2/21/2026
(Centralia, WA) The District 4 1A boys and girls District tournaments concluded on Saturday at Centralia high school. Both tournaments will play their Championship game with both teams advancing to the State tournament.
There will also be two 3rd place games with each team winning advancing to the State tournament and the losers out. They both will be awarded a 3rd place trophy as they will not play-off for 3rd and 4th since both teams are headed to state.
Below is our coverage of all 6 games with re-caps and video highlights. The girls games are first followed by the boys coverage, just keep scrolling down.
Girls Schedule
Championship Game
Seton Catholic 53, Montesano 36
The great thing about playing for the District Championship is you know you are heading to the State regionals next weekend. What you want though is to get in the top 8 seeds to guarantee you a trip to the Yakima SunDome. So a Diztrict Championship will certainly secure a top 8 seed. A loss in this game doesn’t shut the door on a top 8 seed but makes it more challenging for sure.
The Montesano Bulldogs finished the EVCO 1A league tied with Hoquiam for first with a 7-1 record. The Seton Catholic Cougars ruled the Trico league with a 14-0 unblemished league mark.
As the Championship game got underway, the classic feeling out process played out as these teams know each other but did not play each other this year. After the 1st quarter nothing was settled with the two teams knotted up at 10-10.
Early on the 2nd quarter the Bulldogs began with a 5-0 run to go up 15-10 but the Knights answered with a 3 and then Naomi Jackson hit her 2nd long ball and KWC re-took the lead 16-15.
The Knights busted out some defensive traps and picked off a pair of turnovers only to capitalize on both possessions with Riley Seymer with a 2 and another long ball this time from Tegan Figuroa to on an 11-5 run to take a 21-15 lead. After another turnover Seymer hit her 2nd shot of the game to push this to a 13-5 run with about 2:30 to play in the half the Knights were in control 23-15.
The Knights defensive pressure continued to stymie the Dogs and they ended up shutting Monte out holding them to just that 5 point outburst to start the quarter.
Meantime, KWC kept adding on capped off with Seymer hitting a runner and getting fouled and completing the old-school 3-pointer giving KWC a 28-15 halftime lead. After falling behind 15-1o the Knights finished on an 18-0 run to build the 13 point lead at the break.
As the 3rd quarter began, the Knights just kept the pressure on and began with a 3 pointer to push it to a 21-0 run after falling behind 15-10. KWC continued to push and expanded their lead to 40-20 about midway through the 3rd.
Montesano then began to show some offense and reclaimed some of those lost points and despite being outscored 17-15 in the 3rd they clawed back to within 15 for an outside chance in the final 8 minutes.
But there would be no big comeback in this one, the Cougars 21-0 run from trailing 15-10 to go up 31-15 was too much to recover from and in fact from the 15-10 Montesano lead the Cougs outscored the Bulldogs 43-21 and Seton Catholic are District Champs.
Riley Seymer led all scorers with 24 and 10 of those came from the free throw line where she was a perfect 10 for 10. Tegan Figuroa added 10 and Naomi Jackson had 9. The Cougars are now 20-2 on the year as they wait to see how high they will finish in the seeding. They came in as the #5 team in the RPI, will this dominant win get them into that top 4? They hope so.
Meantime, it just wasn’t Montesano’s night and they fall to 15-8 for the year. Jillie Dalan led the Dogs with 13, and Makena Blancas added 12. But they aren’t done yet and will be in the State Tournament and likely are going to get a higher seed and will need to win their regional game to get to Yakima.
Thorbeckes MVP of the Game
Pretty easy call on this one she not only led all scorers but her presence in the paint was overwshelmoing on both offense and defense and when she got fouled she made Montesano pay. Senior Riley Seymer is the Thorbeckes MVP of the game.
Link to watch game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Jillie Dalan with a tough bucket in the paint
Naomi Jackson drops a 3 ball and triggers a 21-0 run
Riley Seymer with a rebound put back and free throw for the an 1
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3rd Place Games (Winners to State, Losers Out)
Hoquiam 35, Elma 32
Just like the boys match-ups between the Grizzlies and Eagles, Hoquiam had beaten Elma in both games during the regular season. However, in this showdown the Grizzlies had won by double digits in both games. Also like the boys game that began Trophy day before this game, the Elma Eagles were not going to simply roll over and hand it to Hoquiam.
