April 23, 2008

Night Of Champions Photo Gallery

LAS VEGAS - Under the guidance of UNLV offensive line coach Keith Uperesa, Team Flair took home the title at the 3rd annual Night of Champions, held under sunny skies at Rebel Park on Wednesday.

Signaling the symbolic end of spring practice for the Rebels, the event pitted eight teams in a series of non-football competitions. Earlier this spring UNLV went through 15 spring practices, including last Friday's annual Scarlet-Gray game, and also the team put in a lot of conditioning work.

Scored skill events on this night included a sled push, sled pull, distance run, weight plate relay and the grand finale, Rebel Challenge obstacle course. Team Flair will be recognized as 2008 champions in the Lied Athletic Complex's Ernie Becker Sr. Strength and Conditioning Center for the next year.

"It was a great night of competition that had a lot of hard and difficult events," said UNLV head coach Mike Sanford. "It was a great way to end spring workouts."

Also, at the beginning of the event, Sanford announced that four Rebels had earned scholarships for next fall for their hard work, attitude and academic performance. Those individuals were Ben Jaekle (Las Vegas, NV/Bonanza HS), Tate Knutson (Anchorage, AK/East HS), Kyle Watson (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Alta Loma HS) and Rusty Worthen (Las Vegas, NV/Palo Verde HS).

2008 NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS FINAL STANDINGSPL TEAM1. Team Flair2. Team Worthen3. Team Summers4. Team Wolfe5. Team Pili6. Team Hales7. Team Peeples8. Team Howard

Winning Team Roster:Casey Flair (Anchorage, AK/East HS), WRTravis Dixon (Chandler, AZ/Hamilton HS), QBAdam Gent (Bremerton, WA/Bremerton HS), LBEvan Marchal (Petaluma, CA/Casa Grande HS), OLYusef Rodgers (Van Nuys, CA/Crespi HS), OLHeivaha Mafi (Oakland, CA/San Lorenzo HS), LBBryce Saldi (Southlake, TX/Southlake Carroll HS), LBAustin Harrington (Grapevine, TX/Grapevine HS), TE