Sweet Sixteen
Selected by the Press sports staff
1 Lake City beats Coeur d’Alene in OT
Coming into the Oct. 17 game at Viking Field, Lake City was off to its best start since 2008, but Coeur d’Alene had dominated the city rivalry of late, beating the Timberwolves six straight times since 2009.
But on this night, Jerry Louie-McGee was special — actually, he was pretty much special throughout the year — and Lake City prevailed 45-42 in overtime before an estimated 4,000 fans to clinch a state 5A playoff berth and a first-round bye in the expanded 12-team state playoffs.
Louie-McGee caught a touchdown pass, returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and returned a punt for another score.
But in a game which featured more than 1,100 yards of offense, the decisive play was made by the defense.
Junior Scott Helsper stepped in front of a Coeur d’Alene receiver for an interception on the second play of overtime, setting up Casey Bourque’s game-winning 27-yard field goal for Lake City.
“We knew we were closer (to Coeur d’Alene),” Lake City coach Van Troxel said. “But we also knew they were a very, very good football team that’s not going to quit. It was a great win for our program.”
On the first possession of overtime, which started at the Lake City 10, Coeur d’Alene faced a second and goal at the 14. Helsper stepped in front of Viking receiver Brian Skinner and picked off Austin Lee’s pass inside the 10, ending the possession.
“We’re always taught to look at the ball,” said Helsper, a defensive back. “I was just in the right place at the right time. I saw his (Lee’s) eyes, and he locked in, and I was locked in too.”
Lake City took over at the Viking 10. After a loss on the first play, Louie-McGee ran 12 yards to the Cd’A 1, then was stopped inches short on the next play. Lake City lined up on fourth down like it wanted to run it in, but a penalty pushed the T-Wolves back to the 5, and the T-Wolves brought in the kicking team. Another penalty pushed LC back to the 10, and Bourque made the kick from the right hash, setting off jubilation on the Lake City sideline.
“This is huge,” Helsper said. “This is the biggest win in a while; I’m really happy for my team.”
Lake City made it as far as the state semifinals before falling to Mountain View of Meridian and finishing 9-2. Coeur d’Alene, the defending state champions, lost at Rocky Mountain in the state quarterfinals and finished 6-4.
2 Coeur d’Alene girls three-peat in
cross country
With four seniors on the roster, the Coeur d’Alene High girls squad wanted to leave it on the course in their final chance at a title.
They left no doubt, placing four in the top seven — Kara Story (second), Josie Brown (third), Caitlin Conway (sixth) and Krista Story (seventh) — at Eagle Island State Park to win the state 5A title for a third straight year.
“It was so much fun to watch,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Cathy Compton, who won a state title for the fourth straight year (the Viking boys won in 2011). “Even our fifth girl (Merceydes Smith in 26th) did what she needed to do. I was very happy with everyone that ran today.”
Compton said watching as Kara Story and Brown came down the stretch, it was almost too much to handle.
“It was just an amazing race,” Compton said. “Both of them wanted it so bad. I was a trainwreck today because there was so much pressure coming back, and the girls were eagerly anxious to get going. To see Krista and Caitlin battling to finish with four in the top seven, it’s unheard of. These girls have built a dynasty that won’t be matched soon.”
After the start of the girls race, the weather began to rain and was in the 40s for the duration of the day.
“The conditions were horrible, but it helped us do what we do,” Compton said. “One of my kids’ legs were completely black and blue after the race, and I’ve never seen that before. It was cold, but the girls still ran fabulous times.”
3 Coeur d’Alene girls win first
state hoops title since 2010
Three years of being so close to that ultimate goal.
Losing by four points to Lewiston 2011.
A 3-pointer in the final seconds to lose 58-56 to Centennial in the semifinals in 2012.
Watching as your neighbors from Post Falls steal a championship in overtime in 2013.
Being short-changed.
The 2014 Coeur d’Alene girls basketball team got its money’s worth.
