sherwood played with friends from college on a Ronan team.

"So many teams are mixed towns. It's what I like about these tourneys," said Lawyer, who felt the tournament went well and was a big success. Eleven of the 80 teams had one or more participants from Sanders County, with players from Thompson Falls, Plains, and Hot Springs. The Mountain West Clothing team of players from 3rd and 4th grade had players from Plains and one from Camas, Wash.

Sanders County included the TF Ballers boys team and the SC Nets, comprised of boys from Plains and Thompson Falls from 7th and 8th grade. Lawyer's nephew, Blake Swanson from Camas, Wash., played on the McGowan Grocery boys 7th and 8th grade team, which included Owen Jermyn, Tristan Allen and Jarrett Weeks, all of Plains. McGowan Grocery also sponsored a girls 9th and 10th grade team from Plains and Thompson Falls.

A boys 9th and 10th grade team of Plains, called Rod Wave Elite, was sponsored by Healthy Massage by Daphne Boles of Plains, and included Cooper Meredith, Liam Ciferri and Cody West. The boys 3rd and 4th grade team, the Quinn's Titans, sponsored by Quinn's Hot Springs Resort, was composed of Braeden Allen, Jace Russell, Connor Sherwood, and Isaac Wilder, all of Plains. The Mountain West Clothing 3rd and 4th grade coed team was comprised of Hudson Swanson, Lawyer's nephew, along with Bransen Fryxell, Gavin Gamboa, and Louis Jermyn of Plains.

The girls Lady Vikings 11th grade to adult had three girls from Charlo and Kara Christensen of Hot Springs. The 11th and 12th grade team Dunkin' Ballz were comprised of Thompson Falls boys. The men's team Scharmon was made up of Trent Harmon, Michael Scharfe and Nathan Schraeder of Thompson Falls and Jake Weyers of Plains. Team 99 Problemz of the open men's division were all from Plains and included Tristan and Tyler Subatch and Esvin Reyes.

Lawyer said the tournament has grown significantly over the years. They had 28 teams for the first one in 2016, but only 19 the following year. The Covid situation prompted a cancellation in 2020, but they had 78 teams in 2021 and 63 teams last year. The WSA has raised more than $31,000, after expenses, since starting the tournament and this year they netted just over $7,900. Lawyer said the WSA board will determine where at the complex the money will be used. The organization has raised about $100,000 for a new structure at the complex. Lawyers said they hope to get the foundation done this summer. Seven of the 17 basketball backboards have been permanently installed. The others are portable. Lawyer said the board might use some of the money for additional permanent backboards.

The cost of the tournament was $160 per team, which gave everyone a t-shirt and paid for referees, prizes and supplies. The games were 25 minutes long with five minutes between games. Teams played at least three games for the double elimination tournament. The Bean Bug Cafe and Von Construction, both of Plains, sponsored dunk, free throw and three-point contests during a break in the tournament. Suzy VonHeeder, owner of the cafe, didn't keep the winning names, but believed they were all from outside the county. This year's tournament included eight referees from the University of Missoula's Lady Griz basketball team. Two of the referees also included Sam Carter of Plains and Mike Benson of Thompson Falls. Randy Garrison of Plains served as the emcee throughout the day.

"Every year we learn something and we hope this can be a viable fundraiser for years to come that we can continue to build on and add to," said Lawyer, whose husband, Nick Lawyer, a physician assistant at Clark Fork Valley Hospital, along with two medical students, set up a first aid station and treated 21 minor injuries throughout the day. A Ronan player was injured and taken by Plains Community Ambulance to the hospital.

Next year's tournament is slated for June 22 in an effort to avoid the summer heat. Lawyer said they hope to add an adult co-ed division. "We always get a team or two interested, but we really need a few more to make a healthy bracket," said Lawyer, who hopes to break the record number of teams again next year. She'd also like to see a three-on-three basketball league, possibly after spring sports are done, and keep track of the standings and have a tournament by age bracket at the end.

She noted that it is a fundraiser for WSA, but it's also a way to get people to the sports complex and use the facility. "We hope the community sees value in the activity and hope we get more and more area kids and adults who want to participate in the event. It's a fun way to spend time with family and friends and support the Amundson Sports Complex," she added. One man told her that he's been bringing his son to the tournament since the start and was pleased to see how much it has grown.

"People like our venue, they like our volunteers, they like the feel of the tourney. Success is hearing players and parents thanking us for hosting such a great event," said Lawyer. "Success is our community coming out and supporting it. I'm pretty happy about how it all shook out this year."