Union (19-9), in its second trip to state, upset previously unbeaten No. 1 Enumclaw 51-50 in the title game. Chis Morgan hit a pair of free throws with 8.4 seconds remaining to clinch the win. Enumclaw (27-1) beat Union the previous week in the West Central/Southwest district title game.
Union's win ended an eight-year run of Metro League teams winning state. No. 2 Rainier Beach, the Metro's best shot, was upset in the quarterfinals and did not place. The Metro League had won 11 of the previous 13 state titles.
The Metro League did win the girls title, but it wasn't the Seattle school that everybody expected to win. Cleveland (22-7) entered the postseason unranked, and the Eagles won the title by beating No. 1 Holy Names 47-44. It was the first state title for the Eagles, who have had just two winning seasons in the past six years. The loss ended a 19-game win streak for Holy Names (26-3), which was playing without leading scorer Claire Conricode, who was injured in the semifinals.
2. Bellevue gets former Seahawks coach: Jim Mora, who was fired as coach of the Seattle Seahawks following the 2009 season, will volunteer to work with the Bellevue football program. His role has yet to be determined. One of Mora's former coaches, Chris Beake, has been hired as the Wolverines' defensive coordinator. Beake was an assistant on offensive and special teams for Mora. Bellevue, a nationally recognized program, has won seven of the last nine Class 3A state titles.
3. Squalicum repeats as 2A boys champs: The 2010 season was a mirror image of 2009 for Squalicum (Bellingham). The Storm won the Class 2A state boys title, beating Burlington-Edison 67-63 in the championship game for the second straight year. The Storm finished 26-1 for the second straight year. Michael Greene scored 24 to lead Storm. Evan Coulter scored 25 for the Tigers (22-5).
4. River Ridge establishes a dynasty: River Ridge (26-1) of Lacey won its third Class 2A girls title in four years by beating Prosser (21-4) in the title game 57-46. Tayshia Hunt scored 20 for Prosser.
5. Spring sports in full swing: Before the state basketball tournaments are even over, spring sports start up. This week the six spring sports, baseball, fastpitch, soccer, track and field, tennis and golf (lacrosse is also played as a club sport), all get started across the state.
Top performers
Andre' Winston Jr. (Lakes basketball): Set a Class 3A tourney record for points in a tournament with 119. It broke the record previously held by Omm'A Givens, who scored 118 for Aberdeen in 1994.
Patrick Simon (Ephrata basketball): The 6-foot-9 Washington State commit set a Class 2A state tourney record with 48 points in a semifinal loss. The previous record was 38 set by Wapato's Willie Blodgett last year. Simon was 13 of 27, including 7 of 16 on 3-pointers, and 15-for-15 at the free throw line.
Cheyenne Wilson (Cleveland basketball): Earned Class 3A state tournament girls MVP after scoring 20 points in the title game.
Derek Dickerson (Squalicum basketball): Earned Class 2A boys state tournament MVP after leading the Storm to back-to-back titles.
Jennifer Cole (River Ridge basketball): Earned Class 2A girls state tournament MVP after scoring 16 points in the title game.
Recruiting news
Bremerton 6-2 guard Jarell Flora, the Olympic League MVP, committed to Seattle University. Flora averaged 23.8 points and 11.2 rebounds for the Knights, who made state last year.
Nate's notes
There's no greater shock to the system for a high school sports reporter than the end of the winter sports season. We drive all over for a month covering district and state basketball tournaments. Suddenly it's over; we re-introduce ourselves to our families and eventually make it back to the office. There's always a surprise waiting. Spring sports are already going; the phones are ringing off the hook. Spring is the busiest of the three seasons, as there are six sports playing simultaneously. Without much of a rest, it's time to sprint until Memorial Day and the spring state championships.
Nathan Joyce has covered high school sports in Washington for 12 years. He works for the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.
