Point guard Ari Richardson leaves big shoes to fill with the Columbia River boys basketball team, but the Rapids are in good hands with his successor.
The senior ended his River career eclipsing 1,000 career points and earning second-team all-tournament honors after the Rapids took fourth place at the Class 2A state tournament in Yakima — the program’s best finish since 2009.
Richardson was a main driver behind all three of River’s wins at the Yakima SunDome.
The week started with a 21-point, six-rebound, seven-steal performance in a Round of 12 win over Lakewood on Wednesday.
After a quarterfinal loss to Selah, the No. 11 seed Rapids upset No. 1 Lynden in the fourth-place semifinals Friday and Richardson hit 6-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
The senior capped his career by scoring a team-high 21 points Saturday during a 78-59 win over Mark Morris in the fourth-place game.
Few had a better view of Richardson’s play than Alex Pont, River’s sixth man who’s set to become its starting point guard next season. The junior gained valuable experience at state, playing an average of 15 minutes across four games, including a 12-point effort in the Rapids’ season finale against Mark Morris.
“It’s been great,” Pont said after Saturday’s win. “This is my first season actually getting minutes and last year I was on the bench mostly the whole time. I got experience being on the bench and coming up here. … Me and Ari are best friends, we’ve been through a lot and it’s been fun.”
Along with Richardson, fellow seniors Aaron Hoey, John Reeder, Tyler Miles and Javen Fletch are all leaving the program after clinching a fourth-place trophy.
“It was super important (and) it was super important for my seniors too. I look up to them,” Pont said. “It was great. It was good to get a win for them.”
In addition to bringing home hardware, the Rapids’ eight juniors, Pont included, got a feel for playing a full week at state and now know what to expect going forward. Juniors Luca Phillips, Kellen Clary and Josh Paxton also played key minutes at state.
“It’s baby steps. Last we got here and got bounced in the Round of 12,” River coach Mark Ganter said. “All those juniors that are there now, they have a taste of this. We’re trying to make this an every year thing.”
Richardson, too, is looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the Rapids.
“Oh man,” Richardson said, “I’ve played with these guys since, like, fourth grade, so I’m excited to watch what they’re going to do next year and I know they can go far.”
— Will Denner
Camas coach Thompson thankful as he steps down
Scott Thompson relished one last state tournament coaching both the Camas girls basketball team and his daughter, senior point guard Keirra Thompson.
Thompson said months ago this season would be his last. It ended with a 58-53 loss to Auburn in the consolation round on Friday.
Sunday, Thompson posted a lengthy statement on Facebook reflecting on his coaching journey and thanking the Camas High School community.
“The community at Camas never disappointed, always wrapped their arms around their teams and was pivotal to the experience that we were able to give the girls,” Thompson wrote. “I am beyond grateful. Thank you.”
In seven seasons leading the Papermakers, Thompson’s teams earned six state tournament berths. Camas won the 2024 state title, was runner-up in 2023 and placed fourth in 2022.
Thompson began his high school coaching career with the Fort Vancouver boys. He led the Trappers to five postseason berths and won more than 80 games from 2006-2014.
“Stepping away is always hard,” Thompson wrote. “You will always have young players in your program that you don’t want to feel like you are leaving, and this is no different. This year was amazing. A young team that did everything right, they played hard and cared harder.”
— Micah Rice
Columbia River girls coach promises adjustments
There was plenty of good history that repeated this season for the Columbia River girls basketball team.
The Rapids defended their Class 2A Greater St. Helens League title and earned a second consecutive berth in the state quarterfinals, a place the program hadn’t previously been since 1992.
But there’s also history Columbia River wishes hadn’t reoccurred. The Rapids’ three losses in the state tournament were exactly the same as last year.
Like last year, River fell in the opening round to juggernaut Ellensburg. After winning in the Round of 12, the Rapids again lost in the quarterfinals to traditional powerhouse Lynden in a blowout.
Once again, it was Archbishop Murphy that ended the Rapids season on Friday.
Nevermind that Ellensburg, Lynden and Archbishop Murphy all placed in the top four the past two years. Rapids coach Tee Anderson said she plans on making adjustments after the Rapids lost those three games this year by an average of 39.6 points.
“I have to prepare them better because we’re here for a reason,” Anderson said. “I think the girls forget how big of a deal it is being here with the top eight in the state.”
Anderson said that could involve more use of junior varsity boys on scout teams to mimic the strength, size and speed that Columbia River had trouble matching in Yakima.
“I have to prepare them really early on and give the girls a taste of what it’s always going to be like,” Anderson said. “So when we get into these games we know exactly what’s going to happen.”
— Micah Rice
Seton Catholic girls spring forward after tough loss
It can take a long time for a team to get over a tough season-ending loss in the state basketball tournament.
For the Seton Catholic girls, that process begins this week when spring sports begin.
Those players won’t be idly dwelling on Friday’s 64-61 loss to Naches Valley, in which Seton led by 17 points entering the fourth quarter. Instead the Cougars will be keeping those competitive juices flowing on the school’s track and field or softball teams.
“I discourage players from specializing (in one sport),” Seton Catholic coach Phil Kent said. “I want them competing because the more you compete for your community, which is what a high school is, there’s no feeling like that.”
Kent credits much of the basketball team’s success to the entire roster being multi-sport athletes. Senior post Hailey Hammerstrom, for example, was the goalkeeper last fall on the girls soccer team that placed third in state and a state qualifier last spring in the shot put.
“The more you experience that at a high level, that experience is going to stay with them,” Kent said. “That is what helped us get here and what will help us get back next year.”
— Micah Rice
Seton Catholic boys reach end of an era
Connections run deep between the Seton Catholic boys basketball team’s five seniors and coaches.
That’s why the Cougars’ 68-48 loss to Meridian in the Class 1A state fourth-place semifinals on Friday in Yakima felt like the end of an era.
Seton Catholic coach Donald Wilson first coached seniors Rico George, Brady Angelo, Lance Lee and Tyler Tran when they were sixth graders, and Wilson’s son, now-sophomore Kaiden Wilson, was a fourth grader running around with his dad in the gym. All were reunited for the majority of their high school careers with the Cougars.
The relationships extend to assistant coaches and players, too. George, for example, grew up watching assistant Bronson King play at Prairie High School, and assistant Kellen Ball play at Seton Catholic.
“It’s a lot harder to see them play potentially their last bit of basketball,” said Donald Wilson, Seton’s second-year head coach. “Just watching them from sixth grade to now, and understanding the development phase to get to this point has been amazing to watch.”
Along with fellow senior Mason Glassmire, Seton’s senior class accomplished three straight trips to the Yakima SunDome, including a program-best sixth-place finish in 2024. Their class bridged the gap between multiple eras of the program, first reaching Yakima in 2023 with a senior class led by Jack Jenniges, then became the faces of the program as upperclassmen, along with Kaiden Wilson, a two-time Trico League MVP.
“They’ve really set the bar, I believe, for what the next couple years could look like for Seton,” Donald Wilson said. “Now, it’s just up to us to continue to figure out how to do that. Put the pieces together with the group we have coming back. … Those are big shoes to fill, but I think Seton will be able to do that.”
— Will Denner
