winter sports preview

IN THESPOTLIGHT

Morton-White Pass’ Kaleb Poquette and

Mossyrock’s Jaron Kirkley are two of the

top players in the state — and they’ll both be competing for a C2BL

championship.

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW

2 • Special Section • The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash. Saturday, Dec. 12CH550872cb

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IN THIS PREVIEW...

What to Watch 31A Girls 4-51A Boys 6-72B Girls 8-92B Boys 10-112A Girls 12-132A Boys 14-15

ON ThE cOVER: Morton-White Pass’ Kaleb Poquette (above) and Mossyrock’s Jaron Kirkley (right) are both seniors and returning All-State players. (Photos by Pete Caster / [email protected])

Special Section • The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash. Saturday, Dec. 12 • 3

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By Aaron VanTuyl

[email protected]

Every basketball season brings a little something special to which the fans can look forward. The 2015-16 edition of the prep bas-ketball season, of course, is no different — from big legacies to uphold, to up-and-coming teams expecting to break into the state’s top tier. Here’s a few things to look for as this season kicks off.

1. EAST cOuNTy ShOWdOWN. An All-State selection is one of the highest honors a prep player can receive, and to have two All-State players in the same league typi-cally points to a high caliber of play. To have two All-State first-team play-ers coming back to that league for their senior season is certainly a note worth mentioning — especially when they play for rival teams. Kaleb Poquette and Jaron Kirkley bring that level of competition to the Central 2B League (and, not coinciden-tally, to the cover of this year’s prep bas-ketball preview). At this point Kirkley, Mossyrock’s dynamic guard/forward, has the num-bers, and Poquette, Morton-White Pass’ game-tested point guard, has the wins. Poquette’s been a starter for three years, the last two of which have been without a single loss; Kirkley put up jaw-dropping numbers last season (24.6 points a game, 11.8 rebounds a game) with memorable explosions (21 points in the fourth quar-ter against Adna and a handful of game-

winning shots).What will this year bring for two of the state’s best players remains to be seen, but the best chances to find out will be their head-to-head meetings. Mossyrock hosted MWP on Thursday, and they’ll meet again on Jan. 22 in Randle.

2. NEW ANd ImPROVEd SWAmP cuP. The Twin Cities rivalry, as far as girls basketball is concerned, has been a one-sided affair for the past five seasons. Centralia’s last win came in January of 2010, and W.F. West has won the last four Evergreen 2A Conference championships and been to three straight State 2A championship game. Could this be the year that changes? Centralia has one of the better back-courts in the league in seniors Alyx Fast and Madi Crews, a pair of guards savvy enough to give any pressing defense headaches and talented enough to score from beyond the 3-point arc, at the rim or on midrange jumpers. And there’ll be a bit of intrigue in this year’s two regular-season games, as the Bearcats are now coached by Tom Kelly — the Tigers’ head coach during Fast and Crews’ freshman and sophomore years. That’s not to say the Bearcats are down and out, by any means. Star guards Jessica McKay and Shasta Lofgren are back in the lineup, and a crop of fresh-men and sophomores offer plenty of depth to run Kelly’s fast-paced offense and high-pressure defense.

3. NEW-LOOk PIRATES. Kenya Lorton and Devanie Kleemeyer’s move from

Napavine to Adna had an immediate impact. The Pirate girls soccer team lost just one game all season — in an over-time shootout, against eventual champi-on Okanogan — to finish third, running rampant through the Central 2B League regular season and District 4 playoffs. Whether or not they’ll be able to find the same success on the hardwood remains to be seen, as Lorton and Kleemeyer team up with returning starters Shanay Dotson and Samantha Rolfe on a Pirate squad tied with defending league cham-pion Toutle Lake atop the Central 2B League preseason coaches poll. Napavine, however, returns every other player from a young squad that finished second in the District 4 tourna-ment and qualified for the State 2B play-offs, meaning the teams’ regular-season meetings — tonight in Adna, and Jan. 23 in Napavine — should be meaningful on more than just a playoff-seedings stand-point.

4. NEW FAcES ON ThE SIdELINES. There’s plenty of new faces in the Lewis Coun-ty coaching ranks this year. W.F. West hired a new boys coach (math teacher Chris White) and a new girls coach (Tom Kelly, former head coach at, in order, White Pass, River Ridge, Morton-White Pass and Centralia). Winlock brought in former Adna assistant Nick Bamer to take over for Dennis Tauscher as the head boys coach, while Adna brought in Willapa Valley product and former Olympia High School coach Luke Salme to take head boys coach Casey Dotson’s

spot on the bench. On the C2BL girls side, Mossyrock athletic director Darin Bullock has taken over coaching duties for the Lady Vikings, while longtime as-sistant Tom Griffith has done the same at Morton-White Pass.