The Eagles jumped out to a 10-7 lead after the 1st 8 minutes with Olivia Moore off to a fast start with 8 of the 10 points. Hoquiam would not allow the Eagles to break away and ended up even at 16-16 in a defensive minded 1st half.
The lack of offense continued in the 3rd quarter but Hoquiam began to stretch their lead led by Aaliyah Kennedy who worked her magic in the paint. The sophomore was challenging the Eagles inside on the defensive side as well and after 3 quarters Hoquiam pushed their lead to 27-20.
Early on in the 4th quarter the Grizzlies pushed their lead to 9 when Lexi LaBounty drained a 3 ball to go up 32-23. Little did the Grizzlies know that when LaBounty hit that bucket with about 5 minutes to play that they would only score 3 more points in the game.
The Eagles got right back into the game when Kenna Monroe knocked down a huge 3 with less than 3 minutes to play to pull within 4 down 32-28. Elma would not give in and made it a one possession game with just 1:20 to play when Moore nearly had the ball stolen but actually created a lane for her to attack and she scored to make it 34-32.
Neither team cold do much and a foul sent the Grizzlies to the line where they scored 1 and that would do it sending the Hoquiam Grizzlies to the Regional round of the State Tournament next weekend.
Leading scorers for the Grizzlies were Kennedy with 17 leading all-scorers, Sydney Gordon with 8 and 5 each for LaBounty and Makalah Haskey.
Elma was led by Moore with 12, Mercedes Carter had a solid game with 10 and Emmalin Gonzales had 6. The Eagles finished 7-12 on the year as their season came to an end.
Hoquiam improves to 16-8 overall and hopes they can get a top 8 seeding tomorrow to guarantee at least 1 game in Yakima.
Thorbeckes MVP of the Game
The Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Aaliyah Kennedy. Kennedy scored nearly half of the Grizzly points plus her lock down defense made her stand out to earn our MVP award.
Link to watch game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Aaliyah Kennedy with score and +1 for the old fashioned 3 pointer
Lexi LaBounty drills a long ball for Hoquiam
Elma won’t give in, late bucket keeps it a 1 score game
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King’s Way Christian 34, Columbia (White Salmon) 24
Scoring was at a premium in this winner to state, loser out game and a pair of 8th graders ended up being the difference. Columbia White-Salmon were the more expedrienced team and began strong taking 5-0 lead early in the 1st quarter but could only add 2 more points to finish with 7 in the 1st quarter. The Bruins defense and cold shooting from the King’s Way Knights helped them hold onto the lead however, 7-5 after the first 8 minutes.
In the 2nd quarter the offenses still struggled but the Knights stitched together a few more points than the Bruins and went to the locker room with a slim 13-11 advantage.
If anyone thought the offense would show up in the 2nd half they would have guessed wrong instead were treated with a Seahawksesque Super Bowl defensive performance on both sides.
While the Bruins offense was well spread out with McKena Carlock and Joella Posini leading with 6 each, it was a pair of 8th graders doing the damage for the Knights.
Late in the 3rd quarter Emerson Meyer drilled a 3 ball to give KWC an 18-17 lead, a lead they would never give up. Junior Addison Bagley hit a pair of free throw to give either team their first double digit lead and then another 8th grader Gisele Diehl dropped a 3 bomb to ice the game late.
Diehl led all scorers with 18 scoring more than half of the Knights points. Meyer had 12 so the pair of 8th graders scored 30 of the 34 KWC total points or 88% of the offense.Bagley had the other 4 points.
The Bruins got the 6 from Carlock and Posini while 4 others also scored with Sara Miller scoring 5, Taniah Barajas with 3 and 2 for each Halle Kock and Claira Camacho.
The Bruins had their season come to an end and finish with a 13-7 record.
The Knights are now 16-6 and will await the seeding committee’s decision tomorrow to find out where they are in the bracket and who and where they’ll play at Regionals next weekend.
