Retiring teacher, coach urges Colony grads to ‘find their 68’
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WASILLA — A Valley team did not play for a 4A state title for just the second time since 2006. But a pair of Mat-Su squads did cap the season with victories.
Colony finished third in the 4A boys’ bracket and Wasilla placed fourth in the 4A girls bracket. The Valley’s third team in state, the Palmer boys, finished 0-2 in the tournament.
Colony used a 62-38 win over Northern Lights Conference rival Soldotna to finish third in the 4A boys’ bracket for the sixth time in the last 12 seasons. Colony led by five after the first quarter, but created separation with a 19-2 second-quarter run.
Senior Sullivan Menard capped his stellar prep basketball career with 19 points. Menard was named both Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year and the 4A boys player of the year by the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches. Sophomore Patrick McMahon, a first-team all-state selection, also scored 19 points. McMahon led the Knights with 19 rebounds.
Second-seeded Colony opened its tournament with a win over seventh-seeded West Valley. Third-seeded Dimond edged Colony in the semifinals.
Wasilla, the sixth seed in the 4A girls bracket, suffered a loss to third-seeded Bartlett in the first round. But the Warriors closed their season with consecutive wins, and placed fourth in the bracket. The Warriors beat West Anchorage 39-33 in the fourth-place game. Senior Diondra Lawhead led Wasilla with 14 points. Senior Cheyenne Green added 10 points. Freshman Bella Hays pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.
The win over the Eagles came a day after a 55-48 victory over West Valley. Senior Olivia Davies led Wasilla with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Lawhaded added 10, and Hays pulled down nine boards.
Wasilla played for fourth after three straight trips to the 4A state title game. The Warriors won it all in 2016 and 2017, and finished as the runner-up last year. Those trips to the title game are part of a stretch in which at least one Valley team has played for a 4A state title in 11 of the last 13 years. The Wasilla girls, Wasilla boys, Colony girls and Colony boys have all played for a state championship since 2007.
Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
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