Senior Sydney Williams scored 19 of her game-high 23 points in the second half as the Vikings defeated the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies of Meridian 58-47 to claim their first state 5A championship since 2010 at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
“We kept talking in the locker room and still can’t believe we did this,” Williams said. “We’re excited and overwhelmed with emotions right now. It is just amazing that every ounce of energy we’ve put into this sport, all the lines in practice we’ve ran was for this. We worked our butts off to get to this point and win this championship.”
It was Coeur d’Alene’s (23-2) fourth title — all since 2008 — under 10th-year Viking coach Dale Poffenroth, and the eighth straight title won by a team from the 5A Inland Empire League.
“It’s good for these kids,” Poffenroth said. “They’ve worked for it since they were in seventh grade and playing against high school kids. They worked their way up, getting second, being upset in the semis. Madison (Sumner) said that if she heard 58-56 again, she was going to get sick. And last year, Dani (Failor) strips it (for Post Falls) and gets the free throws and we lose a heartbreaker that would have been nice to have.”
Coeur d’Alene, which won its ninth state title in program history, played all five starters — all seniors (Williams, Brittany Tackett, Madison Sumner, Sydni Parker and Sara Chalich) — throughout the game until there was 1.1 seconds remaining.
4 Senior-less Coeur d’Alene second at state 5A volleyball
It wasn’t a state title, but it was the best result at state in 27 years for the Coeur d’Alene High volleyball team.
The Vikings finished second to Idaho Falls at the state 5A tournament at Skyline High in Idaho Falls.
Coeur d’Alene lost to Idaho Falls 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 in the semifinal match, then beat Vallivue of Caldwell 25-15, 17-25, 25-20, 25-17 to make it back to the title match, where the Vikings lost to Idaho Falls 25-15, 26-24, 22-25, 25-15.
“These girls are competitive, so they were disappointed not to win it all,” Coeur d’Alene coach Dee Pottenger said. “But Idaho Falls is a really strong team, and many of our girls had the best matches of their careers ... it makes us feel better to get beat by a team that earned it.”
Coeur d’Alene, a team with no seniors on its roster, finished 21-5 in its first trip to state since 2008, when it placed third. The Vikings won the state title in 1987, and this was their first trip back to the title match since then.
It was the fifth state volleyball title for Idaho Falls (33-9), all since 2003.
“They’re a better team than us right now,” Pottenger said. “We still have potential with this group; we’re going to get even stronger. That team (the Tigers), they were in the championship match last year, and I think that experience, for sure, is going to give them an edge.”
“They (the Tigers) are graduating a couple of key players, but they are returning a few of their strong athletes,” Pottenger added. “So it should make for hopefully a fun rematch next year.”
The state tournament will be played in Kootenai County in 2015.
5 McGee, Ward shine at state track meets
Jerry Louie-McGee reached the finish line in the 400 meters feeling extremely satisfied with his effort and performance.
Meridian’s Bryson Stout had reached the line just before the Lake City High junior and Louie-McGee knew there was no shame being second best in the state behind the talented Stout. He went off to stretch on the infield at Dona Larsen Park in Boise and a short time later he learned the medal he was about to receive wouldn’t be for second place after all.
Stout was disqualified for a lane violation. That meant Louie-McGee, who ran a time of 48.64 seconds, was elevated to 5A champion while being one of the standouts of the final day of the state 5A and 4A track meets at Dona Larsen Park.
“I feel blessed. I’ll take it,” Louie-McGee said with a beaming smile. “It is awesome. I’ve been working for this since my freshman year. This is a great feeling.”
Louie-McGee also was part of two winning Lake City relay teams — the 4x200 and 4x400 — and placed fourth in the 200 in 22.27 seconds while turning in the top overall performance of his high school career. He helped the Timberwolf boys finish second to Rocky Mountain.
