Belt, Lillian Fenburg, Baker finished in top three for Durango teams

Durango High School girls wrestling’s Aleia Fenburg stands on the top of the podium after winning the 125-pound bracket at the Western Slope Showdown in Montrose on Dec. 13. Fenburg also finished first at the Warrior Classic in Grand Junction on Saturday. (Courtesy Ryan McGrath)

Durango High School boys wrestling star Ryan Dugan left a big void in the Durango wrestling program when he graduated in the spring, and it looks like Durango girls wrestling junior Aleia Fenburg could be the next star Durango wrestler.

After winning at the Western Slope Showdown on Dec. 13, Aleia continued her winning ways at the Warrior Classic in Grand Junction on Saturday by winning the 125-pound bracket. She led a successful Durango girls wrestling team that had four wrestlers place.

“It’s midseason, so what we’re looking for on the competition side right now is, where are we,” Durango girls wrestling head coach Ryan McGrath said. “We’re far enough along that our conditioning, technique and match strategy should be lining up if the goal is to place at state. The Warrior is an excellent place to mix it up with like competition … what you see are your weaknesses and holes.”

Aleia was ranked third in the 125-pound bracket and had a 3-0 win in her first match before a tough 7-5 victory against Lyniah Richardson from Douglas County in the quarterfinals. She then won 8-4 in the semifinals against Chrissa Hawkes from Bear River. It was a Western Slope Showdown rematch in the final, with Aleia facing Ignacio’s Lainee Bradley. Aleia got the job done again, beating Bradley 7-0.

McGrath complimented Aleia on her skills and technique, being on point along, with adjusting during and after matches. McGrath said she’s been very coachable.

“An opponent you’ve beaten is always dangerous,” McGrath said. “They’ve already wrestled with you; they know where you’re strong and where you’re not. That match was close because Lainee is so good. It was an opportunity for Aleia to be a lot more strategic and patient.”

Aleia’s twin sister, Lillian, also had a good tournament and finished third at 140 pounds. She won her first match, 3-0 and then beat Ignacio’s Krysten Neil 8-3 in the quarterfinals. Lillian’s run ended in the semifinals with a 9-0 loss to Grand Junction Central’s Rya Burke. Lillian rebounded to beat Eagle Valley’s Julia Borejszo in the third-place match.

Durango girls wrestling’s Marie Baker also finished third. The five-seed in the 120-pound bracket, Baker won her first two matches by a combined score of 23-2 before losing to the top-seeded wrestler, Harleigh Prater from Grand Junction Central, 3-1 in the semifinals. Baker then won against Falcon’s Zoe Greer in the third-place match.

McGrath knows neither Lillian nor Baker likes to lose, but there can be something gained from the loss at the first practice after the tournaments. They just need to look back at certain situations and learn from them. McGrath thinks Lillian might drop down a weight class.

“It’s a lot more about tuning the skillsets,” McGrath said about Lillian and Baker. “Every year there are a couple of people who rise to the top; we’ve seen that in Lillian and Marie’s (Baker) weight classes. There are girls there who are just really pushing everybody … I’m really pleased with where we’re at.”

Sydney McAllister had one of her best tournaments as a Demon and finished sixth at 105 pounds. McAllister had a tough freshman season last year, and McGrath is proud of her resolve and how much she’s improved this season.

There were plenty of other successful wrestlers from Bayfield High School, Durango High School and Ignacio High School at the Warrior Classic.

The Durango boys had one wrestler place, with Jacob Belt finishing third at 175 pounds.

“We’re in a transition year with a bunch of new kids and a bunch of new kids on varsity,” Durango boys varsity head coach Jason Silva said. “All I keep telling them is focus on scoring points, having fun and being in a good position … and they did it.”

Belt was behind in a lot of his matches, and Silva was proud to see his no-quit attitude paid off. He won his first match 11-3. Belt was down 7-3 when he pinned Andy Weipert from Green River. Belt dominated Mason Fresquez from Grand Junction 18-1 in the quarterfinals before losing to Canon City’s Elias Koonce 18-3.

