Jesuit sweeps Oregon 6A basketball championships

The Jesuit (Portland) boys captured their third-straight title and the Crusader girls won their first as Jesuit became the first school in Oregon basketball annals to win both 6A titles in the same season.

It's also the first time a 6A team won three-straight boys basketball titles. Jefferson/Portland won 5A titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Kentucky-bound Kyle Wiltjer had 13 points and 11 rebounds, senior forward Jordan Akwenuke had 14 points and seven rebounds and senior wing Jack Grodahl had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced Jesuit attack.

That balance, however, didn't click until the second half when the Crusaders outscored No. 3 Westview/Beaverton (21-7) 41-21.

"We knew we could come back. We knew we could beat them and this makes it much sweeter to go out this way, as a senior," said Wiltjer, who was a starter in Jesuit's back-to-back-to-back state titles.

Oregon-bound senior center Austin Kuemper led Westview with 15 points.

Westview lost to Jesuit 66-44 in last year's title game. In the 2009 title game, Jesuit defeated Lincoln/Portland, 63-41.

During Wiltjer's final three years as a varsity player, the Crusaders were 77-7. Joining Wiltjer and Kuemper on the all-state team were Brennan Scarlett (Central Catholic) and Jesuit's Grodahl and Akwenuke.

Third Place: Central Catholic/Portland (24-4) 72, North Medford (20-7) 69.

Led by multi-all-state athlete Elizabeth Brenner, Jesuit (Portland) defeated Clackamas (27-2) 42-39 for the girls 6A title. Brenner, Oregon's top volleyball player, scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and held Colorado-bound Jen Reese to 10 points. Jesuit lost the title game in 2010.

Third place: Oregon City 72, S. Eugene 55.

Joining Reese and Brenner on the All-Tournament team were Ellen Cook (S. Eugene), Johanna Paine (Oregon City) and Rachel Mendelsohn (Jesuit).

TOP PLAYERS DON'T DISAPPOINT IN BOYS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP
As expected, the top player on each team put on a show. For Benson Tech (Portland), it was Washington-bound guard Andrew Andrews scoring a tournament-high 41 points. For Corvallis, it as 6-6 junior Jake Ehlers elevating his game in overtime - both of them - as Corvallis won its first 5A State title since 1984 with a 79-73 victory.

Ehlers finished with 36 points, including 11 in the second overtime, for the 27-1 Spartans. He had 15 in the two overtime periods. Benson finished 23-4.

Joining Ehlers and Andrews on the All-Tournament team were Bryce White (Benson), Seth Gearhart (Wilsonville) and Michone Hopkins (Milwaukie).

Third Place: Wilsonville 58, Bend 42

RUSSELL LEADS MILLERS TO GIRLS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP
Mercedes Russell scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead No. 1 Springfield (27-2) to a 42-40 victory over West Albany (23-5) to give the Millers their first 5A State title.

Russell, a 6-5 sophomore, also blocked five shots in the title game and finished the three days at state with 71 points, and 39 rebounds.

Joining Russell on the All-Tournament team were Samantha Siegner (W. Albany), Lexi Bando (Willamette/Eugene), Hannah Doran (Crescent Valley/Corvallis) and Dani Kastrava (W. Albany).

Third Place: Crescent Valley (Corvallis) 57, Willamette/Eugene 53

CASCADE HANDS LASALLE FIRST LOSS OF SEASON - IN STATE 4A TITLE GAME
Hitting 22 of 24 free throws, Cascade (Turner) (26-2) ended LaSalle Prep's magical season and in the process won the State 4A Girls title, 58-56. Sophomore Cassie Sanders scored 20 points, including 11-for-12 from the foul line, to lead Cascade. LaSalle's leading scorer, 6-3 Megan Hays, was limited to 5 points and 6 rebounds.

One of Cascade's two losses this season took place in December when LaSalle won 73-63. A week later, the Cougars lost to Banks - the last time they lost this season. LaSalle finished the season 28-1.

Third Place: Madras 44, Henley, 30.

Joining Hays on the All-Tournament team were teammate Brittaney Niebergall, Tava Lewis (Cascade), Rylee Carleton (Henley) and Abby Scott (Madras).

BOYS 4A TITLE GAME CLOSE FOR ONLY A FEW MINUTES
Cottage Grove scored first, but Phoenix (23-6) led the rest of the way in winning the State Boys 4A title. The closest Cottage Grove (24-4) got was 41-29 with a little over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The final was 59-44.

All-Tournament Team: Mason Shepherd (Cottage Grove), Dustin Hurd (Cottage Grove), Tanner Omlid (Central), Alex Young (Phoenix) and Tyler Dungannon (Phoenix).

Third Place: Mazama (Klamath Falls) 51, Roosevelt/Portland 49

ZOOK TOPS 2A ALL-STATE TEAM
Pierre Zook, who led Western Mennonite (Salem) to the State Boys 2A title, has been named the Oregon 2A Player of the Year. His coach, Gary Hull, was named 2A Coach of the Year.

For the season, Zook averaged 25 points per game and averaged 30 points in the Pioneers' four state playoff games. Western Mennonite finished the season at 26-5 and avenged a pair of losses to league rival Central Linn by beating the Cobras in the state title game, 58-52, behind Zook's 31 points.

Joining Zook on the first team were Dalton Kelly, jr., Knappa; Blake Nightingale, sr., Central Linn/Halsey; Zach Holloway, jr., Central Linn/Halsey; and Mason Colburn, sr., North Douglas/Drain.

EX-OREGON PREPS IN COLLEGE MARCH MADNESS
Fourteen former Oregon high school basketball players are playing for teams that earned berths into the men's and women's NCAA postseason tournament.

Men: Kyle Singler of Duke (South Medford), Vanderbilt's Brad Tinsley (Oregon City), Clint Chapman of Texas (Canby), Gonzaga's Mike Hart (Jesuit/Beaverton), USC's Garrett Jackson (Westview/Beaverton) and three former Jefferson/Portland players - Washington's Antoine Hosley and Terrence Ross, and Terrence Jones of Kentucky.

Women: Louisville's Shoni Schimmel (Franklin/Portland), Arizona State's Alex Earl (Southridge/Beaverton), Gonzaga's Shannon Reader (Lake Oswego), and Utah's trio of Janita Badon (Jefferson), Brittany Knighton (Oregon City) and Allison Gida (Ashland).

JESUIT'S BISHOP WINS OREGON GATORADE HONOR
Jesuit (Portland) senior Jake Bishop has been named the 2010-11 Gatorade Oregon Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

According to a Gatorade release, the award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

Bishop is a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May.

The 6-foot, 165-pound forward led the Crusaders (17-3) to the Class 6A state championship in 2010. Bishop recorded 20 goals and nine assists and was named Oregon's 6A Player of the Year, and was also the Metro League MVP. During his prep soccer career, he scored 39 goals and had 21 assists.

Bishop, who has a 3.8 GPA, will play soccer for Claremont McKenna College in California. He is the fifth Gatorade Oregon Boys Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Jesuit High School.

SPRAGUE WINS NATIONAL PREP RACQUETBALL TITLE
Led by Connor Laffey and Tanya Ulloa, who won the national championship at No. 1 mixed doubles, Sprague (Salem) claimed its third national team championship in the past four seasons.

Sprague finished second in the boys team competition at Vetta Sports-Concord behind St. Louis University and finished fifth in the girls division, but overall captured the combined team title. It was Sprague's fourth overall title.

More than 350 players from 34 high schools and 12 states participated in the five-day event held in St. Louis, Mo.