Also excelling at the state meet was Lake City junior Maddison Ward, who won the 5A girls 100 meters and repeated as the 200 champion.
Ward pulled off her double-double with a couple of typical stellar performances. She won the 100 in 12.21 seconds and came back later in the hot afternoon to defend her 200 title with a time of 24.82.
“It’s exciting. I just want to go for a three-peat,” Ward said. “Hopefully I can pull this off again next year. I just got to stay healthy — and fast.”
6 Lakeland second at state 4A baseball
Lakeland made a name for itself as the underdog in the state 4A baseball tournament in Nampa.
The Hawks weren’t supposed to beat Jerome in the opening round, yet they rallied for a one-run win. They were dead and buried against Skyview in the semifinals before erupting for 25 hits and 16 runs in another come-from-behind effort.
It was no wonder coach Jason Bradbury and his players believed until the final out of the 4-1 championship game loss to Twin Falls that the magic was going to pay them one final visit.
“It wouldn’t be us if we didn’t come from behind. We kept telling the kids, and they believed until the end that we were going to get them,” Bradbury said. “You’ve got to tip your hat to Twin Falls. They were the better team today.”
It was Lakeland’s first appearance in the championship game since moving up to 4A. The Hawks last played in the title game in 1997, when they won the second of back-to-back state A-2 (3A) crowns.
7 Lakeland’s Bayley wins second state 4A boys golf title
After carding a two-round score of 132, including a two-under par 66 on the second day of the state 4A golf tournament at Twin Falls Municipal Golf Course in May, all Lakeland High senior Derek Bayley could do was be patient.
It paid off.
Some two hours after finishing his final high school round, Bayley won state medalist honors for the second time, edging Hunter Ostrom of Bishop Kelly, who finished with a 133.
“I just sat down and ate some lunch and weathered it out a little bit,” said Bayley, who won his first state title as a sophomore in a playoff. “I went out and putted a little bit and just tried to kill time.”
Ostrom made eagle on the final hole.
“I had a pretty good idea I’d win,” said Bayley, now a freshman on the Washington State men’s golf team. “My dad (Mike) was following them in the final couple of holes and he bogeyed 14, so I knew he had to shoot a 1-under to beat me. But I wasn’t positive until they posted the score.”
8 Coeur d’Alene second at state 5A softball
After losing in the second round of the state 5A softball tournament on the first day, the Coeur d’Alene Vikings had to run the gauntlet of winning five straight games — four of them on the second day — to bring back a second state title in three years.
Coeur d’Alene won three games on the second day at the Skyview Softball Complex in Nampa in May to force a second title game, but after playing those three games back-to-back-to-back, the Vikings (25-5) ran out of gas, falling to Mountain View of Meridian 7-4 in the if-necessary title game.
It was the first title for Mountain View (26-4) and the first time in the last four years that the state title hasn’t been won by an Inland Empire League team — Post Falls won in 2010, Lake City in 2011 and 2013, Coeur d’Alene in 2012.
“It’s a tough way to go to have to beat someone twice,” Coeur d’Alene coach Larry Bieber said. “We had several chances where we had running mistakes that caused our demise. We’ve been really aggressive all year, but it didn’t pay off late in the game. We forced them to make plays and ran ourselves out of a couple innings.”
In addition to their five state titles in fastpitch, the Vikings have now finished as state runner-up five times.
Senior Kayla Albertson hit a state 5A tourney record four home runs in the tournament, and she finished with eight homers on the season.
Coeur d’Alene sophomore Breana Burke pitched all 47 innings in the tournament for the Vikings, breaking the previous state record of 46 2/3 innings pitched by former Viking Blake Hoorelbeke in 1998. Burke tied Hoorelbeke’s state record of seven appearances, also set in 1998.
9 NIC men’s coach Phay leaves to coach at CSI
Normally a coach leaving to take a similar job at the rival school wouldn’t go over as well.