After losing, Belt didn’t give up and made it to the third-place match, coming from behind once again to beat Palisade’s Eric Snodgrass via pin when Belt was down 9-4.

“The bigger guys do have a different style,” Silva said. “There are a lot more of those power-type throws and moves to where they don’t typically get underneath the guy because they’re bigger … the type of offense we create for Jake (Belt) is a lot different from what we’re doing for Ryder (Martyn) and Cash (Silva).”

Martyn had an off day for the Demons and didn’t place. Silva knew it was important to remind him that success is not a vertical line; it ebbs and flows. Martyn needs to be ready to come back to the drawing board and get better.

Ignacio’s girls wrestling program had three second-place finishers with Bradley, Larissa Espinosa and Madison Egger in their respective weight classes.

Before Bradley lost to Aleia in the finals, she won her opening round matchup, 13-3 and beat Edi Linascum from Grand Junction Central in the quarterfinals in a close matchup. Bradley then beat Green River’s Raygen Bauers 17-1 in the semifinals.

Espinosa won 19-4 in her quarterfinal matchup before winning 3-0 against Dawn Tahy-Sloan from Farmington. Caylee Miller from Bloomfield beat Espinosa in the 235-pound final, 5-0.

Egger finished second in the 100-pound bracket beating her first two opponents by a combined score of 23-3, before pinning Addi Whaley from Soroco. Egger lost 19-3 in the final to Fort Lupton’s Yaida Rodriguez.

On the boys side, for Ignacio, top local wrestlers Aven Bourriague and Lincoln deKay both placed, with Bourriague finishing fifth at 120 pounds and deKay sixth at 165 pounds.

Bourriague lost in the semifinals, but bounced back to win his fifth-place match. deKay was the top seed at 165 pounds and made it to the semifinals before losing a close 5-4 match to Aztec’s Cory Douglas. deKay then lost his fifth-place match.

Bayfield High School girls wrestling’s Violet Christner finished fifth at 100 pounds.

bkelly@durangoherald.com

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WHEELING — Officials with Youth Services System Inc. say changes in how the agency receives subsidies for the before and afterschool care the program provides to young students has significantly reduced available funding, and that continuing the programs under the new subsidy system is “unsustainable.”

“We’re no longer under a financial strain,” said Chris Sengewalt, CFO of YSS. “We have a financial crisis.”

Sengewalt and Sarah Gamble, supervisor of community based services for YSS, spoke before Ohio County Board of Education members Monday night and asked for their support and assistance in continuing the program.

They explained YSS is no longer being reimbursed based on the number of students enrolled in their programs, but instead on each student’s actual attendance. Children enrolled don’t always attend the program on a daily basis or may only attend part of the day.

Gamble noted that they had been before the board in September 2024, telling them a financial strain was coming down the pike.

“There were discussions statewide then suggesting that some of the funding sources currently being utilized were going to be depleted in the coming months,” she said.

Fortunately, the YSS programs were sustained through both 2024 and 2025, she continued.

But last fall, the West Virginia Department of Health informed YSS that beginning Sept. 1 they could no longer bill for subsidies based on overall enrollment. They would instead need to base the billing on actual attendance.

YSS serves students attending Bethlehem, Elm Grove and Middle Creek elementary schools. In these schools, 52% of the students attending the before- and after-school programs are eligible for the subsidies, according to Gamble.

“We have to keep a spot for them full-time if we are full capacity,” she explained.

There are 49 students actively enrolled in the before and afterschool programs at YSS and another 16 on the waitlist.

There are 22 billing days in the month and a student may only attend two days, Gamble explained.

“Previously, we could bill for the 22 days. Now we can only bill for the two days they actually attended,” she said.

YSS receives an average daily subsidy of $14.50 per student who attends the program. Billing is also now being broken down into two-hour increments for billing purposes, Gamble said.

“We’re presenting this information to you in hopes that as a board you might actually support this program,” she said. “At the end of the day, the last thing we want to see is preschools closed. Parents depend on these programs to make it to work every day.”

