Ready for Hornet hoop season? Here are the stars to look out for

When the suns sets early and rain prevails, that means just one thing: it’s time for winter sports. On the Plateau – at Enumclaw and White River high schools – the athletic schedule calls for basketball, wrestling, swimming, gymnastics and bowling.

In this edition, the Courier-Herald takes a look at the varsity hoop programs at the local schools. Next week, the other winter sports will fill this space.

FIRST, A REMINDER…

For those who missed the developments of last year and the fall season, both Enumclaw High and White River have jumped up a classification and are playing in a new league against larger-school opponents.

In recent years, both schools competed in the Class 2A ranks as members of the South Puget Sound League. Growing enrollment on both sides of the river pushed both schools into the 3A ranks and brought membership in the North Puget Sound League.

Instead of being among the largest of the state’s 2A teams both Plateau schools sit in the bottom third of 3A enrollment.

Photo by Kevin Hanson Enumclaw High junior Jason Feddema earned honorable mention following a vote of league coaches last season.

ENUMCLAW BOYS

The most notable addition to the EHS boys basketball scene is Sam Oliver, who has taken the Hornet reins. He replaces Terry Johnson, who stepped away after leading the team for eight seasons.

Oliver is no stranger to Enumclaw’s Chuck Smith Gymnasium, having served as an assistant coach last year under Johnson. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Bonney Lake High School from 2014 to 2022.

“This year’s team has been working hard and coming together,” Oliver reported following a week of turnouts. We have a lot of new faces and young players trying to find their way as varsity players and carve out roles. It’s a fun group of great young men.”

The top returnee is junior Jason Feddema, who earned honorable mention last season when 2A SPSL coaches made their all-league selections. Other familiar faces include juniors Travis Leonard and Gavin Trachte, along with sophomore Kannon Kuzaro.

The squad will have to make up for the departure of three seniors who were lost to graduation: gone are Liam Leonard, a first team all-league pick; Karson Holt, a second team selection; and Wyatt Neu, who received honorable mention.

The Hornets are coming off a winning season that ended with an overall record of 16-9 (11-5 in league play). After qualifying for the state tournament, last season’s Hornets traveled across the state to Cheney, where they dropped a regional round, loser-out game to Pullman.

Oliver has high hopes for this year’s crew. “If we commit to playing the right way, we should compete for a playoff spot come February,” he reported.

The team had its first test of the season Monday night with a trip to Bethel High for a nonleague contest with the Bison. The 3A NPSL seasons gets under way this Friday, December 6, when the Hornets host Federal Way High.

EHS’ Kalee Swanson wrestling for a loose ball at state competition victory over the Columbia River Rapids last year. File photo by Kevin Hanson

ENUMCLAW GIRLS

A handful of players have returned from a Hornet team that qualified for last season’s Class 2A state tournament – a group now ready for the rigors of 3A competition.

Back in the gym for coach Danny Graham are senior Kalee Swanson, a first team all-league selection a year ago, along with senior Sydney VanHoof and junior Ava Smith, both honorable mention picks a season ago. Others returning from the 2023-24 varsity roster include Emma Holt, Clare Largent, Halle Martel, Ellie Trulson, Kaidyn Johnson and Camryn Thomas. They will be crucial in filling a void left by league MVP Bella Firnkoess and second team all-league pick Natalie DeMarco.

Last year’s group finished 10-2 in league play, good for second place, and ended the season 16-9. The journey included a fourth-place finish in the district tourney, a victory in the regional round of the state tournament and a trip to the Yakima Valley SunDome where they were eliminated by a Clarkston team that went on to nab third-place honors.

The Enumclaw crew jumps immediately into 3A NPSL play, starting the season this Friday, December 6, with a game at Federal Way High. The following night has the Hornet girls playing a nonleague contest against Klahowya Secondary School (a Class 1A, Nisqually League school from Silverdale) at Auburn Riverside High.