Thorbeckes MVP Award
The Thorbeckes MVP of the game award went to Gisele Diehl who nearly doubled her season average of 10 points per game. In a game that offense was hard to find and then be led by an 8th grader, Diehl was the selection.
Link to watch game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Columbia W-S jumps out to an early 5-0 lead
Emerson Meyer splashes down from the corner pocket
Gisele Diehl steps into a huge shot
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Boys Schedule
Championship Game
Fort Vancouver 59, Montesano 55
Fort Vancouver came in as the #8 RPI team as the Trico league Champion while Montesano who took the EVCO 1A was the #11 RPI team. Both want to get up and down the floor and both showed that desire right from the start. That led to a hectic pace in the opening half with lots of fouling, turnovers and scoring with solid defense. In other words, a little bit of everything.
In the 1st quarter it was Montesano leading 8-6 with just 2:40 to play in the quarter. The Trappers’ Brino Masamy then hit a 3 which began an 8-0 run for F-V to end the 1st as Jaxen Appelt also hit a 3 and it was 14-8 after 1.
In the 2nd quarter the offenses started to kick in with the Trappers putting up 17 and led by as much as 29-16 with 48-seconds left to go in the half. The Bulldogs rallied late with a 2 from Mason Fry and then Fry hit 2 of 3 from the line and at the break Fort Vancouver led 31-20.
All the momentum was on the Trappers side heading into halftime. But it was Montesano who came out with fire in their eyes especially Mason Fry who rattled off 6 straight points and pulled the Bulldogs within 5 down 32-27 just 3 minutes into the 3rd.
Fort Vancouver would answer the early run from the Bulldogs pushing the lead back to 12, up 41-29 with abouot 3:30 to go. The Bulldogs would not give in and finished with a flourish scoring 8 straight pulling within 1 point down 44-43 with 30-seconds to play on a Ryan Weidman bucket. With 10-seconds to play in the 3rd the Trappers’ Isaiah Barajas hit a huge 3 ball to give them a 47-43 lead heading into the final quarter.
The 4th quarter was one of opportunity for both teams with F-V leading by as many as 5 and as few as 2 but never gave up the lead. It was an period of one team scoring and the other answering.
A key moment came with 1:31 to play and the Trappers leading 53-50 but the Bulldogs had the possession. Fort Vancouver would steal the ball which was then stolen back by the Bulldogs and was then stolen again by the Trappers and led to Leighton Livengood scoring to give F-V a 5 point lead 55-50 with a little more than a mintute to play.
Montesano still wouldn’t give in and Mason Fry hit a huge 3 to pull within 2, 57-55 with 16.5 seconds to play. But again, the Trappers bent but never broke and held on to win their 1st district 4 1A basketball Championship.
Livengood led the Trappers with 21, Jaxen Appelt added 16 with a terrific game and Barajas was 3rd in scoring with 8. Fort Vancouver is now 20-3 on the year and will wait to see where they get seeded by the state seeding committee tomorrow.
Montesano showed some true grit in their 2nd half outscoring the Trappers 35-28 falling just short of the complete comeback. The Bulldogs dropped to 17-6 on the season and also will be awaiting to hear where they fall in the top 16 seeds and where they will be going in next weekend’s regional game.
The Bulldogs were led by Mason Fry’s 18, Caden Grubb with a solid effort and 15 with Ryan Weidman also hitting double figures with 11.
Thorbeckes MVP of the Game Award
It was hard to ignore the high scorer for the game, Leighton Livengood and he earned the Thorbeckes MVP of the game award.
Link to watch game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Fort Vancouver stretches their 1st half lead to 11
3 straight steals sets up the Trappers
Montesano with one last run to try and catch F-V
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3rd Place Games (Winners to State, Loser Out)
Elma 70, Hoquiam 67
The Hoquiam Grizzlies came into the game with a 2-0 record over the Elma Eagles this year but both games were decided by 1 point. The expectation was another tight finish and that’s exactly what happened. The Grizzlies led for most of the game and extended it to 10 points in the 3rd quarter but the Eagles wouldn’t go away.