Board president David Croft asked her if the funding for the current school year already had dried up, and she told him it had.

“Wow. That’s a shame. It really is,” board member Andy Garber said.

Gamble explained that for the month of September the amount of supplement would have been $7,377 under prior billing practices, but YSS was only able to bill for $1,091.

“So it is fair to say the current configuration is not sustainable?” Croft asked.

Gamble answered yes and Croft inquired what options they might propose to the board.

Gamble said Marshall County Schools provides YSS with “scholarship funding” and the school district is invoiced every month which helps to cover some of YSS’s cost.

“That allows us to keep the billing at a minimum for our families,’ she said. “The last thing we want to have to do is raise the rate for our families — which we already did last year.”

Croft asked if the board needed to make a choice and if it would help more to fund before- or after-school care.

“If we can’t sustain the program the way it is, my recommendation would be to offer before care,” she said. “Then we can support two-hour delay days.”

Sengewalt said YSS is seeking funding to help them finish out the current fiscal year while they seek a collaborative solution in the future.

Superintendent Kim Miller suggested the school district put together a task force consisting of Gamble and Raquel McLeod, student services director for Ohio County Schools, and others to review what other counties are doing and what is working elsewhere.

The matter will be reviewed by board members and placed on the agenda for their next meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 12 at the board office, 2203 National Road, Wheeling.

LOGAN — For a group of 12-year-old baseball players from northern Utah, the most important play of their season didn’t happen on a diamond, but on the edge of a dance floor.

The “Valley Boys,” a U12 team from Richmond, recently traveled more than two hours each way to support a 4-year-old girl named Delilah at her dance recital—a performance that lasted less than two minutes, but represented a massive milestone in her 20-month battle with cancer.

The bond began six months ago at the Nixon Strong Baseball Tournament, an event that pairs youth teams with children undergoing cancer treatment. While many pairings end when the final out is recorded, the Valley Boys turned their assignment into a genuine friendship.

“From the moment they met her, the boys connected in the most genuine way,” said Alexis Grove, Delilah’s mother. “They got on her level, let her paint their nails in the dugout, and ran the bases with her. It quickly turned into a meaningful bond.”

That bond was put to the test recently when Delilah became severely ill and was hospitalized. Her family feared she would miss her dance recital, an event she had looked forward to as a way to reclaim a piece of the childhood stolen by nearly two years of intensive medical treatment.

When the team learned Delilah had been cleared to perform, the players and their families organized a caravan to ensure they were in the audience.

“Their presence was not convenient or easy, but it was intentional,” Grove said. “The recital itself lasted less than two minutes. But those two minutes represented a moment of triumph, resilience, and joy—and the boys made sure she never danced alone.”

For Delilah, who has missed typical peer connections and childhood opportunities due to her illness, the team has provided a rare sense of belonging. Grove noted that the players’ empathy shows that the impact of youth sports can extend far beyond wins and losses.

The story also highlights the ongoing mission of the Nixon Strong Baseball Tournament, which aims to bridge the gap between young athletes and families facing pediatric cancer. The tournament is currently accepting registrations for its upcoming event in June.

As Delilah continues her recovery, she does so with a roster of older brothers in baseball cleats cheering her on from the sidelines.

Joel Castillo, of Monroe, was on a mission to transport over 300 gifts to the S.W.A.G Community Center in Bridgeport to bring joy to 120 children this Christmas, but his Honda Pilot was stuffed. The fact that this was community effort saved him from making several trips for the party, held on Dec. 11.

“Jerry Peck, who coaches the Monroe Lions’ eighth grade team, volunteered with his truck, which is red like Santa’s sleigh,” Castillo, a Masuk Spanish teacher, said with a smile during an interview in his classroom last Monday.

The annual S.W.A.G (Students With Academic Growth Inc.) program event was organized by Castillo with assistance from Masuk students, University of Bridgeport softball players, Rhode Island Thunder softball players and coaches, and other volunteers.