But when Jared Phay, North Idaho College men’s basketball coach for the past 10 seasons, left to take over as head man at the College of Southern Idaho, he did so with his previous employer’s blessings.
“We’re excited for coach Phay,” NIC athletic director Al Williams said. “CSI is an excellent program and it’s a position you’d consider if you wanted to move up in the ranks of coaching.”
Phay, 37, became the 18th men’s basketball coach at CSI — and third in three years.
“I’m really excited,” Phay said. “I loved my time at NIC, but my heart felt like I needed a new challenge and it was the right time at the right place.”
Phay was the head coach at NIC for 10 seasons, winning the Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 2006, 2009 and 2010. He was named conference coach of the year three different times and his 2010-11 team was the first in school history to reach a No. 1 ranking in the NJCAA polls.
In his time at NIC, Phay went 221-94. Phay won at least 20 games in eight of his 10 years.
“I’ve been around a lot of good people for the last 10 years,” Phay said. “I’m going to miss the administration and the people in Coeur d’Alene. But this is a big-time basketball program. I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions and am going to miss a lot of people there.”
Phay’s homecoming is scheduled for Jan. 17, when CSI visits NIC, now coached by Phay’s longtime assistant, Corey Symons.
“It’s going to be really weird when I come back there, no question,” Phay said. “No question about that. I’m definitely going to be rooting for them, except for when we’re playing them.”
10 NIC leaving NJCAA for NWAC
In addition to saving around $600,000 a year in scholarships and travel costs, switching North Idaho College’s athletic programs from the National Junior College Athletic Association to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges will eliminate the chance for Cardinal teams to play for a national title, in exchange for more regional rivals — and perhaps more area players on NIC rosters.
Teams in the NJCAA can advance through conference play to regional tournaments, for the chance to advance to national touraments.
In the NWAACC, the conference tournament is the final step for those teams.
NIC moved its “outdoor” sports — men’s and women’s soccer, as well as softball and men’s and women’s golf — to the NWAC beginning this fall, and will move its “indoor” sports — volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball — to the NWAC effective the 2016-17 school year.
The only exception is wrestling. Since the NWAC does not sponsor wrestling, the NIC wrestling team will continue to be able to compete at the NJCAA level. The three NWAC schools who compete in wrestling — Clackamas (Oregon City, Ore.), Southwestern Oregon (Coos Bay, Ore.) and Highline (Des Moines, Wash.) — already compete with NIC in the NJCAA Region 18.
NIC’s basketball, volleyball and softball teams compete in the far-flung Scenic West Athletic Conference, which includes the College of Southern Idaho (Twin Falls), Salt Lake Community College, Utah State University-Eastern (Price, Utah), Snow College (Ephraim, Utah) and Colorado Northwestern (Rangely, Colo.) in basketball and volleyball.
Western Nevada (Carson City) and Southern Nevada (Henderson) are SWAC members in softball.
The NWAC, consisting of community colleges in Washington and Oregon, is divided into four regions — North, South, East and West. The nearest region to Coeur d’Alene is the East Region, which consists of Community Colleges of Spokane, Yakima Valley, Wenatchee Valley, Walla Walla, Big Bend (Moses Lake), Columbia Basin (Pasco), Blue Mountain (Pendleton, Ore.) and Treasure Valley (Ontario, Ore.).
NIC officials point out that while the school’s closest rival in the SWAC is 583 miles away (CSI, in Twin Falls), NIC’s closest rival in the NWAACC would be just across the border in Spokane.
With more regional foes, “it’s my experience that attendance will go up,” NIC president Joe Dunlap said.
In basketball, NJCAA schools can offer full scholarships to their players. NWAC schools can offer eight scholarships at 65 percent of the total cost.
In softball, NJCAA schools can offer 24 scholarships, the NWAC 11 — again, at 65 percent.
NJCAA teams can recruit a certain number of players internationally. NWAC schools can recruit only regionally — throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Hawaii and Alaska.