5. yOuTh VS. ExPERIENcE. No preseason re-port on Lewis County basketball would be complete without at least a mention of the Centralia-W.F. West boys basket-ball rivalry. The Bearcats broke a dubi-ous streak last Saturday with a win over Rochester, getting the monkey off of their collective backs after an 0-21 season in 2014-15, and should improve through-out the season with a roster featuring a handful of promising sophomores (Dakota Hawkins, Brandon White and Nole Wollan) and solid seniors (Adam Schwarz, Nolan Hawkins and Hayden Dobyns) under new coach Chris White. Across town, however, Centralia is off to a slow start with its top two scorers, Hodges Bailey and Christian Peters, out with injuries. Bailey and Peters are two of the better 3-point shooters in the Ever-green 2A Conference, and Bailey is com-ing off of All-League and All-Area selec-tions last year as a sophomore. The duo, combined with forward Nolan Wasson, should eventually be enough to keep the Tigers competitive in the Evergreen 2A Conference, but determining exactly what that all means for local bragging rights will come down to Jan. 15 (in Cen-tralia) and Feb. 4 (in Chehalis).

Five Storylines to Follow This Season

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1A Girls

Rochester WarriorscOAch: AJ Easley (eighth)2014-15: 15-6, 12-2 league (second) RETuRNING STARTERS: Joni Lancaster, Madison

JusticekEy NEWcOmERS: Courtney Baird, Ariel Saxon,

Alexis Seymour, Hunter Hahn, Kiah Horger, Kirsten Angelly

Tenino BeaverscOAch: Tano Bailon (second)2014-15: 5-14, 3-11 (seventh) RETuRNING STARTERS: Merissa Richardson,

Keilah Dowies, Lannie Dowies, Ryann Wachter-Strange, Felicia Grubbe

kEy NEWcOmERS: Abbi Dirks, Dana McCaslin, Ashlynn Sullivan, Alexandria Vestal, Kaylee Schow, Rhian Mathis, Charlie Letts

By The Chronicle

It’s hard to fathom that a Mon-tesano girls team that is coming off two unbeaten regular seasons and two league championships that the Bulldogs are coming into the 2015 campaign without a single senior on their roster. Montesano returns 6-foot-1 All-State junior post Jordin Sprad-lin, who averaged 18.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, along with second-team All-League se-lection Shayla Floch. While the Bulldogs will be looking to go undefeated once again, Rochester will look to un-seat them after finishing 12-2 in league play last year. The Warriors featured the second-best defense in the Evergreen 2A/1A League, allowing just 34.6 points per game.

Rochester returns starters Joni Lancaster and Madison Justice but according to head coach AJ Eas-ley, the Warriors will need to stay healthy and have players step up into unfamiliar roles. Newcomers for Rochester in-clude Courtney Baird, Ariel Sax-on, Alexis Seymour, Hunter Hahn, Kiah Horger and Kirsten Angelly. Finishing tied with Elma for third place in the league last year is defense-minding Hoquiam. The Grizzlies return senior shooting guard Kelci Parker and sopho-more guard Karlie Krohn, while point guards Arielle Burnett and Brandi Parson will get the Ho-quiam offense out and running in the open. Elma was a game short of re-gionals last year, but only lost one returning starter from their roster.

Three seniors, all-league guard Maddie Thompson, guard Jor-dann Hall and Conley Doyle will form a key nucleus for the team. Aberdeen finished 5-9 in league play last year and while lacking in size, will look to turn up the tempo out on the court. They return three starters from last year — seniors Mkenna Roiko and Erin Kuhn along with junior point guard Dani Buckman. Tenino will need to be fast and aggressive if they want to im-prove on their 3-11 league record. They’ll return Merissa Richard-son, Keilah Dowies, Lannie Dow-ies, Ryann Wachter-Strange and Felicia Grubbe to the lineup. Teni-no coach Tano Bailon expects an outside attack and pressing on a lot of fast breaks.

Spradlin, Montesano the Favorites in Evergreen 2A/1A


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1A Girls

PLAyERS TO WATchJORdIN SPRAdLIN, F, mONTESANO All-State junior averaged 18.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last season during Mon-tesano’s second-straight unde-feated league campaign

mAdISON JuSTIcE, F, ROchESTER Justice will be a key cog for the Warriors as they try to work the ball to their 5-11 post.