With about 2 minutes to play in the game, the Grizzlies remained in control leading 63-58. Elma’s Trey Yeager hit a 3 to make it a 2 point game. Isaac McGaffey then gets the steal breaks away and elevates for the half dunk to tie it at 63 with 1:21 to play.
Elma then took the lead for the first since the 1st half when McGaffey found the bottom of the net for a 65-63 lead. Hoquiam answered with a wide open Lincoln Niemi for the lay in and it was 65-65. The Eagles answered with Gavin Muir re-taking the lead 67-65. The Grizzlies came right back with less than 30-seconds to play Joey Bozich finds a path to bucket and tied it again at 67.
Elma took a time-out and had 21 seconds to work with. As the Eagles got into front court, Head Coach Matt Ferrier called time-out with 10-seconds to go and got the time-out called just prior to Muir taking a shot that went in. The bucket of course did not count and as disappointed Coach Ferrier probably was he took note and set another play. The pass would go back to Muir in nearly the same spot and Gavin drained a 3-ball with just 3 seconds to play, the eagles then stole the hurried inbounds pass from the Grizzlies and clinched a state play-off spot while ending Hoquiam’s season.
A few scoring stats from our crew had Elma’s Muir leading with 22, McGaffey had 19 and Yeager who triggered the final run with that 3-ball with 14. For the Grizzlies, Bozich had 22, KJ McCoy with 16 and Ryker Maxfield had 10.
Thorbeckes MVP
The Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Gavin Muir. Hitting the game winner but having it called off due to the time out only to hit it again and co-leader for the game in scoring it was an easy.
The Hoquiam Grizzles had their season come to an end and finished with a 13-11 record. Elma improves to 14-7 and heads to the state tournament. They will wait to see where they get seeded and where they are headed to next weekend for State Regionals.
Link to watch game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
*note there were technical issues at the beginning of the game and the broadcast picks up in the 2nd quarter.
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Elma and Hoquiam answer each other late in the game
Gavin Muir ices a trip to state with a 3 point dagger
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King’s Way Christian 64, Kalama 50
The King’s Way Christian Knights and Kalama Chinooks know each other well and split their regular season home and home series with the Knights winning by 12 on their home floor and the Nooks by 1 defending their home court. So, the question was would this be a double digit win or a nail biter?
KWC and Kalama battled back and forth in the 1st quarter with the Knights edging out to a 3 point, 14-11 lead. But a bigger loss for the Chinooks was Gabe Crawford getting injured and was out for the game. The sophomore averaged 10 points a game for the season and in the end those 10 points would have been huge in this game.
The Knights had a big 2nd quarter scoring 20 points and holding Kalama to a dozen, pushing their lead to 34-23 at halftime. That would be a cushion the Knights relied on for the rest of the game and although Kalama did work it down to single digits a few more times, KWC’s balanced offensive attack kept Kalama at a safe distant for the rest of the contest.
The Knights had 5 players in the score book with 3 in double figures. Patrick Carney led the way with 21 while Daniel Flora Da Silva and Jackson Lovato each had 13. Kaulin Butcher just missed twin figs with 9 and Thiago Moraes added 8.
Kalama was led b y Abel Koski who dumped in 19. 7 others would contribute with Trevor Hale knocking down 9 and Isaak Ketzbeau with 7.
Despite 8 Chinooks scoring, the Knights big defensive weapon was Reece Johnson who didn’t score any points but hauled a ton of rebounds and solidified the middle.
King’s Way picked up their 17th win of the year and are now 17-7 while they now wait to see where they end up after the state seeding committee completes their work tomorrow morning.
Kalama ended their season in disappointment but made great progress and hope to build off of this season next year. They ended the year with a 15-9 record.
Thorbeckes MVP of the Game Award
Despite not scoring a single point, Reece Johnson’s defensive prowess caught the eye of our ESN crew and named him the Thorbeckes MVP of the game.
Link to watch game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)
ESN Postgame Show
Video Highlights
Thiago Moraes pushed the Knights lead to 13, the Nooks Isaak Ketzbeau with the 3 ball answer
Kaulin Butcher’s 3 ball triggers an 8-0 run to ice the win
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