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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Willapa Valley Vikings

Record: 24-0 Coach: John Peterson

First-round opponent: LaCrosse-Washtucna

Route to state: Defeated Mossyrock 70-44 in District 4 Tournament.

Top players: Ryan Freeman, 6-4, Jr., guard, 15 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 4 apg; Brady Langer, 6-0, Soph., 15.8 ppg; Zach Baugher, 6-11, Sr., center, 10.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 89 blocks; Garrett Foster, 6-3, Sr., guard, 10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg.

Fast fact: Sophomore Rick Bannish’s dad, Mark, played in three state tournaments for Willapa Valley, including being named MVP of the 1981 B tournament, won by the Vikings.

Republic Tigers

Record: 25-2 Coach: John Gianukakis

First-round opponent: DeSales

Route to state: Defeated Liberty 68-45 in District 7 Tournament.

Top players: Zach Gianukakis, 6-4, Jr., guard, 19.6 ppg; Tyler Orestad, 5-11, Sr., guard, 14.5 ppg; Derek Gianukakis, 6-3, Soph., guard, 13 ppg; Gaeb Giddings, 6-4, Sr., center, 11.3 ppg.

Fast fact: With another state championship, Republic would join Garfield-Palouse in 2000 and 2001 as the only repeat champions since 1989.

King’s West Warriors

Record: 22-3 Coach: Rick Walker

First-round opponent: Toutle Lake

Route to state: Defeated Clallam Bay 56-41 at District 1-2-3 Tournament.

Top players: Adam Shildmyer, 6-5, Sr., forward, 20.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg; Erik Bright, 6-8, Sr., center, 13.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg; Jesse Reeves, 5-10, Sr., guard, 11.2 ppg, 6.9 apg.

Fast fact: King’s West is making its first state appearance after two straight near-misses. The Warriors’ only loss to a Washington team is an 11-point loss to class 3A North Mason.

Sunnyside Christian Knights

Record: 22-1 Coach: Dean Wagenaar

First-round opponent: Tacoma Baptist

Route to state: Defeated Riverside Christian 53-44 at District 5 Tournament.

Top players: Chad Den Boer, 6-3, Jr., guard, 18.8 ppg; Jordan Haak, 6-1, Sr., forward, 14.6 ppg; Andrew Schutt, 6-1, Sr., guard, 10.4 ppg.

Fast fact: Wagenaar, SC’s principal, athletic director and head coach, has 221 wins and the 2002 state title during his 11 years as coach. The Knights have won 18 straight games heading into the tournament.

Lind-Ritzville Broncos

Record: 24-2 Coach: Dwight Pflugrath

First-round opponent: Riverside Christian

Route to state: Defeated Selkirk 59-54 at District 7 Tournament.

Top players: Cameron Stevenson, 6-0, Jr., W, 16.3 ppg; Jake Kragt, 6-2, Sr., center, 12.0 ppg.

Fast fact: Of the nine Broncos that played in all 20 regular-season games, eight averaged at least four points a game.

Northwest Christian Crusaders

Record: 23-3 Coach: Ray Ricks

First-round opponent: Clallam Bay

Route to state: Defeated Republic 59-53 at District 7 Tournament.

Top players: Josh Greer, 5-11, Sr., guard, 15.5 ppg; Karl Richardson, 6-3, Jr., center, 15 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.9 spg; Jesse Vowels, 6-1, Sr., guard, 7 ppg, 7.3 apg.

Fast fact: NWC finished second in the 2004 state 1A tournament, losing to Brewster by seven in the championship.

DeSales Irish

Record: 22-1 Coach: Greg Fazzari

First-round opponent: Republic

Route to state: Defeated LaCrosse-Washtucna 65-54 in District 9 Tournament.

Top players: Cesar Lopez, 5-10, Sr., guard, 10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 5 apg; Casey Worth, 5-11, Jr., W, 12.1 ppg, 37.3 percent 3PT; Michael Richard, 6-1, Jr., forward, 10.4 ppg, 57.9 percent FG.

Fast fact: Hasn’t placed in the state tournament since 1954, when the school was known as St. Patrick’s. This year, their only loss was 63-54 at home against Sunnyside Christian.

LaCrosse-Washtucna Tigercats

Record: 20-5 Coach: Brian Koller

First-round opponent: Willapa Valley

Route to state: Defeated Tekoa-Oakesdale 53-47 at District 9 Tournament.

Top players: Matt Martin, 6-3, Jr., forward, 15.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg; Kyle Lepper, 6-5, Sr., forward, 13.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg; Craig Koller, 5-10, Sr., guard, 10.4 ppg, 6.1 apg.

Fast fact: L-W has been to three State B tournaments since combining, placing eighth in 1999 for its best finish. In 1972 and ‘76, LaCrosse finished third before joining with Washtucna.

