Three strong performances at the state tournament boosted Wyatt Hayes into the all-state stratosphere.
Ignacio High School’s junior point guard was named to the CHSAA Class 2A All-State first team, and senior forward Adison Jones made the second team.
Hayes finished second in the state across all classifications with 5.6 steals per game and 10th at 5.7 assists per game to go along with his 14 points per game average.
He scored nearly 19 points per game at the state tournament in leading the Bobcats to a second-consecutive third-place finish.
“I thought he came along closer to the end of the season,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “That’s why he got first team, because of the way he played in the state tournament.”
Hayes also made the third team last season and will be back next year to lead IHS.
His basketball future may extend beyond that, too.
“I really believe that talent-wise he is the best guard in the state maybe up to the (Class) 3A level. The issue with him is going to be getting physical and bigger and stronger and keeping his speed if he wants to play competitively at the next level,” Valdez said. “Fort Lewis is showing interest in him, of course, but he’s got more options than just Fort Lewis if he continues to improve.”
Jones, on the other hand, finished his senior season and is looking at potential locations to play at the next level.
He averaged 16.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game with nine double-doubles in his senior season.
He also was a second-team all-state selection last year.
“He’s got a lot of Division III and some (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and junior college teams looking at him,” Valdez said. “A Division II team called me (Wednesday). He’s got a good opportunity to play at a college, he’s just got to make some decisions on where he’s going to commit.”
Sanford’s Miles Caldon picked up the CHSAA Class 2A Player of the Year award, and his head coach Rhett Larsen won Coach of the Year in Class 2A.
Both Hayes and Jones also were named first-team All-SJL, and Jones was the league’s Player of the Year.
Junior guard Tucker Ward was selected to the second-team all-league roster.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
