Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale sophomore Kit Hockett scores in the fourth quarter at West Valley High School.
Garfield/Palouse starters enjoy the final minutes of a win over Lopez Island. From left, Austin Jones, Jacob Anderson, Ely Hawkins, Blake Jones, Caden Sanderson and Tanner Anderson.
Oakesdale's Kieron Anderson, left, and Evan Henning take in a radio interview after the Nighthawks 51-41 win over Concordia.
Oakesdale senior guard Wesley Castanon after his team secured a berth to state.
From left, Oakesdale's Kieron Anderson, Wesley Castanon and Simon Anderson amidst the celebration.
Colton sophomore Rylee Vining escapes with another steal against Concordia Christian Academy of Tacoma. Colton won 76-41 to secure a state first-round bye.
Jordyn Moehrle for three as Colton advances to the Arena.
Tanner Anderson of Garfield/Palouse scores against Lopez Island in the morning blowout.
The Oakesdale and Garfield/Palouse boys and Colton girls will all play at the state 1B tournament at Spokane Arena this week.
At regionals Feb. 23 at West Valley High School in Spokane Valley, the three teams won to advance, Gar/Pal and Oakesdale staving off another elimination game.
The Vikings beat Lopez Island easily in the morning game. Then the no. 1-state seed Colton girls took out Concordia Christian before the Oakesdale boys, a no. 12 seed, held on to beat Concordia's boys team.
Colton earned a bye for the state first round, to play on Thursday. Oakesdale and Gar/Pal both would play Wednesday night at Spokane Arena in first-round elimination games.
Oakesdale would meet no. 3-seed Tulalip Heritage at 7:15 p.m. while no. 9 seed Garfield/Palouse played no. 8 Naselle at 9 p.m.
If the Nighthawks won, they would advance to meet Yakama Tribal Thursday in the state quarterfinals. The Eagles, a no. 6 seed from Toppenish, got a first round bye. If Garfield/Palouse beat Naselle, they would advance to play no. 7 seed Almira/Coulee/Hartline in the quarterfinals, another team which got an opening bye.
Further on, if Gar/Pal and Oakesdale both win two games at the Arena, they would meet in the state semifinals.
First things first, what does Vikings coach Steve Swinney know about Naselle, a logging town school just inland from Long Beach?
"Probably the quickest team we've faced all year," said Swinney. "They're mostly guards, pretty stocky, kind of built like our boys, just not as tall."
Would he opt for a smaller lineup then?
"We'll see how it goes, but I'll stick with our starters," he said.
Gar/Pal returns to the state brackets after their last appearance in 2016, when senior forward Ely Hawkins was a freshman off the bench.
Oakesdale will meet Tulalip from the Tulalip Indian Reservation north of Everett.
The Nighthawks make their first appearance at state as Oakesdale alone since the early '80s. As part of the Tekoa-Oakesdale cooperative that ran from 1984-2014 they made appearances, including a state championship 26 years ago when current head coach Carl Crider played for Tekoa-Oakesdale. Crider is assisted by Kevin Young, another Oakesdale alumni, who played at state with the original Oakesdale Panthers.
"We reached another goal – winning a regional game, knowing that would take us to state and Spokane Arena," said Crider. "Now we genuinely have a feeling of hey, let's not be satisfied. Let's see what we can do."
It all will happen a few days earlier than usual in the lunar cycle.
"I told our guys, the calendar is still February, if we want to be playing in March, we've got to keep winning," Crider said.
The state tournament will conclude Saturday, March 2.
GIRLS
The Colton girls return to Spokane Arena, again a no. 1 seed, looking to repeat after winning the 2018 championship, their ninth in ten years, each team coached by Clark Vining. This year's lineup is perhaps the most senior-dominated for the Wildcats, including three three-year starters.
After a first round bye, Dakota Patchen, Jordyn Moehrle and Emily Schultheis lead Colton against the winner of no. 15 Selkirk and no. 7 Taholah. Gametime is 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Other girls teams receiving byes to the quarterfinal round are no. 2 Pomeroy, no. 3 Almira/Coulee/Hartline and no. 5 Neah Bay.
Colton, which beat Southeast 1B league foe Pomeroy in the championship game last year, would meet them in the semifinals if both win Thursday.
REGIONALS
Is there another sporting event, high school or otherwise, with more stakes? The regional round of the Washington state 1B basketball playoffs.
Teams are one game from entry to the state tournament. Played at a neutral site, many teams travel hundreds of miles, the result either to state or a chasm of disappointment – the type that, for many, offers no chance to redeem it, because getting to a regional game would happen once. They're a senior and it's their last game of organized basketball. They're a junior and the best players will graduate, leaving next year no consolation.
It could be said a state championship game has less stakes than the regional round. In a state final one team wins it all, the other crushed, perhaps, to come so close, but soon after a new feeling emerges. They got there. They made state. They delivered under the big lights and played in a state final.
A team could get blown out in the first round of state, but, again, they got there.
What if you only almost, almost got there?
What if you lose at regionals?
"You're on the doorstep, ringing the doorbell," said Oakesdale coach Carl Crider. "It would be as if you got asked to the dance and shut out at the door."
This year's boys from Oakesdale and Garfield/Palouse faced that, and for both, it ended with those three little words,"On to state."
Same for the Colton girls, although they've heard them before.
Why is it doubtful they are any less sweet?
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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