Colony senior named 4A boys’ top player; 3 Valley standouts earn first-team honors

PALMER — Another week, another major honor for Sullivan Menard.

The Colony senior standout has been named the Knight’s Taxidermy/Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches 4A Boys State Player of the Year. This comes mere days after Menard was named the Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“A lot of guys have the skills, but he does it in a more intense way,” Colony head coach Tom Berg said after Menard earned the Gatorade honor. “His motor and attitude is what puts him over the top. It’s what makes him elite.”

Berg said it’s those attributes that set Menard apart.

“He does it faster than most other guys. When you think about really good players, what separates is his intensity, energy, effort and intuition. He has all of those traits.”

Berg also praised the basketball IQ of Menard, who also boasts a 4.02 grade point average off the court.

Menard, a 6-foot-3 and 180-pound senior, is averaging 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals. He helped the Knights score the No. 2 seed in the 4A state tournament, which starts Thursday in Anchorage.

Menard now has three postseason honors. He was also named Co-Northern Lights Conference Player of the Year alongside Wasilla senior standout Daniel Headdings. Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said he thinks it is appropriate that both Menard and Headdings received the NLC’s top honor.

“They are both very good basketball players. They both have worked really hard and done some tremendous things,” Engebretsen said. “It’s rather fitting.”

Headdings helped lead Wasilla to the 2018 4A state title. This season, Headdings was the leader of a squad that barely missed the state tournament.

“It was a really challenging year for Daniel. We had a renovated roster, and he stepped up and was a terrific leader,” Engebretsen said. “He had to be a different player than he was the last three.”

Headdings was a four-year starter for the Warriors.

Menard and Headdings are also among three players to earn first-team honors. The third is Colony sophomore Patrick McMahon who earned first-team 4A boys honors.

Sophomore Jeremiah Hersrud was named third-team all-state for the Knights.

A pair of Wasilla Warriors were part of the 4A girls’ all-state team. Freshman Bella Hays was named to the second team. Senior Oliva Davies is a third-team selection. Davies, who will play basketball for Division I Hawaii next year, earned first-team honors during her first three years with the Warriors. Davies missed significant time due to injury as a senior.

Dimond’s Isaiah Moses and East Anchorage’s Kaeleb Johnson joined the three Valley players on the 4A boys’ first-team. First-year East Anchorage mentor Chuck Martin, who led the T-Birds to the Cook Inlet Conference title, was named the 4A boys coach of the year.

Dimond star Alissa Pili, the state’s all-time leading scorer in girls’ basketball, was named the 4A girls player of the year for the third straight year. Bartlett’s Clarence Smith was named the 4A girls coach of the year. Chugiak’s Chasity Horn, West Valley’s Sierra Tate, Soldotna’s Ituau Tuisaula and Bartlett’s Amelia Uhila were also named to the 4A girls’ first team.

Anchorage Christian’s Orlando Lozano (3A boys), Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens (3A girls), Unalakleet’s Aidan Ivanoff (2A boys), Tikigaq’s Bridgett Oviok (2A girls), Shishmaref’s Edward Kokeok (1A boys) and King Cove’s Elaina Mack (1A girls) also earned player of the year honors.

For the full list, see frontiersman.com/sports.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com

Knight’s Taxidermy/Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches All-State

4A Boys

Player of the Year: Sullivan Menard, Colony

Coach of the Year: Chuck Martin, East Anchorage

First team:

Sullivan Menard, Colony; Daniel Headdings, Wasilla; Kaeleb Johnson, East Anchorage; Patrick McMahon, Colony; Isaiah Moses, Dimond

Second team:

Diques Esaw, West Anchorage; Evan Hoosier, Dimond; Chris Lee, Ketchikan; Marcus Lee, Ketchikan; Jaron Williams, East Anchorage

Third team:

Jeremiah Hersrud, Colony; Rashad King, Bartlett; Jamari Lawrence, West Anchorage; Bishop Tosi, Bartlett; Jersey Truesdell, Soldotna

