Cedar City athletes nominated for national All American basketball honors

L-R: Senior basketball players Japrix Weaver of Cedar High, Mayci Torgerson of Cedar and Trevor Farrow of Canyon View are seen in action during the 2019-20 season. Each of the three has been nominated for this year's McDonald's All American Games. File photos taken in Cedar City, Utah by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Three high school basketball players from Southern Utah’s Region 9 have been nominated for this year’s McDonald’s All American Games, an annual all-star event that features top players from around the country.

Mayci Torgerson of Cedar makes a pair of late free throws to seal the Reds’ 57-52 win over Desert Hills, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 29, 2019 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Cedar City High School seniors Mayci Torgerson and Japrix Weaver are among the seven Utah nominees, while Canyon View High School’s Trevor Farrow made the list of boys nominees, which also had just seven names from Utah. To view the complete nationwide list of more than 900 seniors, click here.

“There’s a lot of talented players in Utah and the fact that we were nominated is awesome,” Torgerson told Cedar City News Friday night after the Reds’ 90-25 home victory over Crimson Cliffs.

Torgerson, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, and Weaver, a 6-foot-0 guard/forward, are the leading scorers and rebounders for the Reds, who are off to a 12-2 start this season. Last year, with the same starting five players, Cedar went 25-0 and won the 4A state championship.

Earlier this week, Torgerson scored her 1,000th career point during Cedar’s 70-29 win at Canyon View on Wednesday. She’s averaging 16.9 points per game this season, along with 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Meanwhile, Weaver is averaging 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.6 assists per game this season. She is the current student body president at Cedar High and also has starred on the school’s softball and volleyball teams.

Additionally, Weaver threw javelin and Torgerson ran hurdles as they helped Cedar win the state 4A track title last year by one point.

In addition to their offensive versatility on the basketball court, both Weaver and Torgerson are also known for their defensive prowess, helping the Lady Reds hold their opponents to an average of 39 points per game over the past two seasons.

“I think it just shows that hard work pays off. I know that Japrix has been in the gym so many hours, and I have, too,” Torgerson said. “It just feels good to be recognized, especially since there are only seven girls in Utah, and especially since we’re from the same team, it makes it really special.”

Meanwhile, at Canyon View High on the northern side of Cedar City, Farrow is leading the Falcons in scoring this season with a per-game average of 17.7 points. The 6-foot-1 point guard has converted 57 3-pointers over 15 games for an average of 3.8 per game. Farrow also averages 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals.

Canyon View’s Trevor Farrow makes a layup off a steal to end the first half against Hurricane, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 30, 2019 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“He’s been playing at a high level for a long time, playing a lot of basketball and putting a lot of time in,” Canyon View head coach Rob Potter said of Farrow, whom he’s watched play since Farrow was in first grade.

Potter also spoke of Farrow’s leadership qualities, noting that the three-year starter has assumed a larger role with the team this season.

Potter said that during the past nine years he has coached, the only other Canyon View player who was a McDonald’s All American nominee was Brantzen Blackner, a 2018 CVHS graduate who now plays for Snow College.

Although Farrow isn’t as tall as Blackner, he shares his predecessor’s playmaking ability and a knack for leading the offense, Potter said.

“He’s not 6-4, like Brantzen, so he’s not getting the college offers that Brantzen got, but he’s pretty special player,” Potter said of Farrow. “Obviously, mainly he’s a scorer, but he’s really gotten better at defense this year.”

McDonald’s released the list of more than 900 student-athletes earlier this week. Final rosters are scheduled to be announced Jan. 23. A total of 24 girls and 24 boys will make the cut, with a dozen players each rounding out the respective East and West squads.

The games are scheduled to be played April 1 at the Toyota Center in Houston. For further details, visit the McDonald’s All American Games website.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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