On Dec. 11, Masuk students organized the gifts onstage and handed it all out to the children, and an arts and crafts section was staffed by eight UB softball players. Among the volunteers was Castillo’s daughter, Alyssa, who was a star player at Masuk and now plays for UB.

“Special thanks to Dawn Stearns,” Castillo said of UB’s coach.

Castillo coaches in the Rhode Island Thunder softball program. He said fellow coach, Pete Sinapi, told his team about the party and his players teamed up with Castillo’s students to make 170 cookie bags.

After the kids had their treats, they enjoyed a dance party. Castillo’s son, Jordan, served as deejay.

Drew Hall, an assistant softball coach in the Rhode Island Thunder program, volunteered to dress up as Santa and visit the children, along with Jen Olimpieri, a teacher at Middlebrook Elementary School in Trumbull, who went as Mrs. Claus.

Castillo said the 120 children, ranging from months old to age 14, are from families in Bridgeport’s East End, where he grew up.

The greatest gift

Castillo first became involved with the S.W.A.G Community Center Christmas party four years ago, when his childhood friend, Gary Nelson, who runs the center, approached him with the idea.

“I was afraid to take on this project, because I didn’t know I’d get the support to fulfill all of the kids’ wish lists,” Castillo recalled.

But Sofia Nwosu, a student member of the Spanish Club at Masuk, offered to help by reaching out to people she knew, and other student clubs at the high school also came forward.

Then Castillo thought of his colleagues through teaching and coaching youth sports, his friends and family.

The list of 50 children included their names, ages and wish lists. Castillo snapped his fingers, while recalling how quickly they completed the wish list. “I asked Gary for more kids,” he said.

This year, Castillo said he came to Masuk with a stack of sheets.

“I presented it to my students and my family — everybody who crosses my path,” he said. “Most say, ‘sure, I’m willing to help.’”

Julia Kinahan, a Masuk student, gave 10 sheets to her mother, Tina, who is a nurse, and she took it to Griffin Hospital so her colleagues could help out.

Castillo’s wife, Angie, took 10 sheets to Middlebrook Elementary School, where she is a teacher, and other family members also pitched in.

“If people don’t have time, they give me money to shop,” Castillo said. “It was wonderful to see everybody coming together. I didn’t realize I knew so many people.”

Four years ago, the Christmas party was held on Dec. 16, which is Castillo’s birthday.

“I realized how special it was to bring smiles,” he said. “The effort made me feel special. The greatest gift was to help others. I don’t see celebrating my birthday any other way than to give back.”

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JACKSON COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) – Authorities say three children, the oldest of whom was 3, were killed in a house fire in Kentucky. A fourth child, the parents and a grandparent were all injured in the fire.

The Kentucky State Police received a request from local authorities to help with a Jackson County house fire just before midnight Tuesday. A preliminary investigation revealed three children, ages 7 months, 2 and 3, were killed in the fire, according to a press release.

A 4-year-old child was taken to the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital before being transferred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, for further treatment.

Three adults were also taken to UK Chandler Hospital for treatment of injuries from the fire. They have been identified as 23-year-old Tyler Monst, 22-year-old Morgan Johnson and 76-year-old Florence Johnson.

The children’s uncle says Monst and Morgan Johnson are their parents, while Florence Johnson is his mother.

“Christmas is meant for joy and happiness, and obviously, this community is not experiencing that this year,” said Chief Zachary Bryant with the McKee Police Department.

Neighbor Orvel Hisel says he saw multiple first responders head down the road to the scene. There are expected to be numerous fundraisers for the family announced in the coming days.

“It’s just a sad time for our whole community. The loss of children and lives,” Hisel said. “What kind of means can we help that family? There’s a child that’s been flown to Columbus. That’s a ways off. If the family can go there, they are going to want to.”

KSP’s press release said the cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the deaths remain under investigation.

Copyright 2025 WKYT via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Maury Young’s reason for running might surprise you.

Simply put, it makes him feel free.