JONI LANcASTER, G, ROchESTER Speed isn’t a problem for Lan-caster, who thrives on the fast-break and making big defensive plays

mAddIE ThOmPSON, G, ELmA An all-league guard last sea-son, this senior will be hoping to put Elma over the hump and into regionals

Evergreen 2A/1A DivisionGirls Basketball

2015-16 Preseason Poll1. Montesano2. Eatonville3. Rochester4. Hoquiam

5. Aberdeen6. Tenino

7. Forks 8. Elma

The Chronicle / File Photo

Joni Lancaster (left) provides a speedy threat at guard for Rochester.


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1A Boys

By The Chronicle On paper the Evergreen 2A/1A League looks to tip in Aberdeen’s favor. But considering the Bobcats — who went 14-0 in league play last year — couldn’t make it out of districts and had their head coach resign, maybe you can’t consider this league locked up by any stretch of the imagination. Still, Aberdeen returns seniors Payton Campbell, Mark James, Chandler Craigs and Rodney Hamm. Campbell at guard will dictate the offense, while Hamm will provide points as shooting guard and the 6-foot-5 James and 6-6 Craig will pro-vide the size on a roster that doesn’t have many players on the roster below 6-foot. They’ll need that size against a pow-erful Hoquiam offense that scored at least 60 points 12 times last season when they finished third in the league with a 10-4 record. They return all-leaguer Jack Adams III and junior post Gregory Dick while point guard Jerod Steen will con-trol the offense at point.

Tenino was in the middle of the pack last year with a 7-7 league record but returns two-time All-League post Ni-hls Peterson, along with senior guards Thomas Pier and Tano Bailon. Taking care of the ball and playing tough defense to keep the game within reach will be the Beavers strategy. They have a few new weapons as All-League football player Kaleb Strawn can gobble up the rebounds and another football player, Spencer Brewer, should contrib-ute as well. Size will matter for an Elma squad that finished 5-9 in league play last year. The Eagles will feature 6-foot-8 center Kolton Emerson, 6-6 Blake Sackrider and 6-4 Elijah Martin — all seniors look-ing to improve on their 2014-15 record. Seven seniors total will be playing on the Eagles’ roster. While Elma has seniors aplen-ty, Montesano also has a glut of experienced players with 11 returners

Evergreen 2A/1A Up for Grabs

please see BOyS, page 7The Chronicle / File Photo

Nihls Peterson will once again be a big part of Tenino’s offense and defense.


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1A Boys

Rochester WarriorscOAch: Mark Goldrick (fifth)2014-15: 2-18, 2-12 league (seventh)RETuRNING STARTERS: Noah Escott,

Josh Kennedy, Brandon RogerskEy NEWcOmERS: Tiki Hickle, Brock

Hawes, Andrew Filmore, Jake Valley, Ri-ley Erickson, Keegan Goldrick, Stephen Robinson, Cayson Yackovich, Ron Valley

Tenino BeaverscOAch: Josef Chirhart (second)2014-15: 11-11; 7-7 league (fourth) RETuRNING STARTERS: Thomas Pier,

Tano Bailon, Nihls PetersonkEy NEWcOmERS: Kaleb Strawn, Spen-

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Evergreen 2A/1A DivisionBoys Basketball

2015-16 Preseason Poll1. Aberdeen2. Eatonville3. Hoquiam

4. Montesano5. Tenino

6. Elma7. Rochester

8. Forks

PLAyERS TO WATchPAyTON cAmPBELL, G, ABERdEEN After his Bobcats went undefeat-ed in league play last year, Campbell is one of many returning players that should make the Bobcats a top contenderJEROd STEEN, G, hOquIAm Jerod Steen will return as the point guard for an offense that scored over 60 points 12 times last seasonJAck AdAmS III, G, hOquIAm An all-league returner for the Grizzlies that should keep their of-fensive output humming.NIhLS PETERSON, F, TENINO Peterson has been a first-team all-league for the last two seasons so expect him to continue to be a force in the leagueTIkI hIckLE, F, ROchESTER After transferring from Elma, Hickle gives a tall Rochester squad even more height

from last year’s 5-9 squad. Third-year coach Doug Galloway will be resting his hopes on a breakout season with a trio of seniors — 6-foot-4 post Kaleb Chastain, 6-1 post Alex Hopsecger and point guard and three-year varsity starter Logan Tru-ax. Rochester is coming off a two-win season, but had a plethora of newcom-ers including all-league football player Tiki Hickle. Returning on the size-laden roster is Noah Escott, Josh Kennedy and Brandon Rogers. The Warriors will be looking to improve on a defense that gave the second-highest amount of points last year and had the highest margin of de-feat. Forks also finished with two wins last year and gave up a league-worst 66.8 points per game.

