To the center of the state we go for the second leg of this state-tourney-recap triathlon, where the Class 2A and 1A boys and girls battled for supremacy in Yakima.
You can find a recap of Class 4A and 3A here, and of Class 2B and 1B here. Without further ado:
2A Boys
Results
First: Clarkston
Second: Shorecrest
Third: Lynden
Fourth: River Ridge
Fifth: Tumwater
Sixth: Wapato
Recap
No surprise here — Clarkston won its second straight title. But Shorecrest made it much tougher than most people expected, battling the Bantams back and forth the entire game before Clarkston star Trevon Allen sealed a 60-59 win with a free throw in the final seconds. The Scots were a true surprise this postseason, a group that was rarely (if ever) ranked during the regular season emerging during February as the most talented team on the west side of the state. Don’t expect a repeat performance next year, though, considering Shorecrest will return to its rightful place in Class 3A. Lynden edged Tumwater 54-52 in the third-place game, the third straight thriller in a high-stress weekend for the Thunderbirds. River Ridge, the state’s No. 1 team at the end of the regular season, bounced back with two consolation wins after losing by ten to Shorecrest in the quarterfinals.
Three to watch next season
Lynden
Star Sterling Somers moves on, but the Lions will again be a top-five team, with rising sophomore forwards Christian Zamora and James Marsh representing the next generation.
Mark Morris
The Monarchs were a top-ten team for most of the season before being bounced in regionals by Ellensburg. They should be even better next year, with three of their four leading scorers coming back, including guard Will Burghardt.
Mountlake Terrace
The Hawks went 16-7 this year as a Class 3A team and posed a stiff challenge to Bellevue in the regional round. Replacing Shorecrest as the lone 2A team in Wesco for the new four-year cycle, they could emerge as a powerhouse.
1A Boys
Results
First: King’s
Second: Freeman
Third: Kalama
Fourth: Zillah
Fifth: King’s Way Christian
Sixth: Hoquiam
Recap
Thanks to a draw that placed the three best teams in the classification (King’s, Lynden Christian and Zillah) on one side of the bracket, we were left with the most lopsided championship game of them all: King’s 80, Freeman 39. Zillah put up a much, much better fight against the Knights in the quarterfinals, leading by a point going into the fourth quarter, but King’s escaped with a 65-63 win. From there, Leopards rolled over Medical Lake and Hoquiam in consolation games to take fourth. Then there’s Kalama, which was sitting at a ho-hum 10-7 record when the calendar turned to February but turned on the jets at the perfect time, picking up big victories over Cashmere and King’s Way Christian to notch an impressive third-place finish.
Three to watch next season
King’s
Much of the core will leave for greener pastures, but by far the biggest piece — star wing Corey Kispert, a top-100 national recruit — will be back. That means the Knights are the favorites to complete a three-peat.
Zillah
The Leopards should again be the best team in central Washington, with wing Trey Delp and guard Nate Whitaker the new leaders of the pack. Wait, leopards are solitary, aren’t they. Shoot.
Cashmere
Replacing scoring machine Parker Landdeck won’t be easy, but the Bulldogs lose just one other member from this year’s state qualifiers.
2A Girls
Results
First: Shorecrest
Second: Lynden
Third: East Valley
Fourth: Washougal
Fifth: Ellensburg
Sixth: Black Hills
Recap
In a year when the 2A classification seemed to be without any dominant team, it’s only fitting that a team from a 3A league came down and seized the crown. Shorecrest topped Lynden in the title game, 49-43, after thumping Washougal and East Valley in the first two rounds. That gives the Scots the rare achievement of having beaten the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers — a good way to leave no doubt of who’s the best. Washougal responded to that first-round setback in fabulous fashion, coming back to defeat Anacortes and Black Hills to wrap up fourth place. Black Hills experienced the most unusual road bump of any team this weekend when freshman post Maisy Williams (not to be confused with Maisie Williams) had to leave Yakima after the quarterfinals to fly to Yakima for a choir engagement.
Three to watch next season
Lynden
The Lions should be the clear favorites to bring home the state title next year. They return all of their major contributors, including guard Elisa Kooiman and her 18.5 points per game.
Black Hills
Barring any unforeseen setbacks, the Wolves will be back in Yakima next season to improve on a sixth-place finish. Williams returns, as do EvCo 2A co-MVP Emma Duff and heady point guard Lindsey Nurmi.
Mark Morris
Painfully young and inexperienced this season, the Monarchs nonetheless mounted a charge to state. Expect another big step forward next year with every key player coming back.
1A Girls
Results
First: Lynden Christian
Second: King’s
Third: Granger
Fourth: Kalama
Fifth: Nooksack Valley
Sixth: Columbia (Burbank)
Recap
King’s led by four points to start the fourth quarter of the championship game against Lynden Christian, but the Lyncs roared back to win 43-38 and prevent the Knights from completing a second straight boys-girls sweep of the 1A titles. King’s wasn’t seriously challenged in the first two rounds, but Lynden Christian struggled with Cashmere in the quarterfinals before pulling out a 51-40 win. Granger three-point-bombed its way to a third-place finish over Nooksack Valley. And bravo to the Chinooks of Kalama, who dominated the interior while grinding their way to the first trophy in program history
Three to watch next season
Lynden Christian
State tournament MVP Kara Bajema and sharp-shooting Haley Hollander will graduate, but pretty much everyone else on the roster returns for this juggernaut from just south of the Canadian border.
King’s
It’s much the same story at the classification’s other dominant program: Stars Daylee Hanson and Anna Parker won’t be back, but the rest of a very talented roster will.
Okanogan
A few seniors move on, but Townsend (24.3 points per game) and partner-in-crime Jordyn Boesel (12.6 points per game) will be enough to make the Bulldogs contenders in their return to Class 1A after bringing home back-to-back 2B titles.