Three participate in All Star Week

Braden Schiller
NLJ Reporter
 
Three Weston County residents participated in the Wyoming Coaches Association All Star Week in July. The event consisted of the association’s coaches clinic, Hall of Fame banquet and all-star volleyball and basketball games. 
Jess Claycomb, of Upton, played in the basketball game on July 24. At the same event, Upton Bobcats head coach Joe Samuelson and assistant coach Nick Johnson received the award for 1A Coach and 1A Assistant Coach of the Year at the hall of fame banquet on July 23.
“It was just … it was an honor to play. It was just a great opportunity to meet all those guys. They’re not just great players on the court, but they’re just really good guys to be around, and it was just a fun environment down there,” Claycomb said. “They had lots of activities for us to do and a bunch of fun stuff to do after every practice, so it was really a good opportunity.”
Samuelson has coached the Bobcats for six years and taken the team to six state tournaments, as well as winning one state championship.
“It was nice, in lieu of our accomplishments, that we had this season, such as coming off a state championship, and so I kind of look at that award as a team award that we did something special,” Samuelson said. “I look at that (award), for the whole team, I guess, because I wouldn’t have got it (the award) without the players and the hard work they put in — my assistant coach, administration, my family, my wife and kids.
A lot of people put in a lot of time. And so, I look at that award as being earned and I was aided by a lot of different people.”
Johnson, who grew up in Newcastle, has also been with the Bobcats for six years.
Johnson is Upton Middle School’s head football coach and Upton High School’s social studies teacher.
The all-star players are chosen by a committee of high school coaches. Nominations are based on a player’s performance at conference, according to a WyoPreps article by David Settle.
Claycomb, a 2021 graduate of Upton High School, was the only Weston County student selected to play in an all-star game.
The all-star basketball team was made up of players, including Claycomb, from northern Wyoming. They faced an opposing team from southern Wyoming. The game went into overtime, with the south team pulling out a win 97-96, according to the WyoPreps article.