Flathead’s Cripe among All-State AA honorees

Flathead’s Joston Cripe is among the five Western players named All-State for Class AA basketball, in voting by league coaches that was released Tuesday.

Cripe, a senior, put together seven 20-point games, including a high of 33, in a season shortened by injuries. He averaged 19.6 points and 3.9 assists in 15 games. He was joined on the Western AA first team — each first-teamer is All-State — by Brayden Koch and Hayden Opitz of state champion Helena Capital, Connor Dick of Missoula Hellgate and Caden Bateman of Missoula Big Sky.

Glacier put two players on the second team: Guards Connor Sullivan and Ty Olsen. Sullivan, a senior, averaged 12.3 points in 23 games and his 53 3-pointers ranked in the top two in AA; Olsen, a junior, averaged 9.1 points and 3.4 assists.

Glacier junior Noah Dowler earned honorable mention. Koch was the Western AA offensive player of the year; the defensive award went to Big Sky’s Tre Reed.

No Kalispell girls were All-State, though three Flathead Bravettes — Kennedy Moore, Clare Converse and Maddy Moy — made the second team.

Moore, a sophomore, averaged 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for Flathead, which went 19-6 and claimed third at the State AA tournament. She averaged 14 points and 10.1 rebounds in the postseason. Converse, a senior, averaged 8.4 points; Moy, a junior, averaged 9.7 points (10.6 in the postseason).

State AA runner-up Missoula Hellgate had three first-team picks: seniors Bailee Sayler and Keke Davis and junior Alex Covill. Filling out the top six were Jada Clarkson of Capital, Alex Bullock of Helena and Big Sky freshman Kadynce Couture.

Glacier had three players earn honorable mention: sophomore Noah Fincher and seniors Bethany Sorensen and Sidney Gulick.

Covill was named the Western AA’s top defensive player; Clarkson got the offensive award. Both are juniors.

The entire All-State and all-conference teams can be found on Page B2.