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Lessons from legends: Moffat County basketball pays tribute to alumni

Mike LeWarne shakes hands with fellow Moffat County High School basketball alumni during the halftime Legends ceremony.
Andy Bockelman

With decades of experience among their guests of honor Saturday afternoon, Moffat County High School boys basketball may have found a great new tradition.

The inaugural Legends game for Bulldog boys hoops saluted some of its best athletes to grace the court during MCHS’s history as they made a return to the home floor.

The Moffat County High School spirit squad and band perform during the halftime Legends ceremony.
Andy Bockelman

During halftime of the boys’ game with Aspen, 23 former Bulldogs marched onto the court, with some less than 10 years gone from their time at the school and others having graduated more than a half-century ago.



Larry Seip represented MCHS’s Class of 1955.

“I guess I’m the oldest one here,” Seip chuckled. “They seem a lot younger and a lot faster these days.”



The specialty t-shirts for included an additional honor for a former Bulldog, Lester Cooney, who graduated in 1954 and passed away in early November, which hit Seip somewhat hard.

“I’ve known him for a lot of my life. He was a good buddy. We came to a lot of these games together,” he said. “That’s why I really appreciate this.”

Moffat County High School boys basketball Legends honorees

Player — Graduation year

Larry Seip — 1955

Pete Pleasant — 1957

Gary Miller — 1966

Jim Loughran — 1968

Gene Miller — 1969

Darrell Camilletti — 1969

Allen Jenkins — 1973

Scott Cook — 1975

Brad Neptune — 1979

Rich King — 1981

Glenn Duzik — 1985

Kevin Peck — 1987

Junior Najera — 1989

Izzy Gomez — 1990

Chris Jones — 1992

Mike LeWarne — 1992

Keith Zulian — 1998

Luke Tucker — 1998

Trinidad Loya — 1999

Mike Charchalis — 2002

Joe Padon — 2003

George Raftopoulos — 2004

Thomas Noble — 2009

Mike Peters — 2009

Wyatt Oberwitte — 2013

Among the honorees were current basketball staff — such as girls coaches Jim Loughran and Joe Padon — plus past coaches and parents of current and recent players.

Most of the Legends have remained in Craig since graduating and have gone on to become business fixtures in the community, such as Scott Cook, owner of Cook Chevrolet and Cook Ford.

“It’s a really cool deal they had. We need a good tradition like this,” Cook said. “Really good programs have good traditions, and that starts with winning. That means something that they can play for and progress.”


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