Kadena guards looking to end seasons without injuries and with titles

Josh Cope lifts Christian Luckey on the mat.

Sophomores Christian Luckey of Kadena and Josh Cope of Kubasaki wrestle at 139 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – One guard’s season ended dismally as he suffered a knee injury just before Far East. The other guard’s campaign began with her on the sideline, but ended in the best of possible ways.

Jaden Patsel and Jazlene Vergara begin their senior years on Kadena’s basketball teams with the same goal – ending their respective seasons by winning their last games.

“Back to back. That’s the goal,” Vergara said of her Panthers girls team, which won their eighth Far East Division I Tournament title last February but first in nine years.