Successful seasons end with honors
A pair of senior standouts from Flathead and Glacier picked up All State basketball honors on Wednesday.
Flathead senior Karl Ingram and Glacier senior Shay Smithwick-Hann made Class AA’s list of the 10 best players from across the state as voted on by the coaches.
Smithwick-Hann averaged 15.0 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game this season and helped lead the Wolfpack to a 13-7 overall regular-season record and the second-straight state tournament appearance for the program. The 6-foot-4 future Montana Grizzly football player was first-team All State last year and second-team All Conference the year before. He was also named on this year’s All Tournament team.
Ingram led the turnaround Braves in scoring with 12.9 ppg and in rebounding with 6.8 rpg and marched Flathead into the state tourney for the first time since 2007. After going 3-18 overall last year, the Braves finished third in the West with a 7-5 conference record (11-8 overall) and swept the season series with crosstown Glacier for the first time since 2008.
Ingram was second-team All Conference last season.
Glacier senior leader Connor Fuller earned second-team honors in the West and averaged 10 ppg. Fuller injured his knee late in the season and was unavailable for tournament action.
Flathead senior Tanner Salois and sophomore George Sherwood picked up honorable mentions. Salois averaged 10.2 ppg while Sherwood averaged 9.9 ppg.
On the girls side, Flathead junior Danika Johnson was named on the second-team in Western AA after averaging 9.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg for the Bravettes (4-16). Glacier junior Rachel Cutler was honorable mention and led the Wolfpack (7-14) in scoring with 10.2 ppg.
Both boys teams made the state tournament for the first time since Flathead split and Glacier was created in 2007-2008.
The squads bowed out in two games at last weekend’s state tournament in Billings. Glacier lost an upset bid in the final seconds of an opening round game last Thursday with top-ranked Billings West, 53-50. West went on to fall in the title game while the Wolfpack was eliminated the following day by Billings Senior, 61-50. Flathead lost to eventual state champion Great Falls C.M.R. in the opening round, 65-41, and was taken out by Billings Skyview, 50-43.
The Braves graduate five seniors — Ingram, Salois, Dean Stimpson, Connor Tice and Jeremy Grosswiler.
The Bravettes have two — Taylor Keitner and Annie Cronk.
The Wolfpack has seven upperclassmen graduating — Smithwick-Hann, Fuller, Logan Quay, Grahm Schmaltz, Freddie Blodnick, Wiley Fusaro and Mario Venturini.
The girls team will lose three — Sydney Sharaf, Brooke Watkins and McKell Bennett.
Class AA boys
All-State
Matt Miller, 6-4 sr, Helena Capital; Kendal Maier, 5-11 sr, Missoula Sentinel; Shay Smithwick-Hann, 6-4 sr, Glacier; Karl Ingram, 6-3 sr, Flathead; Josh Dirks, 6-2 sr, Helena Capital; Josh Huestis, 6-8 sr, CMR; Brian Muller, 5-11 sr, Billings West; Dillon Ness, 5-10 sr, Billings Senior; Tanner Roderick, 6-2 jr, Bozeman; Jordan Harper, 6-3 sr, CMR.
Eastern AA
First team
Huestis, Muller, Ness, Roderick, Harper.
Second Team
Jacob Hellyer, 6-2 sr, Billings West; Rylan Shaw, 6-1 sr, Billings Skyview; Scotty Owens, 5-10 jr, Billings Senior; Payton Skawinski, 6-1 sr, CMR; Mitch Hawbaker, 6-5 sr, Butte; Danny Little, 6-7 jr, Billings Skyview; Chase Vinger, 6-3 sr, Billings West.
Honorable Mention
Matt Schmitz, 5-11 jr, Great Falls High; Santino Williams, 5-7 jr, Great Falls High; Matt Kallstrom-Cho, 6-5 sr, Bozeman; Daine Muller, 6-4 fresh, Billings West; Jake Bleskin, 6-2 jr, CMR.
Western AA
First Team
Miller, Maier, Smithwick-Hann, Ingram, Dirks.