WHITE RIVER GIRLS

If coach Chris Gibson is to maintain his program’s enviable record of success, he’ll do it with a roster hit hard by graduation – but still stocked with court experience.

Last year’s Hornet team landed eight players on the all-league team and five of those concluded their WRHS careers. But the Buckley gym returns plenty of talent for Gibson, last season’s Coach of the Year and already a member of the Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Among the key returnees are Maggee Schmitz, a sophomore who earned first team, all-league honors during her first year of high school hoops. Also back are seniors Dakota Sprouse, a second team selection, and Vivian Kinston, who received honorable mention.

Others returning from last season’s varsity roster are senior Emma Voellger – who gives an inside presence with her 6-foot-3 frame – and sophomores Malia Froemke and Gracie Banks.

Rounding out Gibson’s early-season varsity roster are senior Jadyn Olson; sophomores Myia Olson and Kalese Turgeon; and ninth-graders Kaitlyn Hewlett and Kaijah Young.

Departing the program were first team all-leaguers Lexie Banks, Ava Bright and Josie Jacobs, along with honorable mention picks Sophie Ross-Soler and Ally Green, and the Klemkow sisters, Alle and Ella.

All contributed to last year’s squad that went 12-0 in league play, won a district title and then took fourth place honors at the Class 2A state tournament. It was among the best finishes in the noteworthy chapter of Hornet girls hoops since 2000, equaling the back-to-back, No. 4 finishes of the 2014 and 2015 teams and trailing only the third-place efforts of the 2000 and 2012 squads. In 2000, White River was in the 3A tournament; the school dropped to 2A prior to the 2010-11 school year and returned to 3A with the start of the current school year.

This year’s crew opened the campaign with a Monday night exhibition game against a touring team from Australia. The regular season gets under way this Friday, December 6, when the Hornet girls travel to Kentlake High for a 7 p.m. contest.

Photo by Kevin Hanson Enumclaw High junior Jason Feddema earned honorable mention following a vote of league coaches last season.

WHITE RIVER BOYS

The new age for White River boys basketball launches this Friday when the Hornets, under the guidance of veteran coach Zach Johnson, host the Kentlake Falcons.

With tipoff set for 7 p.m., the game marks the debut of 3A NPSL competition for a squad that found recent success in the Class 2A ranks. A season ago, Johnson and Co. nabbed a league championship with a 14-2 record, won three postseason games to qualify for the 2A state tourney (surviving a pair of loser-out contests) and finished with an overall mark of 19-6.

Two crucial pieces of that 2023 team graduated (Colin Schmidtke, a first team all-league selection, and Tyce Donovan, an honorable mention).

But with a new season about to dawn, Johnson is focused on the talent at his disposal. He starts with Greg Schmitz, who led the team in scoring a season ago and was a first team, all-league selection. The coach calls Schmitz “One of the best shooters in the state (who) has really developed into a complete player and leader of the team.”

Returning to guide the Hornets on the court is point guard Logan Senon, who earned second team honors last winter. “He has great control of the team offensively and defensively,” Johnson said, adding that the junior is “super competitive.”

A third key returnee is senior Blake Caldwell, who played significant minutes during last year’s playoff run. “He waited his turn and is ready for a HUGE senior year,” Johnson reported, emphasizing the “huge.”

Perhaps less familiar to the White River faithful are the trio of Jacob Scheidt, Ben Berg and Jorden Goethals. “All have their different strengths but will be relied upon to play our up-tempo, relentless pace,” the coach said.

When it comes to play in the paint, the Hornets will call upon Ray Palmer, Zach Wisdom and Blake Bargelt, a group Johnson calls “physical, scrappy enforcers.

“They will be undersized every game but they are extremely fiesty and physical,” he said.

Mixing all that together, Johnson said the keys to his team’s success will be the play of guards who shoot a lot of 3-pointers and attack in transition and the rebounding efforts of his “bigs.”

“Our top three players match up with anyone in the league,” Johnson summarized. “The difference between another league title and middle-of-the-pack finish will be how role players/new guys step up.”