If an athlete outside that area is interested in playing at an NWAC school, that athlete must contact the school first. And the school can’t offer any percentage of athletic scholarship, though the athlete can attempt to qualify for grants in aid, or academic monies.
NIC officials said they preferred to move their teams to the less-expensive NWAC, as opposed to remaining in the NJCAA and possibly cutting some sports.
“You have to play the hand you’re dealt, and make the most of the situation,” NIC athletic director Al Williams said. “Most schools don’t have that option; they have to drop sports.”
11 Ex-Post Falls star Hill sets Idaho 3-point record
Through a maze of screens and spot-up jumpers that have produced 1,175 career points and a school-record 266 3-pointers to date, Idaho senior Connor Hill remains thankful.
Now in his third year as the starting shooting guard for the Vandals, Hill has gone from a long-range marksman off the bench as a freshman to the focal point of defenses as a senior — all with the same humility he showed during his decorated career at Post Falls High.
“I knew if I came here, I would have the opportunity to play,” Hill said recently. “I’m just thankful to the coaches for giving me the opportunity to play. I’m just thankful for coach (Don) Verlin, for putting his trust in me.”
Hill became the Vandals’ all-time 3-point scorer last season, eclipsing the previous record of 168, set by Orlando Lightfoot (1991-94). He finished the season with 232 3s, and has been adding to his record this year.
“It is kind of mind-boggling,” Hill said of being the school’s all-time 3-point scorer. “I think about it and I think, ‘how is that possible?’ But then again, that is possible, because I have put in a lot of work, just over life, always playing basketball from a young age. I knew I could do it; I have the confidence I could do, I’m just thankful I got the shot and the opportunity to do it.”
For his Vandal career, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Hill has made 266 of 644 3-pointers (41.3 percent). This year, he’s 34 of 84 from 3-point range, and is averaging 14.4 points per game, second on the club.
Hill’s 98 3-pointers last season, when Idaho came within one game of the NCAA tournament, were one shy of the school record set by former teammate Jeff Ledbetter in 2011. He’s made as many as 8 3s in a game, also one off the single-game school record.
12 Ex-Viking QB Chalich leaves Idaho after two years
The only quarterback to win a game at Idaho the past two seasons is planning to head somewhere else soon.
Vandal sophomore Chad Chalich was granted permission earlier this month to contact Montana, Idaho State and Sacramento State about transferring.
“Chad is a great kid and we wish him all the best,” Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said in an email.
Montana, Idaho State and Sacramento State are all Football Championship Subdivision schools in the Big Sky Conference. By transferring from an FBS school to an FCS school, Chalich would not have to sit out a season, and would have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Chalich redshirted in 2012, his first year at Idaho, then played the last two years.
As a redshirt freshman, he started the first seven games in 2013, leading the Vandals to their only victory, over Temple. He suffered a shoulder injury in the seventh game and did not play again the rest of the season.
This fall, Chalich battled redshirt freshman Matt Linehan for the starting job. Linehan was eventually named the starter for the opener, and Chalich saw limited playing time.
In Idaho’s seventh game of the season, Linehan suffered a concussion early in the game vs. New Mexico State. Chalich came on and led the Vandals to their only win this season, 29-17.
Chalich’s lone start of the season came three weeks later, at San Diego State. He was injured in that game, and did not play in the Vandals’ final two games of the season.
“I’m just impressed that Chad has been positive through this whole ordeal,” said his father, Mark Chalich. “He’s a competitor; he wants to go and have the opportunity to play.”
13 Lake City boys third at state 5A tourney for first trophy since 2002
After a tough semifinal loss, as Lake City High senior point guard Justin Pratt said, “You can either give up and go home, or fight for the third-place trophy, and that’s what we did.”
Lake City decided to keep fighting, and handled Rocky Mountain of Meridian 66-50 in the third-place game of the state 5A boys basketball tournament at Columbia High in Nampa.