BoysContinued from page 8


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2B Girls

Adna PiratescOAch: Chris Bannish (3rd)2014-15: 15-11 (4th in C2BL; lost in

regionals)RETuRNING STARTERS: Shanay Dotson,

Sam RolfekEy NEWcOmERS: Kenya Lorton,

Devanie Kleemeyer, Isabella Elwood, Dar-ian Humphrey, Lili Glover

morton-White PasscOAch: Tom Griffith (first)2014-15: 13-11 (5th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Sharon Hazen,

Haley Kolb, Christine Robbins, Colby Armstrong

kEy NEWcOmERS: Jenessa Walton, Kyla Goble, Tatym Smathers, Kaylee Miller, Krystal Wright, Sierra Dotson

mossyrock VikingscOAch: Darin Bullock (first)2014-15: 4-16 (9th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Paige MoorcroftkEy NEWcOmERS: Clementine Schultz,

Jamie Carlson, Haylee Hadaller, Ava Nel-son, Lainee Grose

Napavine TigerscOAch: Jeremy Landram (3rd)2014-15: 20-7 (3rd in C2BL; 0-2 at state)RETuRNING STARTERS: Mollie Olson,

Grace Hamre, Rylee White, Karley Born-stein, Melissa Lee

kEy NEWcOmERS: Becca Snaza, Jenna Sisson, Maddie Thompson, Ashley Dickin-son, Maddie Doughty, Lucy Sevilla

Onalaska LoggerscOAch: Dracy McCoy (2nd)2014-15: 11-12 (5th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Nicolle Duryea,

Ronnie Kinsman, Maddy Dalsted, Gabby Wright

kEy NEWcOmERS: Kasey Hoyt, Heather Pannkuk

Pe Ell TrojanscOAch: Chris Phelps (3rd)2014-15: 7-16 (7th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Hailey Compton,

Dakota BrookskEy NEWcOmERS: Railey Smith, Savanah

Skeen

Toledo IndianscOAch: J.B. Ewers (6th)2014-15: 7-16 (8th in league)RETuRNING STARTERS: Courtney Moore,

Haley TauscherkEy NEWcOmERS: Emily Barge, Josie

Bowen, Yvette Arroyo, Leilani Cline, Anna Tauscher, Alyssa Ewers

Winlock cardinalscOAch: Scott Ashmore (6th)2014-15: 2-18 (10th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Rianna White-

head, Mika Hammond, Maggie Howsden, Sophie Velasco, Katrina Rodriguez

kEy NEWcOmERS: Makayla Albritton, Chaleena Squibb, Jazmine Ramirez

Adna Expected to Compete With Toutle for C2BL TitleBy The Chronicle Big things are expected of Adna this season — so big, in fact, that The Chron-icle’s preseason coaches poll resulted in a tie for the top spot in the Central 2B League. Adna, bolstered by a pair of transfers, is the favorite to compete with Toutle Lake for the league’s top spot. The Pirates return All-League first-team and All-Area forward Shanay Dot-son, who led the team with 15 points and 7 rebounds a game last year. Adna took then-undefeated La Conner to overtime before losing in the regional round. This year, Adna welcomes Napavine transfers Kenya Lorton and Devanie Kleemeyer to the fold, where they’ll join inside presence Sam Rolfe for what promises to be a potent mixture. Lorton, a junior guard, was an All-League and All-Area pick who averaged 14.5 points a game last year, while Kleemeyer is an athletic guard/forward who does a little bit of everything. League MVP Sam Woodley returns to provide leadership and scoring for Toutle Lake. “She can do it all, and makes it look easy,” Toledo coach J.B. Ewers said. Throw in veteran center Makala Gardner — back from a late-season knee injury suffered last year — and the Ducks are the team to beat. Napavine, despite losing two trans-fers, still has plenty of pieces with which

to work. The Tigers didn’t have a senior on last year’s team, which made the State 2B tournament, and will be led by ath-letic 5-foot-10 sophomore forward Mol-lie Olson, forwards Karley Bornstein and Melissa Lee, and speedy guards Rylee White and Grace Hamre in coach Jeremy Landram’s uptempo offense. Wahkiakum graduated the bulk of its starters from last year’s State 2B runner-up, but brings back veteran guard and long-range threat Peyton Souvenir. Onalaska has an impressive roster of returning players, led by second-team All-League guard Nicolle Dur-yea and quick point guard Maddy Dalstead. Gabby Wright also returns, and Ronnie Kinsman — averaging 10 points a game last year before being sidelined with an injury — should add scoring punch. Morton-White Pass brings back near-ly all of its starters and has a new coach in longtime assistant Tom Griffith. He’ll have plenty of scorers to work with in veterans Sharon Hazen (9 ppg), and Hal-ey Kolb (8.3 ppg), and a big inside pres-ence in senior Christine Robbins. Toledo will be looking for offense this season, with forward Hailey Tauscher (4 ppg) the team’s highest-scoring return-ing player. Fast guard Courtney Moore returns to the backcourt, and Em-ily Barge and Josie Bowen will be looked upon to provide a presence in the front-court.

