Mead seniors rewarded

When Regan (Freuen) Drew was an impact sophomore playing on a Mead team that would win the state championship in 1992, she can’t recall the feeling of playing on the big stage.

“I don’t think I knew any better,” she said. “I was excited, but we had seniors with experience and I followed their lead.”

Fifteen years later as Panthers coach, she has them back in the state tournament, their first trip since 2001.

There’s a certain parallel in that this team blended seniors and youthful talent – including three freshmen – to qualify even if Wednesday’s 2 p.m. 4A tournament game in Tacoma against Jackson is a first for them all.

That combination of experience and youth resulted in a togetherness that was readily apparent to veteran players last summer.

“I knew how talented they were,” said senior Kami Clark. “And did think we would have a chance to go far.”

“We could see how badly they wanted to win for us seniors,” said Kelli Valentine. “We knew it was going to be a special team.”

They are among four seniors who had never before made it as far as the regional tournament.

The youngsters, said freshman Jazmine Redmon, dedicated themselves to getting the seniors to state. She and fellow freshman Alexis Olgard had played on an AAU national age-group championship summer team so knew something of what it took.

“The freshmen took some of the pressure off the seniors,” said Drew. “They knew if they were having a tough night, others were there to step up.”

Redmon averaged nearly 10 points a game and the 6-foot-5 Olgard was an imposing inside presence. The third freshman, Kristina Puthoff, delivered after coming off the bench.

Leading scorer Clark (10.4 points per game) and Valentine were able to move into positions more suited for them and with point guard Green, who averaged 13.0 during regional, produced a varied punch.

As a sophomore, Valentine averaged nearly 16 points a game. The 6-footer hadn’t approached that the last two years, although her scoring picked up at region.

“My coach at Portland State definitely wants me to score more,” Valentine said. “But I think when I was younger I just wanted to score. All my coaches don’t like to hear it, but I’d much rather pass the ball.”

Now in this, their final season, the seniors have seen a dream come true. They get to play, along with last year’s state champion and third-place finishers, Lewis and Clark and University, respectively, on the big stage in the Tacoma Dome.

“I honestly never would have thought we’d be here,” said Clark. “No words can explain how excited I am.”

Said Valentine, “All three years I’d never even been to regional. Going to them was a great experience and beating Moses Lake for the third state spot felt like we’d won the championship. I’d never … felt the way I did.”

Redmon said she isn’t sure how she should feel, “Because this is the first time. I’m happy we got the four seniors to state. That was one of our top goals.”

The seniors would like to accomplish a little more.

“If we keep our heads and play like we can I believe we can go far, make it to Saturday and be happy with the results,” Clark said.