Dedeic, Dunn capture Pahrump VFW horseshoes tournament
Dan Dunn and Mike Dedeic had to work overtime but came away with the victory in a horseshoes tournament Saturday hosted by the Clyde E. Newman Jr. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10054 in Pahrump.
Dunn and Dedeic went undefeated through the main draw of the tournament, then faced Joe Kalache and DJ Zuloaga, who came out of the losers bracket, for the championship.
“It came down to Joe and DJ and Dennis (Andersen) and Shelby (Brehn) in the losers bracket to see who played Dan and Mike,” said Lathan Dilger, president of the Southern Nevada Horseshoe Pitchers Association.
Both teams had been sent to the losers bracket after losing to Dunn and Dedeic.
But it was Kalache and Zuloaga who earned the right to a rematch, and they won the first game against Dunn and Dedeic to force a deciding final game for the tournament title.
“They had to beat Dan and Mike twice to win, and both were close games,” Dilger said. “It was a nail-biter.”
Dunn and Dedeic split $50 for first place, while Kalache and Zuloaga split $30 for second. Andersen and Brehn shared $20 for finishing third.
The VFW tournament also featured a cornhole competition, which was won by Mike Nicosia — coincidentally the senior vice president of the VFW Auxiliary — and Randy Salzwimmer, who went undefeated to share the $50 first-place prize. Brehn teamed with Dave Barefield to place second, while Dunn and Russ Jacobs finished third.
The entry fee for each tournament was $5.
“I’d like to thank Mike Nicosia and Commander Marty Aguilar for putting on such a great event,” Dilger said. “It was very hot, but we had ice cold beer and water and a very nice chicken dinner.”
Dilger said the VFW will be holding cornhole tournaments every other month. The schedule will be on Facebook.
Next up for horseshoes pitchers will be a tournament sanctioned by the state governing body, the Neal Schulte Open on Sept. 19 at the Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort in Las Vegas.
The state tournament, originally scheduled for August, will be played Oct. 10 at the Joe Friel Sports Complex in Tonopah.