For the past two seasons, Young surprised many but never himself. The Seahawks senior distance running standout said he regularly sets goals, and after making a trip to the CIF State cross-country championships as a junior, the expectations rose while the list got shorter.

What was left? The school record.

The record book may not stay forever Young, but it is for now. Young made the school standard his own during a sterling senior season that also saw him return to the state meet.

For his achievements, Young is the Daily Pilot Boys’ Cross-Country Athlete of the Year.

Young went into the Ocean View record book on Oct. 18, when he lowered his lifetime-best 3-mile time to 14 minutes 36.2 seconds in the Orange County championships at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado.

The time bettered the previous record of 14:51, established by Haissam Sabra at the Dana Hills Invitational in 1986.

“I always tell my coach what I want to do,” Young said. “Before a race, I’ll tell him, ‘I want to run this time,’ or, ‘I want to get in this position,’ and most of the time, that’s where I get and that’s what I get. O.C. Champs, I was already feeling sick, but I knew my training wasn’t bad. I knew my health wasn’t bad. It’s just [that] I was sick. I knew the only biggest problem I was going to have running was my breathing. … I tried to run a faster time, but I’m really grateful for the time that I did run.”

Young also claimed the Empire League championship, adding to his accomplishments after taking home the Golden West League title the previous season.

As a senior, Young was a known commodity, oftentimes serving as a measuring stick for others. Young remembers what it was like to look up to others, including Edwin Montes, who graduated from Ocean View in 2019.

Ocean View coach Daniel Hurtado compared Young to Montes and brothers Ryan and Jason St. Pierre, all key contributors to the Seahawks’ rise.

Ryan St. Pierre led the pack when Ocean View captured the Golden West League team title in 2016. Edwin Montes and Jason St. Pierre started on back-to-back state-qualifying teams, including the Seahawks’ initial state berth in 2017.

“With Edwin, there were multiple times, [same with] Maury, a minute faster than all of your teammates,” Hurtado said. “Most of his workouts, he did by himself. There were multiple instances at the park where I would just be writing down his splits, and I almost wished there were more people around to be like, ‘Did you see that?’

“It never looks like he is running as fast as he is, and that’s the same feeling I would get when I was coaching Edwin,” Hurtado added. “There’s just a fluidity on his stride. Then again, the competitiveness, knowing when to compete because the competition matters more than the times, and when to go for times. That’s something I feel like it reminded me of the St. Pierres.”

Ocean View placed second to Fullerton, 40-58, in the Empire League and came close to making it to the state meet as a team. Young said every time he needed motivation, he didn’t have to look further than his teammates, citing a bond formed from a preseason trip to Big Bear.

“My coach is big on our team’s connection,” Young said. “We have this Big Bear trip where we all kind of open up. Everyone on my team, I know their story, and they know mine. Every time I am unmotivated, [then] every time I see them, I’m motivated and it’s gone. Every hard feeling, everything I’m down about, it’s gone. When I’m running, I kind of block all of that off, and it’s just me and my team.”

Ocean View boys’ cross-country coach Daniel Hurtado hugs his runners after his team finished eighth in the Division 4 race of the CIF Southern Section finals on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

(James Carbone)

COACH OF THE YEAR

Daniel Hurtado

Ocean View

Ocean View fell short of its goal to advance to the state meet as a team this year, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Seahawks were the first team left out of the dance, finishing 16 points behind Big Bear for seventh place in the CIF Division 4 final. Under Hurtado’s leadership, Ocean View, the second-place team in the Empire League, was one of three local boys’ cross-country teams to advance to the section finals this season, a group that also included Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

Huntington Beach senior Michael Appell crosses the finish line third in the Sunset League finals on Saturday, Nov. 1.

(Andrew Turner)

FIRST TEAM

Michael Appell

Huntington Beach | Sr.

The Oilers’ frontrunner broke the 15-minute barrier in September with a time of 14:54.5 in the Woodbridge Classic, giving him a new personal record and something to build on for the rest of the season. Roughly a month later, he was a top-five finisher in the medium schools varsity race of the Orange County championships. He placed third in the Sunset League finals, helping the Oilers finish fourth as a team and qualify for the CIF preliminaries.