Second team
Adam Johnson, 6-4 sr, Helena High; Tyler Hulse, 6-3 sr, Helena High; Riley King, 6-3 soph, Missoula Sentinel; Connor Fuller, 6-0 sr, Glacier; Ben Roberts, 6-3 jr, Missoula Sentinel.
Honorable Mention
Zack Wagenmann, 6-3 sr, Missoula Sentinel; Ryan Devlin, 6-3 sr, Missoula Big Sky; George Sherwood, 6-3 soph, Flathead; Tanner Salois, 6-2 sr, Flathead; Conner Weston, 6-4 sr, Missoula Hellgate.
Class AA girls
All-State
Sammi Bignell, 5-10 sr, Helena Capital; Maggie Rickman, 6-1 jr, Helena Capital; Bryn Hasquet, 5-10 sr, Missoula Sentinel; Mary Yoder, 5-9 sr, Missoula Hellgate; Elleson Tinkle, 6-0 soph, Missoula Big Sky; Monica Grimsrud, 6-1 jr, Helena High; Lexie Nelson, 5-8 sr, Butte; Kellie Cole, 5-8 sr, Bozeman; Haley Vining, 5-8 jr, CMR; Jordan Bagley, 5-10 sr, CMR; Danielle Muri, 5-9 jr, Billings West.
Eastern AA
Nelson, Cole, Vining, Bagley, Muri; Kate Striepe, 6-0 sr, CMR; Shanae Gilham, 5-10 soph, Bozeman; Brittany Kumm, 5-5 sr, Great Falls High; Kabri Emerson, 6-1 jr, Butte; Janiel Olson, 5-10 jr, Billings West.
Honorable mention
Jenna Banks, 5-4 jr, Bozeman; Alexa Dawkins, 6-0 soph, Bozeman; Amber Meyers, 5-10 jr, Billings Skyview; Karly Miller, 5-6 sr, Billings Skyview; Letisha left Hand, 5-11 sr, Billings Skyview; Taylor Kufeld, 5-8 jr, Billings Senior; Hannah Roberts, 5-6 sr, Billings Senior; Taylor Parker, 6-0 jr, Bozeman.
Western AA
First team
Bignell, Rckman, Hasquet, Yoder, Tinkle, Grimsrud.
Second Team
DJ Reinhart, 5-7 soph, Missoula Sentinel; Jordan Johnston, 5-10 jr, Helena Capital; Kelsey Williams, 5-10 sr, Helena High; Katie Showers, 6-0 sr, Missoula Big Sky; Danika Johnson, 6-3 jr, Flathead.
Honorable mention
Rachel Cutler, 5-9 jr, Glacier; Kyndal Williams, 5-8 soph, Helena High; McCall Hasquet, 5-11 jr, Missoula Sentinel.
All-Tournament teams
Boys
MVP-Josh Huestis, 6-8, sr., Great Falls CMR; Jordan Harper, 6-3, sr., Great Falls CMR; Brian Muller, 5-11, sr., Billings West; Matt Miller, 6-4, sr., Helena Capital; Danny Desin, 6-1, jr.; Billings Senior; Shay Smithwick-Hann, 6-4, sr., Glacier; Josh Dirks 6-2, sr., Helena Capital; Kerry Heard, 6-1, sr., Billings Senior; Kendal Maier, 6-0, sr., Missoula Sentinel; Derek Dennehy 6-0, sr., Billings West.
Girls
MVP-Kellie Cole, 5-8, sr., Bozeman; Danielle Muri 5-9, jr., Billings West; Shanae Gilham, 5-10, so., Bozeman; Jordan Bagley, 5-10, sr., Great Falls CMR; Lexie Nelson, 5-6, sr. Butte; Maggie Rickman, 6-1, jr.; Kylie Nielsen, Billings West, 6-0, so.; Sammi Bignell, 5-10, sr.; Kate Striepe, 6-0, sr., Great Falls CMR; Taylor Parker, 6-0,jr., Bozeman; Bryn Hasquet, 5-10, sr., Missoula Sentinel.