Neah Bay Red Devils

Record: 18-6 Coach: Gordon Smith

First-round opponent: Selkirk

Route to state: Defeated Shoreline Christian 66-48 at District 1-2-3 Tournament.

Top players: Robbie Arnold, 6-1, Sr., forward, 15.8 ppg; Timothy Greene, 5-9, Jr., 14.6 ppg; Ernie Grimes, 5-11, Sr., guard, 9.1 ppg.

Fast fact: Haven’t placed in their last six trips to the State B, with an eighth-place finish in 1986 the last trophy. Last year, NB was two points away from the fourth-place game, losing 68-66 to Darrington.

Riverside Christian Crusaders

Record: 22-3 Coach: Bruce Siebol

First-round opponent: Lind-Ritzville

Route to state: Defeated Moses Lake Christian 55-51 at District 5-6 Tournament.

Top players: Garrett Neifer, 6-3, Sr., forward, 18.5 ppg; Trevor Pynch, 5-8, Jr., guard, 11.8 ppg; Joe Hampton, 6-0, Sr., forward, 11.1 ppg.

Fast fact: RC made its first state appearance in last year’s state tournament, losing to Willapa Valley before running off three straight to finish in fifth place.

Toutle Lake Ducks

Record: 17-7 Coach: Eric Swanson

First-round opponent: King’s West

Route to state: Defeated Wahkiakum 57-40 at District 4 Tournament.

Top players: Ryan Hoff, 6-2, Jr., guard/forward, 18.5 ppg; Ryan Heltemes, 6-1, Sr., guard/forward, 7.7 ppg.

Fast fact: This is TL’s first appearance in the boys State B tournament since 1997, when the Ducks moved up to 1A. Since then, they have appeared in four state 1A tournaments.

Wahkiakum Mules

Record: 20-4 Coach: Bill Olsen

First-round opponent: Pateros

Route to state: Defeated North Beach 77-59 at District 4 Tournament.

Top players: Shane Kehrli, 6-0, Sr., W, 18.9 ppg; Tanner Tramblie, 5-11, Sr., W, 15.2; Romeo Savant, 6-5, Soph., center, 12.1; Brandon Olsen, 5-9, Sr., W, 10.6 ppg.

Fast fact: In 10 State B tournament appearance (three as Cathlamet High School), the Mules have placed every single time. Their best finish was Cathlamet’s state championship in 1964.

Clallam Bay Bruins

Record: 18-4 Coach: John Wilson

First-round opponent: Northwest Christian

Route to state: Defeated Evergreen Lutheran 49-39 at District 1-2-3 Tournament.

Top players: Danny Angulo, 6-3, Sr., forward, 19.8 ppg; Melchor Ramos, 5-8, Sr., guard, 15.6 ppg; Adam Lovik, 5-11, Sr., forward, 10.8 ppg.

Fast fact: Angulo, Ramos and Lovik were all sophomores on CB’s 2003 team, which finished eighth. The three combine to average 46 points a game.

Pateros Billygoats

Record: 20-4 Coach: Mike Hull

First-round opponent: Wahkiakum

Route to state: Defeated Moses Lake Christian 54-39 at District 6 Tournament.

Top players: Dustin Zahn, 5-11, Sr., guard, 20.4 ppg; Michael Oborne, 6-3, Sr., center, 10.7 ppg; Gabe Bighouse, 6-2, Jr., W, 10.4 ppg.

Fast fact: The Billygoats are back to the State B tournament for the first time since 2000. In 1996, Pateros, coached by Hull, beat St. George’s by 26 to win its only state title.

Selkirk Rangers

Record: 17-10 Coach: Dick Zimmerman

First-round opponent: Neah Bay

Route to state: Defeated Wellpinit 52-51 at District 7 Tournament.

Top players: Travis Zimmerman, 6-1, Soph., forward, 14.4 ppg; Clint March, 6-0, Jr., W, 11.7 ppg; Mikki Cromwell, 5-10, Jr., W, 9.8 ppg.

Fast fact: After 31 years of missing out, the Rangers are going for the second straight year. Last year, Selkirk went 1-2.

Tacoma Baptist Crusaders

Record: 17-10 Coach: Aaron Spuler

First-round opponent: Sunnyside Christian

Route to state: Defeated Shoreline Christian 53-50 at District 1-2-3 Tournament.

Top players: Jeff Gudaitis, 6-0, Jr., guard, 12.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 4.7 spg; Nathan Yoder, 6-3, Sr., guard, 10.1 ppg; Jason Schulhauser, 6-3, Jr., guard/forward, 9.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg.

Fast fact: Tac-Bap hasn’t been to a State B tournament since 1997. Prior to that season, the Crusaders attended eight of 10 tournaments.