Lake City (19-5) rebounded nicely after the Timberwolves played their hearts out in a narrow semifinal loss to unbeaten Capital of Boise the night before at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Lake City pushed the top-ranked and eventual state champion Eagles to the limit before falling 66-58.
“It was really sad at first, but Capital’s a great team,” Pratt said. “They’re undefeated, but we gave them a huge run for their money. Rocky beat us really bad last year (61-33, in the first round, and also beat Lake City by 20 points at state in 2010), and we focused on that after the game.”
Less than 18 hours after the Capital heartbreak, the Timberwolves were celebrating after bringing home their first trophy from state since 2002.
“I’m just pretty tickled,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “This is the fourth one of these (third-place games Winger has coached in at Lake City). And to be so close last night, to play the undefeated, No. 1 team in the state, and just work your tail off, and left nothing out on the floor. And to get up and come out in the middle of a cornfield in Nampa, in a less-tantalizing environment … we were loaded for bear, and just jumped out from the start. We beat a team that’s pretty darn good, and beat ‘em handily. We just played lights out.”
Pratt was one of five senior starters, the others being Kyle Guice, JJ Winger, Chuckie Adams and Jake Vetsch.
“I don’t think the seniors wanted to go home empty handed, because they were nails today,” Jim Winger said.
14 Cierra Foster, Trojans shine at state 5A wrestling
Post Falls put five wrestlers in the finals and, after a pair of state runner-up finishes, remained one of the top programs in the state with a third-place finish at the state 5A tournament at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
Alius De La Rosa repeated as state champion for Post Falls, and Drake Foster, Justin Farnsworth, T.J. Wolf and Seth McLeod each placed second.
De La Rosa defeated Borah’s Devaughn Sapien 4-1 to claim the 120-pound title.
“There were a lot of things I was working on that I struggled with before,” De La Rosa said. “I had wrestled him a few times earlier this season, so I knew where he was good. It seemed to keep me in control through the match.”
“Alius winning a title was a highlight,” said Post Falls coach Pete Reardon. “Being a two-time state champion as a sophomore says a lot about how hard he works.”
Post Falls freshman Cierra Foster made state wrestling history by being the first female to medal as high as third. She pinned Vallivue’s Pedro Villagomez in 4:26 in the 106-pound third-place match to finish the season with a 29-17 record.
15 Cd’A Charter girls beat Timberlake in all-North Idaho 3A girls soccer title game
At a school known for its strength in knowledge more than its athletic prowess, leave it to a Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy player to use their head to get the job done.
The principal’s daughter, no less.
Mary Nicklay scored on a header off a corner kick from Katie Baxter in the 60th minute as the Panthers beat the Intermountain League rival Timberlake Tigers 1-0 at the Sunway Soccer Complex in Twin Falls to claim their first state 3A championship in the program’s third year.
“It’s huge,” Coeur d’Alene Charter coach Dave Baxter said. “I just can’t understate that. These kids have worked so hard to get to this point. We’re thrilled.”
16 Coeur d’Alene boys repeat as state swimming champions
Even stronger than last year, the Coeur d’Alene Vikings swam away with their second straight boys swimming championship at the Boise City Aquatics Center in November.
Coeur d’Alene senior Ethan Cordes won state titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly, setting a state record in the freestyle in 20.83 seconds.
“It was one of the better races of my life,” said Cordes of the 50 freestyle.
Cordes also swam on winning relays in the 200 and 400 freestyle along with teammates Kade Hern, Kyle Jones and Beau Urbaniak.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” Cordes said. “There’s nobody I’d rather swim with than that group of kids. We’ve been swimming together since we were 10, and to set some records in our final race together, it was awesome.”
Coeur d’Alene beat Boise by 37 points for the 5A boys title.
“We pretty much dominated all the other teams,” Coeur d’Alene coach Rich Swoboda said. “We kind of swam for positioning on Friday night (in the prelims), and just improved on those times today.”