A8 • Friday, April 29, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
SPORTS
Utti’s last season ends at Gill Coliseum
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
It was a fi tting place for
Maddi Utti to play the last
game of her college basket-
ball career.
A fi fth-year senior at
Long Beach State in Cal-
ifornia, Utti and her team
unfortunately ended the sea-
son with a 70-59 loss March
17 at Oregon State in the
fi rst round of the Wom-
en’s National Invitational
Tournament.
Utti was in early foul
trouble, but still fi nished
with seven points, four
steals and a team-high 10
rebounds.
The game was played
at Gill Coliseum, the same
building where, arguably,
the Legend of Utti began.
As a freshman at Seaside
High School, Utti made the
all-state tournament team
and helped the Lady Gulls
to a fi fth-place fi nish in the
2013-14 state tournament,
the highest fi nish ever for
Seaside girls basketball.
Also, the 23 wins for
coach Wally Hamer’s team
that year was and still is a
school record.
Meanwhile, Utti eventu-
ally landed at Fresno State,
where she had a success-
ful four-year career with the
Bulldogs.
After the 2020-21 sea-
son, Utti and other seniors
— because of the NCAA’s
lost season to COVID —
were granted a fi fth year of
eligibility. Utti entered the
transfer portal, went to Long
Beach State, and started
27 of the team’s 28 games,
and was second in minutes
played at 36.4 per game.
She also led the team
in scoring with 366 points
(13.6 per game), and had
more than twice as many
rebounds (238) as any player
on the roster, to go with 86
steals and 24 blocks (both
team highs) and 79 assists,
second on the team. The 86
steals led the Big West Con-
ference, and her 3.19 steals
per game was eighth in the
entire nation at the Division
I level.
Long Beach State fi n-
ished 19-9 overall, and Utti
was a fi rst team all-con-
ference selection. In addi-
tion, she was named the Big
West’s Defensive Player of
the Year.
Utti’s best season at
Fresno State was 2019-20,
in which she started all 32
games, was twice named
the conference Player of
the Week, and ultimately
selected as the Mountain
West Player of the Year.
Utti’s coach at Long
Beach, Jeff Cammon, told
the school’s student newspa-
per, The Daily Forty-Niner,
that if Long Beach State had
won the conference, Utti
would have been named the
Big West Player of the Year.
“She should have been
Player of the Year. I mean,
she’s the best player in the
conference,” Cammon said.
Utti suff ered a torn
labrum the year before at
Fresno State, and started
training for the 2021-22 sea-
son just four months after
suff ering an injury.
“I put in a lot of work
on just understanding our
defense and really working
hard on that defensive end,”
Utti told The Daily For-
ty-Niner. “All my hard work
paid off , and I try to pride
myself in rebounding.”
Utti was not allowed to
take part in contact drills
over the summer, but was
always fi nding ways to get
better.
“There’s not many kids
that do that,” Cammon said.
“Most kids you tell ‘hey, you
can’t go’ they’re going to sit
on the side, watch practice
and cheer. She’s over there
trying to get better and that’s
why she is who she is.”
When Cammon was
recruiting Utti, he was look-
ing for more than just a bas-
ketball player.
He told The Daily For-
ty-Niner that Utti is an amaz-
ing person, and was a per-
fect fi t when she came down
to check out the school on an
informal visit.
“From the jump, she came
in, there’s no ego,” Cam-
mon said. “You can imagine
a Player of the Year coming
in from another conference,
they can be a little arrogant,
and they’ve accomplished a
lot. But she didn’t come in
with any of that. She’s an
amazing basketball player
that helped take our program
to another level.”
When Utti entered the
transfer portal after 2020-
21, Cammon said he had
coaches from the Pac-12
calling and asking questions
about her.
“I’m just blessed that she
decided to spend her last
year here,” he said. “I wish
we had more time with her
because she’s an amazing
young lady.”
As the season came to
an end, Utti said she was
thankful for the program,
and said it was the best deci-
sion she could have made.
She still has aspirations of
one day playing basketball
professionally.
“I’m surrounded by the
Long Beach State
Seaside’s Maddi Utti, in
action against UC Davis
during her one season at
Long Beach State.
best people, they’re really
a family here and I felt like
they welcomed me into that
family so easily,” Utti said.
