Year-Rounders
C ongrats to senior Joe Gutwein (l), sophomore Ryan Close (c ) and freshman Brayden Boice (r ) for being co-champions of Conval Hoop Heritage’s just-for-fun Bracket Madness challenge. Across the country, just about everyone’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament brackets crumbled thanks to early round upsets. But Joe, Ryan and Brayden were equally successful in getting their favorite teams to the Sweet Sixteen. (Unfortunately, no girls participated in Madness this year.) Thanks to the generosity of Conval basketball alumni, the guys received a Wilson EVO Nxt basketball as incentive to keep playing hoop all year long. Joe, a NH Basketball Coaches Organization first team all state selection, led D2 and the Cougars in scoring this past season. He is currently playing with the New England Jayhawks AAU team, and is also a starter on Conval’s baseball team. Ryan, a starting guard on this year’s varsity, and Brayden, who played on the Reserve/Freshmen team, are both playing ball this off sea