Newton youth basketball team takes third place

ST. PAUL — An eighth-grade boys’ basketball team from Newton placed third at the 2018 Pacesetter Great Five-State Championships in St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 4-5.

Newton Cardinal team members were Adam Mattes, Zay Arguello, Caleb Lawson, Kael Swarts, Treycen Garton, Keith Moko, Cole Conner, Breyton Schwenker and Cole Neal. The team is coached by Steve Mattes and Troy Garton.

“This team has been together since fourth grade,” said Lori Mattes, team representative. “They are a great group of boys and are consistently commented on having the best sportsmanship. They have done extremely well over the last few years.”

There were teams from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Newton was the Iowa runner-up team to Cedar Rapids Jefferson as both teams qualified for the five-state tournament.

Newton opened the tournament with a 36-23 victory against Lyman, S.D., playing at Target Center, home of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. The Cardinals dropped a 47-29 decision in the semifinals to New Berlin, Wisc., at Concordia University-St. Paul.

New Berlin beat Cedar Falls Jefferson in the championship contest.

The Cardinals bounced back to win the third-place game, 42-34, against Minnesota runner-up WSST at the Target Center.

This Newton team played in the same five-state tournament as seventh graders.

Pacesetter, based in Paynesville, Minn., conducts basketball and volleyball camps and basketball tournaments in five states.