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2B Girls

Central 2B LeagueGirls Basketball

2015-16 Preseason Poll1. Toutle Lake (tie)

1. Adna (tie)3. Napavine

4. Wahkiakum5. Onalaska

6. Morton-White Pass7. Toledo

8. Mossyrock9. Pe Ell

10. WinlockPLAyERS TO WATchSAm WOOdLEy, G, TOuTLE LAkE The league’s reigning MVP led the Ducks to the State 2B tournament and last year’s C2BL titlekENyA LORTON, G, AdNA Lorton, a speedy, sweet-shooting guard, led a young Napavine team in scoring and to the State 2B tourna-ment last year before transferring to Adna over the summerShANAy dOTSON, F, AdNA Dotson was the Pirates’ leading scorer last year and a first-team All-League selectionmOLLIE OLSON, F, NAPAVINE The sophomore has plenty of speed and interior skill, and helped the Tigers reach the State 2B tourna-ment a year agoPEyTON SOuVENIR, G, WAhkIAkum The quick guard is the top return-ing starter from a Mule squad that reached last year’s State 2B champi-onship game Mossyrock brings back just one

starter in sophomore guard/forward

Paige Moorcroft, and will try to develop throughout the season under first-year coach Darin Bullock. Pe Ell welcomes back junior Railey Smith, who missed a chunk of last season with a knee injury, and starters Hailey Compton and Dakota Brooks.

Winlock will be led by all-around standout Rianna Whitehead, who aver-aged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game last season. The Cardinals re-turn all five starters from last year’s 2-18 squad.

GirlsContinued from page 9


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2B Boys

Central 2B LeagueBoys Basketball

2015-16 Preseason Poll1. Morton-White Pass

2. Mossyrock3. Napavine4. Onalaska

5. Adna6. Pe Ell

7. Toledo8. Toutle Lake9. Wahkiakum

10. Winlock

PLAyERS TO WATchkALEB POquETTE, G, mWP All-State guard is now the main option on a team that hasn’t lost since 2013JARON kIRkLEy, G/F, mOSSyROck All-State swingman does a lot of everything for an up-and-coming Viking squadGARRETT TROTTER, F, AdNA Six-foot-3 forward is one of the top rebounders and blue-collar play-ers in the C2BLWyATT STANLEy, F, NAPAVINE Big body inside with great re-bounding instincts, but can step outside as wellJAcOB mOdIcA, F, ONALASkA Had a breakout season last year for an Onalaska squad that made a surprising playoff run

By The Chronicle

Morton-White Pass is, without a doubt, the team to beat in the Central 2B League this season. And, as anyone who’s paid any type of attention to the state’s 2B basketball scene the last few years knows, they should be. The Timberwolves are coming off of their second-straight undefeated season. They’ve won the last three Central 2B League titles, the last two District 4 titles and, of course, the last two State 2B titles. “They are going to have a bounty on their heads every night they play,” Pe Ell coach Justin Phelps said. “They are an experienced team, with a good coach and returning players that know how to win. It’s one of those teams that you know you have to play a perfect game, with no mistakes, in order to put yourself in a position to win the game.” It’s high praise for East County squad, but with guard Kaleb Poquette — a 6-foot-4 All-State pick last year, who has signed with Lewis-Clark State College — leading the way, the Timberwolves hope to be up to the task. The keys to keeping up that high level of play, according to coach Tony Gillispie, will be defensive improvement and developing a group of younger play-ers and veterans with an increased role. Senior guard Braiden Elledge should provide solid perimeter defense, while sophomore Matt Poquette is a big scor-ing option inside and R.A. Long transfer Cameron Hart adds experience at the guard position.

