Successes of teamwork

Ferris High School legacy Sean Mallon had business of his own to take care of with Gonzaga University in the West Coast Conference basketball tournament, but he still found time to call Saturday morning.

“He said it’s great to win and get to the championship game,” said the phone call recipient, Saxon coach Don Van Lierop, “but you’ve got to get that one more.”

The Saxons took his exhortation to heart. They completed a 29-0 season in Tacoma to become State 4A boys champions for the first time since 1994. The win followed Lewis and Clark’s second straight 4A girls title and 26-3 record that gave the South Side schools a sweep of the title hardware.

And Mallon was good to his word, helping the Bulldogs get their one more win on Monday to return to the NCAA tournament.

There was no disputing the power of team in producing the outcomes. Both coaches, Van Lierop and LC’s Jim Redmon, emphasized the contributions of the whole as being the reason their teams were victorious.

“All four teams were so different one night to the next,” Van Lierop said. “Fortunately we had balance from different guys at different times.”

“We joked about it after one game that we never had four or five players on the same page,” said LC’s Redmon. “It was about different people having good games throughout.”

Certainly Ferris’ three leading scorers – DeAngelo Casto (16.9 points per game and the tourney’s leading rebounder), Shawn Stockton (13.8 and tourney MVP), and Jared Karstetter (13.6) – did their part, particularly in the semifinal, when they scored 27, 25 and 25 respectively. Erick Cheadle, Tyler Lynn and Andre Jennings all had clutch efforts, particularly in the title game, as did Jeff Minnerly.

But the contributions weren’t always on the court. As Van Lierop pointed out when things weren’t going well in the title game, Beau Brett in the huddles and at halftime exhorted his teammates that they were unbeaten for reason and could pull through.

“It feels great,” said Van Lierop. “I’m really happy. I really am.”

Redmon’s team success all season was a product of 10 players providing contributions, and state was no exception.

There was Kiki January coming off the bench to score a dozen points in LC’s opening 59-36 win over Puyallup. Ula Tauala knocked down 11 and 14 points during wins over unbeatens Roosevelt and Kentwood.

There were clutch efforts by season-scoring leaders Katelan Redmon, who scored 17 and 18 points in the semifinals and finals respectively, and Lyndi Seidensticker, whose 3-pointer beat Kentwood, the last of her 23 points. And there was the ever-present energy and defensive havoc provided by Brittany Kennedy.

“This is the quietest team I’ve ever had, but they worked their rear ends off and kept the team together,” said coach Redmon. “They are really special kids.”

The fact that the Tigers have won two straight still hasn’t set in, he said, and while this year’s title wasn’t more special than the first, it was different.

“Because the path getting there, I think, was tougher this year,” Redmon said. “I really do.”