Ocean View senior Connor Dixon competes in an Empire League cluster meet on Sept. 10 at Central Park in Huntington Beach.

(Vincent Carabini)

Connor Dixon

Ocean View | Sr.

Dixon saved his best for last, as the senior established a new lifetime-best time of 15:31.5 on the Mt. San Antonio College rain course during the CIF finals. His 36th-place finish was a 41-position improvement from his junior year, a big reason the Seahawks found themselves in the hunt to make it to state as a team. The performance marked his fourth personal record of the season.

Fountain Valley junior Logan Kwong completes the course in the Sunset League finals on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Central Park in Huntington Beach.

(Andrew Turner)

Logan Kwong

Fountain Valley | Jr.

Kwong’s consistency saw him deliver four sub-16-minute times in six 3-mile races, including a personal record of 15:33.7 in the boys’ sweepstakes race of the Orange County championships. He finished eighth in the Sunset League finals, helping the Barons secure a spot in the CIF preliminaries with a second-place team showing behind Los Alamitos.

Sage Hill’s Zack Longo competes in the boys’ Division 5 race of the CIF Southern Section cross-country finals on Nov. 22 at Mt. San Antonio College.

(James Carbone)

Zack Longo

Sage Hill | So.

Longo won’t be a longshot to make some noise in the postseason as his career progresses. The emerging talent dropped his lifetime-best time to 15:29.9 at the Dana Hills Invitational, adding top-10 finishes in the Pacific Hills League finals (seventh) and the Brentwood Small School Invitational (ninth). He closed with a time of 15:37.6 (23rd) in the CIF Division 5 final.

Fountain Valley senior Ulysses Rios leads the pack during the Sunset League finals at Central Park in Huntington Beach on Saturday, Nov. 1.

(Eric Licas)

Ulysses Rios

Fountain Valley | Sr.

When he stepped on the scene as a sophomore, Rios had already contributed to the team score in a Surf League championship for the Barons two years ago. As a senior, Rios navigated to the front of the pack to pace Fountain Valley. He was the runner-up in the Sunset League finals, seven seconds behind Los Alamitos senior Matthew Mayhue. He broke the 15-minute barrier with a time of 14:49.8 in the Orange County championships at Oak Canyon Park.

Corona del Mar senior Kevin Steinman, right, races to the finish line in the Sunset League finals on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Central Park in Huntington Beach.

(Andrew Turner)

Kevin Steinman

Corona del Mar | Sr.

Max Douglass, the CIF Division 4 titleholder and the Daily Pilot Boys’ Cross-Country Athlete of the Year in 2024, was a tough act to follow. Steinman gave it a go and heated up late, placing fourth in the Sunset League finals, then following it up with a second-place finish in the Sea Kings’ heat of the CIF preliminaries. It proved vital, as CdM made the section finals with a cushion of just six points over Brea Olinda.

Fountain Valley senior Empire Vo-Courtney placed sixth in the Sunset League finals on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Central Park in Huntington Beach.

(Andrew Turner)

Empire Vo-Courtney

Fountain Valley | Sr.

In the category of you can’t make this stuff up, the Barons started an Empire. Vo-Courtney hadn’t broken 16 minutes before this season, then did it in five of six 3-mile races as a senior. He posted his personal record of 15:37.8 in the Central Park Invitational, then replicated the outing at the same venue in the Sunset League finals in a sixth-place showing.

SECOND TEAM

Name, School, Year

Aidan Algazi, Corona del Mar, Sr.

Zachary Byerley, Edison, Jr.

Khyler Bonaparte, Newport Harbor, Jr.

Elisha Case, Ocean View, Jr.

Ross Day, Corona del Mar, Jr.

Liam McRae, Laguna Beach, Sr.

Maddox Vann Nguyen, Marina, Jr.

Nate Yoo, Sage Hill, Jr.