Mossyrock, however, is expected to provide the biggest threat to the Tim-berwolves. The Vikings return All-State guard/forward Jaron Kirkley, who aver-aged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game last season. Also back is sweet-shooting guard Danny Nelson, who scored 24 in his season debut this year, and speedy guard Bo Miles, though the Vikings will try to solidify their inte-rior presence and find a few more scor-ing option to take the load off of Nelson and Kirkley. Napavine, once its players are back in basketball shape after another extended football season, is also expected to be near the top of the standings, with in-side-outside threat Wyatt Stanley leading the way and guard Austin Filley back in a starting role. Forward Chase Van Wyck should see a bigger role, and sophomore guard Peyton Stanley showed an impres-sive shooting touch in limited action last season. Onalaska will, for the first time in several years, be without an established point guard to start the season, but re-turns forward Jacob Modica (12 ppg, 6 rpg) and starters Stone Whitney and Zach Huffman and will look for a big-ger scoring punch from all three to stay competitive. Adna, under first-year (and for-mer Olympia High School) coach Luke Salme, will be led by one of the most blue-collar players in the league in for-ward Garrett Trotter. Tanner Rigdon re-turns at guard, and Salme is excited for what the season could bring. “I’m a new coach with a new system,”

he said, “but I love these guys and will go to battle with them any time.”Pe Ell brings back four starters from last year’s 9-14 squad, but will need to work on keeping its composure throughout games to improve on that mark, accord-ing to Phelps. “These kids have been playing var-sity basketball together for the past three years, so as long as they play together and have confidence within themselves and their teammates we will be successful,” he said. “It's not about the X's and O's with this group; it’s about them playing hard-nosed fundamental basketball for four quarters.” Toledo graduated all five starters from last year’s District 4 runner-up — which was the only team to take Morton-White Pass to overtime last season. The Indians, however, have a host of shoot-ers (Reece Wallace, Joe Wallace, Connor Vermilyea and Jared Pohll) and two grit-ty interior players in Gabe Fuentes and Junior Arroyo, and looked solid early on in a win over Mossyrock. Winlock, under first-year coach and former Adna assistant Nick Bamer, looks to build on a winless 2014-15 campaign with a slew of returning starters, led by 6-foot-2 forward Dawson Hall, forward Wyatt Dean and speedy guard Adair Garibay. Toutle Lake returns leading scorer and All-League honorable mention guard Radley Risner, while Wahkiakum brings back honorable mention guard Zach Brown. Both teams will try to make a return to the postseason after staying home last year.

No Surprise: MWP the Team to Beat in C2BL


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2B Boys

Adna PiratescOAch: Luke Salme (first)2014-15: 17-6 (T-2nd in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Garrett Trotter, Tanner RigdonkEy NEWcOmERS: Isaac Ingle, Connor Weed, Tyler Olson,

Alden Latimer, Bo Moon, Cody Young

morton-White Pass TimberwolvescOAch: Tony Gillispie (10th)2014-15: 28-0 (1st in C2BL; state champs)RETuRNING STARTERS: Kaleb PoquettekEy NEWcOmERS: Braiden Elledge, Gage Laclef, Matt

Poquette, Rylan Colette, Cameron Hart, Kade Gillispie, Derrick Erskine, Carson Lewis

mossyrock VikingscOAch: Kelly Ross (2nd)2014-15: 14-13 (5th in C2BL; lost in regionals)RETuRNING STARTERS: Jaron Kirkley, Danny Nelson, Bo

Miles

kEy NEWcOmERS: Griffin Coleman, Taylen Clevenger, Lucas Johnson, Timmy Allen, Justin Gootgeld

Napavine TigerscOAch: Rex Stanley (16th)2014-15: 15-9 (4th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Austin Filley, Wyatt StanleykEy NEWcOmERS: Chase Van Wyck, Peyton Stanley

Onalaska LoggerscOAch: Dennis Bower (27th)2014-15: 10-15 (7th in C2BL; lost in regionals)RETuRNING STARTERS: Jacob Modica, Stone Whitney,

Zach HuffmankEy NEWcOmERS: Matt Swett, Evan Wrzesinski, Chase

Colson

Pe Ell TrojanscOAch: Justin Phelps (3rd)2014-15: 9-14 (6th in C2BL)

RETuRNING STARTERS: Dustin Lusk, Red Arrington, Tyler Shepherd, Kaelin Jurek

kEy NEWcOmERS: Josh Prestegord, Cody Smith

Toledo IndianscOAch: Grady Fallon (2nd)2014-15: 19-7 (T-2nd in C2BL; lost in regionals)RETuRNING STARTERS: NonekEy NEWcOmERS: Connor Vermilyea, Joe Wallace, Gabe

Fuentes, Reece Wallace, Junior Arroyo, Jared Pohll

Winlock cardinalscOAch: Nick Bamer (first)2014-15: 0-20 (10th in C2BL)RETuRNING STARTERS: Adair Garibay, Wyatt Dean, Daw-

son HallkEy NEWcOmERS: Nicholas Patching, Jose Gonzalez,

Jose Keim, Luke Neilson, Nolan Patching, Isaac Allen, Chris Hedges, Jayce Coleman


Adna’s Garrett Trotter leads an Adna squad that finished second in the C2BL last year.


