U-Hi junior Bjorklund earns AP’s top girls honor

The awards keep coming for University High junior Angie Bjorklund, who was voted the Associated Press 2006 Washington girls basketball player of the year for all classifications.

She averaged nearly 21 points per game, eight rebounds and three assists for the Titans, who finished third in the State 4A tournament this year.

Bjorklund was one of seven players who repeated first-team honors from last year.

With a year of high school ball still to play, she also was voted 4A player of the year and is joined on the AP first team by state-champion Lewis and Clark’s Heather Bowman.

Bowman became the first GSL girl to surpass 1,500 points in scoring and has signed with Gonzaga University. Bjorklund has made an oral commitment to play at Tennessee.

North Central floor leader Eric Beal, who averaged 15.1 points per game and helped the Indians to a fifth-place finish in the school’s first state appearance in 55 years, was named to the 3A All-State boys team.

In boys Class B, Zach Gianukakis of Republic repeated as the state player of the year after leading the Tigers to the state championship game. He averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game.

Other area players named to girls first teams were Jordan Harazin of State 1A champion Colfax, Jessie DePell from 1A Freeman and Stacie Shields from Class B Sprague-Harrington.

The boys player of the year is 7-foot McDonald’s All-American Spencer Hawes of State 3A champion Seattle Prep.

Other classification players of the year were Curtis junior Isaiah Thomas a 31.6 points-per-game scorer in 4A boys, Chief Sealth junior Regina Rogers for 3A girls, Lynden Christian’s Kyle Coston and King’s Sara Mosiman – for the second straight year – in 2A, Brewster’s Michael Taylor and Bellevue Christian’s Melissa Reich in 1A, and junior Molly McGree of state champion La Salle for Class B girls.