Senior Night at
Colfax (Wash.) on Tuesday was a little more emotional than usual.
was among the seniors recognized. But what made the moment memorable was 18-year head coach Reece Jenkin walking to center court with his son and family.
Reece Jenkin was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December. The father and son were joined by siblings Allie and Ryker and mother Breanne as the gym gave the family a touching standing ovation. Adrik Jenkin then dropped 38 points in an 86-56 victory over
Freeman (Rockford) to help the Bulldogs finish the regular season 20-0.
According to a
story in The Spokesman-Review, Reece Jenkin began the season with championship aspirations after more than 300 career wins, eight straight state tournament berths and titles in 2012 and 2024.
But he felt rundown with some weight loss, insomnia and back pain, the paper reported.
"I was struggling to get through practices, to get through games," he said.
Test were run upon Breanne's insistence before a quick diagnosis that "no one wants to hear."
The local basketball community has rallied around the Jenkin family with teams having "purple nights" — purple being the awareness color of pancreatic cancer. A
GoFundMe, which has already raised more than $70,000, has also been set up for the family.
Reece Jenkin has made it to some games as he tackles treatment and recovery.
"He's been coaching this group of kids since we're in third grade," Adrik told the newspaper. "And to have him pushing us to where we're at now, seeing him seeing us be successful, makes us happy, makes him happy. … (The diagnosis) was a pretty big thing to process at first, obviously, but it's kind of brought us all closer. We have something to play for when he's not there. And even when he's not there, we know he's here with us spiritually."
In a perfect world, Colfax would be the last team standing in the Class 2B bracket in early March.
But Breanne and Reece summed it up this way to the newspaper, "We're just going to fight," Breanne said.
"Day by day," Jenkin finished the sentence. "And appreciate every day that we have."