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2A Girls

By The Chronicle

For the first time in a long time, there’s a change in the landscape in the Evergreen 2A Conference. W.F. West, a three-time State 2A final-ist and four-time reigning league champion, has an all-new look. While the Bearcats may still be the favorite in the league, it’s not ex-pected to be as easy of a run as it has been recently — especially if Centralia and Black Hills live up to expectations. The Tigers, in their second year under head coach Doug Ashmore — who, coinci-dentally, took over for now-W.F. West coach Tom Kelly — get a big boost this season with the return of guard Alyx Fast. Fast, a senior point guard, missed the last two seasons with ACL tears in both knees, but looked as good as new in her first two games back, with 17 and 27 points in a pair of Tiger wins. She’ll team up with classmate Madi Crews — an All-Area pick who averaged 10 points, 5 assists and 2 steals a game last

year — to form one of the top backcourts in District 4, giving Centralia two impressive shooters and ballhandlers to stretch defense and thwart pressure. Ellie Corwin, a sopho-more, returns at forward, though the Tigers will need to develop a bit of depth and an in-side presence over the course of the season. The situation isn’t much different in Chehalis. Kelly’s first edition of the Bearcats returns starting guards Jessica McKay, Shas-ta Lofgren and Rylee Hanson, but will need to develop plenty of depth to keep fresh legs on the court in a fast-paced offense. Sopho-mores Julia Johnson and Kiara Steen, junior center Lexi Strasser and freshmen Madi Haakenson, Courtney Bennett and Erika Brumfield have all been impressive early on, as W.F. West opened the season with an 84-57 win over River Ridge. “Scoring isn’t too much of a problem,” Kelly said, “but we need to shut the other team down and rebound well.”

Different Outlook in 2A EvCo This Season


All-Area guard Madi Crews (right) returns for Centralia this season. please see GIRLS, page 13


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2A Girls

centralia TigerscOAch: Doug Ashmore (second)2014-15: 9-11; 1-5 league (third)RETuRNING STARTERS: Madi Crews, Ellie

CorwinkEy NEWcOmERS: Maddie Fast, Alyx

Fast, Rachel Wilkerson, Maddy Alviar, Me-gan Holmgren, Courtney Carlson, Chloe Atkins, Hannah Porter, Danika Jensen, Chelsea Petrino

W.F. West BearcatscOAch: Tom Kelly (first)2014-15: 23-4; 6-0 league (first), second

in stateRETuRNING STARTERS: Jessica McKay,

Shasta Lofgren, Rylee HansonkEy NEWcOmERS: Julia Johnson, Kiara

Steen, Lexi Strasser

Evergreen 2A ConferenceGirls Basketball

2015-16 Preseason Poll1. W.F. West2. Centralia

3. Black Hills4. Tumwater

PLAyERS TO WATchmAdI cREWS, G, cENTRALIA All-Area guard now faces less pressure with teammate Alyx Fast back in the lineupALyx FAST, G, cENTRALIA Sweet-shooting senior point guard is finally back on the court after two season lost to knee injuriesJESSIcA mckAy, G, W.F. WEST Veteran senior three-sport stand-out brings leadership to a young Bearcat squadShASTA LOFGREN, G, W.F. WEST Junior guard should get plenty of looks in new coach Tom Kelly’s upt-empo offenseEmmA duFF, F, BLAck hILLS Junior wing one was an All-League first-team pick last year


Shasta Lofgren will be one of the Bearcats’ top scorers this season.

Black Hills, as usual, is expected to be more than competitive, returning 6-foot wing Emma Duff — an All-League first-team pick last year — and sophomore guard Lindsey Nurmi from a team that finished second in the league standings last year, losing only to W.F. West.

Tumwater, meanwhile, went 9-11 last season, but just 1-5 (tied for third with Centralia) in league action. The Thun-derbirds bring back All-League second-teamers Mackenzie Bergquist, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, and junior guard Sierra Snyder, as well as 6-foot forward Brooke Hare, and will hope their key players have picked up enough experience over the past two seasons to be competitive.

