New champions could be coming as spring state week begins
The high school sports season is almost over.
All eight spring sports will crown state champions this week. Most of those title races remain wide open heading down the home stretch.
Here’s a breakdown of the state championship events:
Baseball
A new 5A champion will be crowned after the last two — Bishop Gorman and Basic — missed the playoffs. The 5A state tournament begins Thursday at Bishop Gorman.
Palo Verde and Coronado, who both finished second in their respective leagues, advanced to the state tournament. Palo Verde defeated Coronado on Friday for the Southern Region title to earn the South’s No. 1 seed. Coronado will be the South’s No. 2 seed.
Both teams are looking for their second baseball state titles. Palo Verde won the 4A title in 2018 and Coronado won it in 2013.
In 4A, Durango and Silverado face off in a winners’ bracket game Thursday at Faith Lutheran for a spot in Saturday’s title game.
Boys golf
Shadow Ridge, Coronado and Bishop Gorman are the three Southern teams that qualified for the 5A state tournament on Wednesday and Thursday in Pahrump.
Shadow Ridge won the Southern Region title by nine strokes with a team score of 6-over 574. Bishop Gorman won the 5A state title last year.
Doral Academy won the 4A state title Tuesday.
Boys volleyball
Boys volleyball begins the week of state-title action Tuesday. Sunrise Mountain will host the 5A (7 p.m.), 4A (5 p.m.) and 3A (3 p.m.) state-title matches.
Coronado and Palo Verde will play for the 5A state title. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, each winning in four sets.
Coronado won the Mountain League title on a tiebreaker and knocked out two-time defending champion Shadow Ridge in the semifinals Thursday. Palo Verde swept Desert League champion Green Valley in the other semifinal.
Bishop Gorman and Basic will meet for the 4A title. Two-time reigning champion Boulder City faces Virgin Valley for the 3A title.
Softball
Palo Verde and Coronado emerged out of the challenging Mountain League to advance to the state tournament, which begins Thursday at Bishop Gorman.
The Panthers won the Southern Region title Friday and will be the South’s No. 1 seed. Coronado will be the South’s No. 2 seed.
Palo Verde, which qualified for last year’s state tournament, is seeking its fourth softball state title. Coronado is looking for its first. Both teams will have to get through Northern champ and reigning state champion Douglas, which is 30-4 and has won 16 straight games.
The 4A state tournament continues Thursday at Faith Lutheran. Desert Oasis and Sierra Vista play in a winners’ bracket game Thursday for a spot in Saturday’s title game.
Swimming and diving
The state’s top swimmers and divers will meet in Las Vegas for the 5A, 4A and 3A state tournaments.
Divers will compete Friday at UNLV’s Buchanan Natatorium. 4A swimmers will race Thursday at Pavilion Center Pool, while 5A and 3A swimmers will compete Saturday.
The Palo Verde boys and Coronado girls are the reigning 5A champions entering the state meet.
Palo Verde, which has won the last nine boys titles, remains the favorite this year after winning the Southern Region title last week by 127 points over Bishop Gorman.
Coronado will have a tougher time defending the girls title. Palo Verde won the girls region title, edging Coronado 433.5-432.
The 4A state meet begins Thursday. The Sierra Vista boys and Tech girls won the 4A Desert Region titles, while the Basic boys and Doral Academy girls won the 4A Mountain Region titles. The Liberty boys and Faith Lutheran girls won the 4A state titles last year, but both moved up to 5A.
Track and field
The Centennial girls’ run of dominance in track and field came to an end last year when Liberty won the 5A girls title. That snapped the Bulldogs’ run of 10 championships in a row.
Centennial is back to being favorites this year. The Bulldogs ran away with the 5A girls Southern Region title Saturday, finishing 46 points head of Liberty. Shadow Ridge won the boys region title by 26 points over Liberty.
The state meet will take place Friday and Saturday in Carson City.
Desert Oasis will host the 4A state meet beginning Friday. The Mojave boys and Arbor View girls won the 4A Mountain Region titles. The Desert Oasis boys and girls won the Desert Region titles. The Shadow Ridge boys and Palo Verde girls are the reigning champions, but both moved up to 5A after offseason realignment.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.