“It’s just a great environ-
ment to be in and I’m lucky
to have been a part of it this
year.”
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Gary Henley/The Astorian
Seaside’s Carson Kawasoe tees off on the seventh hole in
Monday’s invitational at the Astoria Golf & Country Club.
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Elite teams take part
in Seaside Invitational
The Astorian
Some of the best in Ore-
gon high school boys golf
was on display Monday at
the Astoria Golf & Country
Club, where Seaside was the
host team in the nine-school
Seaside Invitational.
Individually, one of the
top golfers at the 6A level
was medalist, as Clackamas
senior Alex Lasko fi red a
three-under par 69 in the not-
so-ideal conditions, with rain
showers over much of the
front nine.
McNary’s Colby Sulli-
van carded a one-under par
71, with two Valley Catholic
golfers at 73.
McNary, a 6A school,
took the team title with a
305, ahead of Valley Catholic
(324), Clackamas (328), Ore-
gon Episcopal (352), Madras
(377), Seaside’s blue team
(389), North Marion (396),
Astoria (417), Seaside red
(451) and Estacada (473).
Seaside senior Carson
Kawasoe — who was medal-
ist in all fi ve of his fi rst events
this spring — was sixth indi-
vidually, with an 80.
“Carson’s perfect season
ended today, but if the streak
was to be broken, it was bet-
ter to happen today than
next week,” Seaside coach
Jim Poetsch said, as districts
approach. “Our other Car-
son, Bates, broke into the
90’s today, and he should
keep getting lower as his
career progresses.”
Besides Bates, “it was a
pretty rough day out there
for our blue team, which has
been our varsity most of the
season,” said Poetsch, who
had two squads competing.
“Again, better to happen
now when only our egos are
on the line.”
Also scoring for the Gulls
was Ever Sibony and Carter
Perrigo, each with a 105; and
Riley Wunderlich (111).
Judd Field led Astoria
with a 94, followed by Diet-
rich Allen (103), Tayden
Cole (108) and Jack Phillips
(112).
Astoria was missing its
top golfer, Ian McHone,
along with Jase Junes.
Tillamook tops Seaside
Kawasoe made it 5-for-5
in the medalist department
last Tuesday against Tilla-
mook, but the Gulls came
up short again in the team
scoring, with the Cheese-
makers scoring a 346-362
win at Gearhart Golf Links.
Kawasoe birdied two of
the fi rst three holes to go
two-up on the co-medal-
ist from last season’s state
championship, Elliot Lee,
of Tillamook. Lee bird-
ied the seventh hole to get
back to within one, where
it stayed most of the day.
Kawasoe birdied two of the
last four holes to walk away
with medalist honors, card-
ing a one-under par 71, to
Lee’s 74.
Nick Gitchell shot 87 to
lead the Cheesemakers.
Seaside scorers included
Sibony (92), Perrigo (97),
Bates (102) and Wunderlich
(112).
“Carson is fi ve-for-fi ve
this season and has played
against some very good
players the last two days,”
said Poetsch. “We fi nally
got a couple players into the
90s to help him out a little,
but it wasn’t enough today.”
Braves defeat Seaside
Kawasoe was medal-
ist for the fourth time in
four events this season, but
Banks was the team win-
ner last Monday in a Cow-
apa League boys golf match
at Quail Valley Golf Course.
Kawasoe shot a 75 to
easily outpace the Braves’
Aaron Brown and Jake Wal-
ters, who each shot 82.
Banks countered with
Ben Cost (86) and Bo
Wormington (87), and the
Braves fi nished with a 337
team score, to Seaside’s
390.
Wunderlich (101), Per-
rigo (105), Bates (109) and
Sibony (111) rounded out
the Seaside scoring.
“Carson has been the
cream of the crop in each
event this season,” said
Poetsch. “He is playing well
as we get close to the post-
season. Our other guys hit
some really good shots, but
they haven’t quite fi gured
out how to put together a
full round.”
He added, “The big num-
bers are really hurting us.
The Braves had three holes
of triple bogey or worse and
we had 25.”
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