GirlsContinued from Page 12


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2A Boys

Evergreen 2A ConferenceBoys Basketball

2015-16 Coaches Poll1. Tumwater2. Centralia

3. Black Hills4. W.F. West

PLAyERS TO WATchT.J. mIckELSON, G, BLAck hILLS The junior point guard was last year’s co-MVP, and is likely the most fun-to-watch player in the leagueTy GENTRy, G, TumWATER The three-time State 2A tennis champ and 6-foot-4 point guard pro-vides plenty of matchup problemshOdGES BAILEy, G, cENTRALIA Bailey averaged over 20 points a game last year, and has no problem getting to the hoop or the foul lineAdAm SchWARz, F, W.F. WEST The 6-foot-7 left-handed forward is the Bearcats’ most-experienced and reliable scoring optionchRISTIAN PETERS, G/F, cENTRALIA Senior shooter keeps defenses honest with excellent shooting rangeWESTON VANdENhAzEL, F, TumWATER Six-foot-10 center was a key piece of T-Birds’ league championship squad last season

By The Chronicle

The early indication in the Evergreen 2A Conference is that there’s Tumwater — and then everyone else.

The Thunderbirds may have lost league co-MVP David Cooper (now playing at the Air Force Academy) to graduation, but return plenty of key cogs from last season’s league and District 4 champion squad.

“They’re a battle-tested group, with a good nucleus to build on,” W.F. West coach Chris White said.

Leading the way is point guard Ty Gentry, a quick 6-foot-4 matchup prob-lem who scored 11.7 points a game last year. Six-foot-10 center Weston Vanden-Hazel (10.9 ppg) and Spencer Dowers (6.8 ppg) are also back, along with 6-4 wing Cade Otton, who saw plenty of ac-tion last season.

Centralia, meanwhile, leads the rest of the pack, boasting what should — eventually, anyway — be an entertaining roster. Shooters Christian Peters (11 ppg last year) and Hodges Bailey (21 ppg) lead the way, with post threat Nolan Wasson and speedy guard Deter Voetberg both expected to play big roles again.

Early on, however, the Tigers have been without Peters and Bailey due to in-juries, along with expected-to-contribute varsity players Jordan Thomas and Ki-eran Bredeson. In the meantime, Layne Pertzborn (6-3 junior) and Cale Schute (6-2 junior) have been seeing plenty of action.

“They both came off the JV from last year,” Centralia coach Ron Brown, en-

tering his 55th season, said. “I’ve been pleased they’ve contributed and gained some experience.”

The Tigers’ strength will be its out-side shooting and passing, which Brown hopes can make up for a lack of size.

“We’re not going to be a garbage team; we don’t have the size to do that,”

Brown said. “But I think we’re going to be fun to watch when we get everybody well. We do share the ball well, and get up and down the court quite well.”

Black Hills graduated plenty of role players from last year’s second-in-league squad, but returns the league’s most dynamic playmaker in T.J. Mickelson.

Drawing NCAA Div. I college scouts as

Tumwater Again the Team to Beat in EvCo


Centralia’s Hodges Bailey (right) and Black Hills’ T.J. Mickelson (left) are two of the top players returning to the Evergreen 2A Conference.

please see BOyS, page 15


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2A Boys

W.F. West BearcatscOAch: Chris White (first)2014-15: 0-21RETuRNING STARTERS: Adam

Schwarz, Nolan HawkinskEy NEWcOmERS: Elijah Johnson,

Brandon White, Dakota Hawkins, Nole Wollan

centralia TigerscOAch: Ron Brown (55th)2014-15: 12-13 (3rd in EvCo; lost in

regionals)RETuRNING STARTERS: Christian Pe-

ters, Hodges Bailey, Nolan WassonkEy NEWcOmERS: Deter Voetberg

a sophomore, the 6-foot-1 point guard scored 26.1 points a game while dishing out 8 assists with 3 steals a contest.

“(They) have a good player back,” Brown said, “and whether they can get enough around him to be competitive or not, I don’t know.”

The Bearcats, meanwhile, have al-ready broken the spell left from last year’s 0-21 with a win over Rochester in their third game this season. Returning high-scoring 6-foot-7 forward Adam Schwarz and Nolan Hawkins, first-year coach Chris White has a stable of sophomores that saw plenty of action last year. Among those is 6-foot-6 forward Brandon White, guard Nole Wollan and forward Dakota Hawkins, who provided plenty of scoring when injuries opened a spot on the court for him last season.

“They’re going to be better,” Brown pointed out.

Senior Elijah Johnson, turning out for the first time since his sophomore year, will add depth at guard, and forward Hayden Dobyns has been a high-energy spark off the bench early on.

BoysContinued from page 14


Senior Adam Schwarz (24) returns to lead a Bearcat team that’s already

improved on last year’s record.

16 • Special Section • The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash. Saturday, Dec. 12C

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