Level guard Ari Richardson leaves massive sneakers to fill with the Columbia River boys basketball group, however the Rapids are in good palms along with his successor.
The senior ended his River profession eclipsing 1,000 profession factors and incomes second-team all-tournament honors after the Rapids took fourth place on the Class 2A state match in Yakima — this system’s finest end since 2009.
Richardson was a principal driver behind all three of River’s wins on the Yakima SunDome.
The week began with a 21-point, six-rebound, seven-steal efficiency in a Spherical of 12 win over Lakewood on Wednesday.
After a quarterfinal loss to Selah, the No. 11 seed Rapids upset No. 1 Lynden within the fourth-place semifinals Friday and Richardson hit 6-of-6 free throws within the last two minutes to seal the win.
The senior capped his profession by scoring a team-high 21 factors Saturday throughout a 78-59 win over Mark Morris within the fourth-place recreation.
Few had a greater view of Richardson’s play than Alex Pont, River’s sixth man who’s set to turn into its start line guard subsequent season. The junior gained invaluable expertise at state, taking part in a mean of quarter-hour throughout 4 video games, together with a 12-point effort within the Rapids’ season finale towards Mark Morris.
“It’s been great,” Pont stated after Saturday’s win. “This is my first season actually getting minutes and last year I was on the bench mostly the whole time. I got experience being on the bench and coming up here. … Me and Ari are best friends, we’ve been through a lot and it’s been fun.”
Together with Richardson, fellow seniors Aaron Hoey, John Reeder, Tyler Miles and Javen Fletch are all leaving this system after clinching a fourth-place trophy.
“It was super important (and) it was super important for my seniors too. I look up to them,” Pont stated. “It was great. It was good to get a win for them.”
Along with bringing dwelling {hardware}, the Rapids’ eight juniors, Pont included, obtained a really feel for enjoying a full week at state and now know what to anticipate going ahead. Juniors Luca Phillips, Kellen Clary and Josh Paxton additionally performed key minutes at state.
“It’s baby steps. Last we got here and got bounced in the Round of 12,” River coach Mark Ganter stated. “All those juniors that are there now, they have a taste of this. We’re trying to make this an every year thing.”
Richardson, too, is wanting ahead to seeing what the long run holds for the Rapids.
“Oh man,” Richardson stated, “I’ve played with these guys since, like, fourth grade, so I’m excited to watch what they’re going to do next year and I know they can go far.”
— Will Denner
Camas coach Thompson grateful as he steps down
Scott Thompson relished one final state match teaching each the Camas women basketball group and his daughter, senior level guard Keirra Thompson.
Thompson stated months in the past this season can be his final. It ended with a 58-53 loss to Auburn within the comfort spherical on Friday.
Sunday, Thompson posted a prolonged assertion on Fb reflecting on his teaching journey and thanking the Camas Excessive Faculty neighborhood.
“The community at Camas never disappointed, always wrapped their arms around their teams and was pivotal to the experience that we were able to give the girls,” Thompson wrote. “I am beyond grateful. Thank you.”
In seven seasons main the Papermakers, Thompson’s groups earned six state match berths. Camas received the 2024 state title, was runner-up in 2023 and positioned fourth in 2022.
Thompson started his highschool teaching profession with the Fort Vancouver boys. He led the Trappers to 5 postseason berths and received greater than 80 video games from 2006-2014.
“Stepping away is always hard,” Thompson wrote. “You will always have young players in your program that you don’t want to feel like you are leaving, and this is no different. This year was amazing. A young team that did everything right, they played hard and cared harder.”
— Micah Rice
Columbia River women coach guarantees changes
There was loads of good historical past that repeated this season for the Columbia River women basketball group.
The Rapids defended their Class 2A Better St. Helens League title and earned a second consecutive berth within the state quarterfinals, a spot this system hadn’t beforehand been since 1992.
However there’s additionally historical past Columbia River needs hadn’t reoccurred. The Rapids’ three losses within the state match had been precisely the identical as final 12 months.
Like final 12 months, River fell within the opening spherical to juggernaut Ellensburg. After successful within the Spherical of 12, the Rapids once more misplaced within the quarterfinals to conventional powerhouse Lynden in a blowout.
As soon as once more, it was Archbishop Murphy that ended the Rapids season on Friday.
Nevermind that Ellensburg, Lynden and Archbishop Murphy all positioned within the prime 4 the previous two years. Rapids coach Tee Anderson stated she plans on making changes after the Rapids misplaced these three video games this 12 months by a mean of 39.6 factors.
“I have to prepare them better because we’re here for a reason,” Anderson stated. “I think the girls forget how big of a deal it is being here with the top eight in the state.”
Anderson stated that would contain extra use of junior varsity boys on scout groups to imitate the power, measurement and pace that Columbia River had bother matching in Yakima.
“I have to prepare them really early on and give the girls a taste of what it’s always going to be like,” Anderson stated. “So when we get into these games we know exactly what’s going to happen.”
— Micah Rice
Seton Catholic women spring ahead after powerful loss
It may take a very long time for a group to recover from a tricky season-ending loss within the state basketball match.
For the Seton Catholic women, that course of begins this week when spring sports activities start.
These gamers received’t be idly dwelling on Friday’s 64-61 loss to Naches Valley, wherein Seton led by 17 factors getting into the fourth quarter. As an alternative the Cougars might be conserving these aggressive juices flowing on the college’s monitor and area or softball groups.
“I discourage players from specializing (in one sport),” Seton Catholic coach Phil Kent stated. “I want them competing because the more you compete for your community, which is what a high school is, there’s no feeling like that.”
Kent credit a lot of the basketball group’s success to your entire roster being multi-sport athletes. Senior publish Hailey Hammerstrom, for instance, was the goalkeeper final fall on the women soccer group that positioned third in state and a state qualifier final spring within the shot put.
“The more you experience that at a high level, that experience is going to stay with them,” Kent stated. “That is what helped us get here and what will help us get back next year.”
— Micah Rice
Seton Catholic boys attain finish of an period
Connections run deep between the Seton Catholic boys basketball group’s 5 seniors and coaches.
That’s why the Cougars’ 68-48 loss to Meridian within the Class 1A state fourth-place semifinals on Friday in Yakima felt like the tip of an period.
Seton Catholic coach Donald Wilson first coached seniors Rico George, Brady Angelo, Lance Lee and Tyler Tran once they had been sixth graders, and Wilson’s son, now-sophomore Kaiden Wilson, was a fourth grader working round along with his dad within the fitness center. All had been reunited for almost all of their highschool careers with the Cougars.
The relationships prolong to assistant coaches and gamers, too. George, for instance, grew up watching assistant Bronson King play at Prairie Excessive Faculty, and assistant Kellen Ball play at Seton Catholic.
“It’s a lot harder to see them play potentially their last bit of basketball,” stated Donald Wilson, Seton’s second-year head coach. “Just watching them from sixth grade to now, and understanding the development phase to get to this point has been amazing to watch.”
Together with fellow senior Mason Glassmire, Seton’s senior class achieved three straight journeys to the Yakima SunDome, together with a program-best sixth-place end in 2024. Their class bridged the hole between a number of eras of this system, first reaching Yakima in 2023 with a senior class led by Jack Jenniges, then turned the faces of this system as upperclassmen, together with Kaiden Wilson, a two-time Trico League MVP.
“They’ve really set the bar, I believe, for what the next couple years could look like for Seton,” Donald Wilson stated. “Now, it’s just up to us to continue to figure out how to do that. Put the pieces together with the group we have coming back. … Those are big shoes to fill, but I think Seton will be able to do that.”
— Will Denner