Cloverdale off to winning start under head coach Jared Greninger
The Eagles laid the groundwork for a successful winter basketball campaign last weekend in the annual Gene Duffy Classic Basketball Tournament in Calistoga, winning all three games to hoist the championship trophy.
Cloverdale (3-0) scored dominant tourney wins over Calistoga (60-21), Ferndale (81-45) and Technology (65-26), setting a winning tone in the first season under head coach Jared Greninger.
“We have a very promising team this year, with a good mix of senior leadership and young talented players to build around,” Greninger reported. “This team likes to run and push the ball on offense. Everyone on the team is an outside shooting threat, which makes us hard to guard. These boys also play with a physicality and intensity on defense which has really frustrated our opponents in this early part of the season.”
The 2021-22 Eagles are led by senior captains Dylan Muller, Gabe Wlodarczyk and Joe Faso, with Muller the only returning varsity player after last year’s lost season due to COVID.
“Dylan has an incredible ability to get to the rim and is arguably the most explosive athlete in the county,” Greninger stated. “Gabe provides a toughness to our team that is hard to teach. Joe is our Swiss Army knife, with the ability to play all five spots on the floor.”
Other key players on the team include seniors David Alvarez and Angel Arizmendi; juniors Caden Axell, Dylan Gloeckner, Casey Lemley, David Gonzalez, Alexis Ceja and Jesus Rodriguez Alfaro; and freshman Tatum Kurpinski.
The suspense was over early in the Dec. 2 Gene Duffy tourney opener against host Calistoga, shocking the Wildcats in a 21-7 first quarter surge. The Eagles led 29-9 at the half and never let up en route to a 60-21 rout. Top scorers for Cloverdale were Muller (13 points), Axell (9 points) and Wlodarczyk (8 points).
It was more of the same in Friday’s tilt with Ferndale, as the Eagles raced to a 40-19 halftime cushion in an eventual, 81-45 romp. Wlodarczyk took top scoring honors with 19 points, while Muller (16 points), Faso (9 points) and Kurpinski (9 points) all played well in the victory.
Cloverdale finished off an impressive tournament in Saturday’s title game against Technology, using another fast start to open up a 30-11 lead at the break. The Eagles put the game on ice with an 18-2 run in the fourth quarter en route to a 65-26 victory.
Kurpinski led the way with a team-high 17 points, while other big contributors were Muller (12 points) and Wlodarczyk (11 points).
Wlodarczyk was named Tournament MVP, while Muller also earned all-tourney honors.
McMillan tourney on tap
The Eagles will host the 55th annual John McMillan Invitational Tournament on Dec. 9-11. This year’s event will feature a round-robin format that includes Cloverdale, Anderson Valley, Elsie Allen and St. Helena. Cloverdale will open the tourney on Dec. 9 with a 7:30 p.m. clash with Anderson Valley.
The Eagles will kick off the NCL1 league season on Dec. 7 (after press time) when they host Willits in a 7 p.m. varsity tip-off.
