| Angels
take second in Hallissey Tourney
Beginning the week before Christmas, ten young ladies from Cottonwood made a commitment to hard work, sore muscles and a lot of time. They began practicing for the Hallissey tournament to be held on February 13, 14 and 15, 2004. These young ladies represented the eighth grade class from Prairie Faith Formation. They practiced twice a week, after a full day at Prairie Middle School and, for most of them, a volleyball practice or game. 
These young ladies traveled to Boise on Friday, February 13 to represent Catholic education in this area. They competed against eleven other Catholic Junior High teams and one private school from throughout the state. The game that night was against St. Joe’s eighth grade, which they easily handled with a 28-4 victory. The Camas Prairie Angels were then slated to play Holy Spirit of Pocatello at 10:15 A.M. (MST) Saturday. This game was very tight with the lead passing back and forth throughout the game. Holy Spirit was the team with the lead when the final buzzer sounded and finished with a 30-24 lead. This put the Angels into the losers bracket with their next game scheduled for 2:45 P.M. (MST) against St. Paul’s. The Angels again easily played through this game and came up with a 37-15 victory. The girls then changed and attended the player’s Mass that was celebrated by Bishop Driscoll. Sunday morning started early with a 9:00 A.M. (MST) game against St. Mary’s. This game was again very close and caused the parents and the coaches a few gray hairs when it went into double overtime. The Angels dug deep and came up with the 32-29 win. After a short one-hour rest, they were then pitted against the St. Joe’s seventh grade team. True to their character, the girls again dug deep and pulled out yet another 37-36 double overtime victory. This win put them into the championship game, which was to be held at Bishop Kelly High at 3:45 P.M. (MST). The championship game was to be a rematch of the game that had put the Angels into the loser bracket. Once again, they were faced with Holy Spirit of Pocatello. The long weekend of play and the two earlier double, overtime wins had taxed the Angels beyond their abilities. They fell to Holy Spirit 29-19. Sarah Arnzen, Chantel Bonieki, Jessica Gehring, Mandy Geis, Alli Holthaus, Gina Holthaus, Brooke Holthaus, Abbi Lustig, Kim Schaeffer and Tiffany Schaeffer represented Prairie Faith Formation well in the tournament. The Angels were coached by Roger Holthaus and Brian Schaeffer. After the final game, the tournament co-founders Msgr. James Hallissey and John Kirk awarded the players the second place trophy. While the girls were proud of the trophy, the prize they will treasure most is the knowledge that they made a commitment, worked hard and represented Catholic education in the Cottonwood area to the best of their abilities. |
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