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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2016)
AHS PREVIEWS 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2016 Fishermen ready for another run Astoria must navigate tough Cowapa League Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Lady Fish Alexis Wallace, a senior this year, takes a shot during practice. By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian Lady Fish hope for big season, even with changes Like so many other sports, the best teams in Class 4A boys basketball reside right in the Cowapa League. Three of the top-five finish- ers in the state tournament last season were from the Cowapa, with all three playing on the final day of the season. And the Astoria Fishermen are (or should be) quick to point out, they were the only Cowapa League team to win that day. Seaside fell short in the state championship game and Scappoose lost the third-place game, but the Fishermen came through in the consolation bracket final, defeating Cottage Grove 56-46. With eight returners, you can expect the Fighting Fisher- men to make another big run in 2016-17. Astoria optimistic despite losing starters By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian For starters, four start- ers are gone. But coach Mike Jacobson is still optimistic about the upcoming season for the Astoria girls basketball program. The Lady Fishermen are still stocked with good ath- letes, size and hard workers. Astoria lost Mykka Abra- hams, Chloee Hunt and Tay- lor Mickle to graduation, while Kaylee Mitchell has transferred to Sprague High School. As a result, last year’s juniors are the new team lead- ers, and Jacobson will have to rely on some young players in key roles. “There’s a lot of teaching going on,” Jacobson said after one week of practice. “There’s a lot of new stuff. We’re going to miss Chloee, Taylor and Mykka, and their senior lead- ership. But we’ve improved each year, and that’s our goal this year. I think we will.” THE COWAPA “Banks is going to be really good,” Jacobson said. “I’m sure they’ll be a top-five team in the state. Then it will be Valley Catholic and Sea- side, and the rest of us.” The Braves lost four all- leaguers but return two oth- ers (Anna Klein and Aspen Slifka), while the Valiants have junior Noelle Mannen. Maddi Utti is the league’s top player, back for her senior season at Seaside. THE LADY FISH The seniors are Ashlee Dalton, Rylee DeMander, Anna Gimre and Alexis Wallace. “We didn’t have any seniors my first year,” Jacob- ASTORIA GIRLS BASKETBALL Coach: Mike Jacobson, 3rd year 2015-16: 11-14 (4-6 Cowapa) Playoffs: Lost Regional Play-in at Henley, 56-64 All-League Losses: Chloee Hunt All-League Returners: None son said. “Now we’ve got four seniors and three juniors. We have seven freshmen out and we’ll have another big class next year. So we’ll get our numbers back up.” The junior class includes McKenzie Burnett, Libbie Nash and McKailyn Rogers; and there’s a young sopho- more running the offense, with Sam Hemsley returning for her second varsity season. Sophomores Gracie Cum- mings, Lexi Lyngstad and Taylor Palmrose make the move up to varsity. The big 6-foot freshman in the Brick House is Brook- lyn Hankwitz, who steps into the hole left by Hunt. A year or two from now, she could be teaming with 6’1” Kaisa Jackson to give Astoria the tallest lineup. “Sam and Rylee will run offense, and we’ll expect scoring from Alexis and Anna, and hopefully Ashlee,” Jacobson said. Hankwitz will be in the post, “and we’ll see how she does. She’s pretty athletic, and can get up and down the floor. “Rylee has improved — she has put a lot of time in the weight room,” he said. “I’d like to press, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to. It depends if we can get Gracie and Sam on the same page.” Jacobson has added Emily Delay (junior varsity coach) and former Seaside Gull Haylee Dundas to the coach- ing staff. Astoria senior Rylee Demander shoots for the score during a November practice at Asto- ria High School. ... is one of the most unique Cafes in the world. Located on the Columbia River in the West’s oldest cannery building historic Hanthorn Cannery at the end of Pier 39 Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian The Fishermen basketball team practices at Astoria High School. THE FISHERMEN The Twin Towers will defi- nitely be missed. Cowapa League co-Player of the Year Derek Jarrett and first-team all- leaguer Justin Fruiht played key roles in Astoria’s postsea- son run. But the Fishermen have ath- letes ready to step in and fill the gaps. A pair of 6-foot-5 seniors — Jackson Arnsdorf and Ryan Palek — both return, while the Fishermen could match Seaside as the team with the most ath- letic guards. Senior Olaf Englund was all-league last season, and will be joined in the backcourt by senior Cade O’Brien. Senior Kyle Strange is still sidelined with a broken leg suffered in football, but could be back by the second half of league play. At wing, Fridtjof Fremstad will look to continue his big senior year in sports, after quar- terbacking Astoria football to a big season. Jasyn Gohl is one of eight seniors, along with Arnsdorf, Palek and the guards. “Jackson Arnsdorf and Palek can step into those spots (left by Fruiht and Jarrett),” Goin said. “They both played a lot of minutes last year. Alex Burchfield is about 6’2”, and plays a lot bigger than he is. And Josh Olson is 6’4” and can play down low, as well. Astoria head basketball coach Kevin Goin talks with his team during a November prac- tice at Astoria High School. ASTORIA BOYS BASKETBALL Coach: Kevin Goin, 3rd year 2015-16: 21-8 (7-3 Cowapa) Playoffs: Defeated Marshfield (69-61, OT) and Cottage Grove (56-46) in consolation at state tournament. Astoria’s Fridtjof Fremstad takes a shot during practice in November at Astoria High School. Astoria’s Olaf Englund shoots for a basket at practice. “Outside of that group, Karsten Johnson is a junior who played JV last year. And with Josh Olson and Tristan Wallace (So.), those three will have opportunities early on, and that gives us 10. “Kyle Strange … I don’t know. Most of the time, they say four to six months with that All-League Losses: Derek Jarrett (co-MVP), Justin Fruiht All-League Returners: Olaf Englund, Sr.; Kyle Strange, Sr. injury … we’ll see. I know he’s going to physical therapy, he’s doing what he has to do and he looks a lot better. “The big thing will be replacing Derek and Justin, but with Jackson, Ryan and Alex, we have kids who can step in and play those spots. We might be a little more transitional. Those kids can run and jump, so we might be a little more fast-paced.” Adding varsity depth at times will be juniors Timothy Schumacher, Kainoa Kanonohi and David Sharp. ! O G EN M R E H S I Go Fishermen! F DEL’S O.K. Friendly services, high quality espresso, sumptuous fresh pastries, unique breakfasts and lunches. “oooooh...” Have a Great Season! “aaaaah...” THE COWAPA But first, the Fishermen have to navigate through their own league to get to Hillsboro. “Banks and Valley Catho- lic will both be big,” according to Astoria coach Kevin Goin, entering his third season. “Val- ley didn’t lose a kid. They’ll have another back who’s 6’9” (senior Vlad Katin), so they will be huge. Banks was big last year and they lost some guards, but they have all their size back. “Obviously Seaside will be tough again with the guards. They have all their guards back, and they had a really good JV group. “Tillamook will still have (Jacob) Berge (all-league as a sophomore and junior), and they had a pretty good sopho- more class. The league overall should be pretty good.” MON-THU 7am–4pm FRI 7am-5pm SAT 8am-5pm SUN 8am-4pm 100 39th Street #2 ASTORIA KLEMP FAMILY DENTISTRY Hours: Mon-Fri 8-6 • Sat- 8-4 OREGON 503.325.6900 TheCoffeeGirl.com 503-325-2861 35359 BUS 101 • ASTORIA Dr. Dennis Klemp, DMD, FAGD 1006 West Marine Dr. Astoria, OR (503) 468-0116 klempfamilydentistry.com