4A Girls

Player of the Year: Alissa Pili, Dimond

Coach of the Year: Clarence Smith, Bartlett

First team:

Alissa Pili, Dimond; Chasity Horn, Chugiak; Sierra Tate, West Valley; Ituau Tuisaula, Soldotna; Amelia Uhila, Bartlett

Second team:

Bella Hays, Wasilla; Nyeniea John, West Anchorage; Skye Miller, East Anchorage; Eva Palmer, Chugiak; Ellen Silva, West Valley

Third team:

Brittani Blossom, Soldotna; Arianna Camacho-Villafuerte, Dimond; Olivia Davies, Wasilla; Caitlin Pusich, Juneau-Douglas; Ella Roberts, Lathrop

3A Boys

Player of the Year: Orlando Lozano, Anchorage Christian

Coach of the Year: Todd Wegner, Valdez

First team:

Orlando Lozano, Anchorage Christian; Isaac Garcia, Monroe Catholic; Danilo Guzman, Anchorage Christian; Logan Heckathorn, Valdez; Bennett Hinkle, Valdez

Second team:

Jalen Freeman, Valdez; Izak Lohrke, Monroe; Brandon Matthews, Barrow; Fredrick Onochie, Anchorage Christian; Matthew Scarboro, Eielson

Third team:

Anthony Fruean, Barrow; Demarcus Hall-Scriven, Anchorage Christian; Gareth Hansen, Nome; Nathan Ivanoff, Grace Christian; Jace Kornstad, Nikiski

3A Girls

Player of the Year: Bethany Carstens, Nikiski

Coach of the Year: David Wightman, Galena

First team:

Bethany Carstens, Nikiski; Pearle Green, Galena; Mary Kate Parks, Anchorage Christian; Destiny Reimers, Anchorage Christian; Jordan Todd, Anchorage Christian

Second team:

Jordan Ahgeak, Barrow; Sanora Bell, Mt. Edgecumbe; Tessa Binder, Grace Christian; Jaycie Calvert, Kenai; Abby Forrester, Sitka

Third team:

Alanna Conwell, Kotzebue; Elizabeth Green, Galena; Kastyn Lie, Nome; Mykalla Pickard, Anchorage Christian; Brooke Satathite, Kenai

2A Boys

Player of the Year: Aidan Ivanoff, Unalakleet

Coach of the Year: James Fields, Glennallen

First team:

Aidan Ivanoff, Unalakleet; Christian Adams, Cordova; Aidan Fields, Glennallen; Desmond King, Metlekatla; Trevor Wilson, Unalaska

Second team:

Jalen Cannon, Tikigaq; Kirby Faverty, Haines; Connor Hudson, Metlekatla; Henry Kowunna, Tikigaq;Landon Sandhofer, Petersburg

Third team:

Revyn Almquist, Tok; Riley Blatchey, Wrangell; Kaiden Graves, Cordova; Gabe Jones, Glennallen; Trevor Miller, Wrangell

2A Girls

Player of the Year: Bridgett Oviok, Tikigaq

Coach of the Year: Brad Sjostedt, Cordova

First team:

Bridget Oviok, Tikigaq; Abby Bourgeois, Cordova; Kaylyn Easterly, Wrangell; Julie Frankson, Nenana; Alexis Russell, Metlekatla

Second team:

Ashley Agwiak, Nenana; Helen Decker, Wrangell; Anna Lorence, Glennallen; Anecia Rivers, Scammon Bay; Kayla Villamor, Unalaska

Third team:

Ashley Hansen, Craig; Kendra Kapotak, Dillingham; Angela Lane, Tikigaq; Jewel Wilson, Unalakleet; Hailey Wilson, Unalaska

1A Boys

Player of the Year: Edward Kokeok, Shishmaref

Coach of the Year: Steve Klaich, Nikolaevsk

First team:

Edward Kokeok, Shishmaref; Malachi Bradley, Tanana; Elijah Kulowiyi, Savoonga; Graydon Severian, King Cove; Michael Trail, NikolaevskFor a full list of the all-state teams, see frontiersman.com/sports.