THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Sims savoring her senior moments, one sport at a time

To say that Post Falls High senior Capri Sims has had a memorable final year at the school might be an understatement.

In what was her final home basketball game, Sims eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in a loser-out game against Lewiston in the 5A Region 1 tournament.

And as the seasons transitioned to track and field, there was her second throw of the season in the shot put, shattering an 18-year old school record.

SIMS SCORED 514 total points as a senior — 1,033 for her career — for the Trojans this winter, finishing with an average of 20.2 points per game, which was seventh in the state according to MaxPreps.com.

“When I went to look at MaxPreps, I realized that I’d scored almost half of my (career) points as a senior,” Sims said. “Which was really big for me. Coming into the year, I wasn’t expecting to be a top scorer and didn’t put any expectations on myself. After that Lewiston game, after just being consistent all year, I thought, ‘wow, I just scored 1,000 points.’”

As for her throw in the shot put of 41 feet, 2 1/2 inches, the opener on March 17 at the Sweeney Invitational in Lewiston was her first time on the track in over a year after a leg injury sidelined her as a junior.

That was more than 6 feet farther than her previous best throw of 34 feet, 11 1/2 inches.

"It felt great," Sims said. "I didn't really think about it at the time because I'd been really consistent with all of my throws that day. It was awesome, but something I definitely wasn't expecting."

With basketball, Sims, a 6-foot forward, also grabbed 10.1 rebounds a game, good enough for eighth in the state, per MaxPreps.

“She put everything she had into basketball this winter,” first-year Post Falls coach Brian Hall said. “She didn’t do a fall sport this year, but in the past she’s swam and stayed in shape. She’s just a great athlete and one that comes around, you kind of wish you had three or four of them.”

Hall took over the girls program after the retirement of coach Marc Allert after 11 seasons following the 2021-22 season to focus on his health and battle with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder.

“Just watching her presence on the court and how she led her teammates, it was impressive,” Hall said. “When you’ve got someone like that with those kinds of skills, it’s once in a lifetime. She’s just one of those athletes that has everything going. You want to get her the ball and make her a part of our offense. And she’s a big part of the defense as well, with 20 points per game and 10 rebounds a game. She led the state in many categories. To come walking into that, and what kind of person she is off the court, kind of exemplifies what you’d want in a student-athlete.”

SIMS SIGNED to continue her basketball career at NCAA Division II Central Washington University in Ellensburg next year.

It was almost an immediate connection with Sims and the entire coaching staff.

“They were one of the first colleges that I talked to,” Sims said. “They’ve been watching me for a while and I made a connection with the coach (Randi Richardson-Thornley) and assistant coach (Jessica Richardson). It was just far enough where I could be independent, but also close enough where if I wanted to come home I could. The campus is beautiful and the coach wanted to win. She told me this is what I’m here for and wants to get you better, and just had this drive and I really liked that in her.”

Sims had another visit planned to Montana State-Billings, also a Division II school, but did not end up making the trip.

“I was supposed to go to Montana State-Billings, but that was after my timeline for my offer,” Sims said. “The head of AAU team (Northwest Blazers coach Steve Klees) said that if you find the right fit, take it. Because you might not get it again.”

At Central Washington, Sims will be a small forward.

“Central has a great program and I think she’ll fit right in,” Hall said. “More than likely, she’ll play right away. That’s the difference in Idaho between Division I and Division II, where she can go there and play right away, whereas you might have to sit a year and watch. I think Central Washington got a steal with her and she’s going to be playing right away and going to be all-conference in her first year with the way she plays. I hope she does well there.”

IN HER time at Post Falls, the Trojans qualified for state in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“My junior year was a great year, especially with how we came back to beat Coeur d’Alene (in the regional second-place game) to get to state,” Sims said. “Thunder Ridge was a big game last year just with how they came back and won it in the last few minutes. I wish we would have won that game, but everything happens for a reason.”

Sims is on the Region girls squad for the 20th Idaho high school all-star basketball games today at North Idaho College.

The girls game begins at 1 p.m., followed by the boys at 3:30 p.m.

Sims will be a teammate of Coeur d’Alene’s Madi Symons, who has signed with Wyoming, in today's game.

“I’ve always wanted to play with Madi, and I’m glad we’ve got the chance to do that now,” said Sims, who played with Symons in an all-star game last week in Spokane. “We’ve been rivals, and now we won’t even be in the same state anymore. It’s an honor, but also bittersweet because it’s also your last game.”

“When she gets on the court, it’s business,” Hall said of Sims. “Now that we’re at the end of the season, it’s fun for her, but she’s in this mental state where she’s there for business. She’s not just a one-dimensional player. She’s the whole thing.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.