Editor's Note: This story is included in The Chronicle's 2022-23 Prep Basketball Preview, which is published in the Thursday edition.
There’s a whole lot up in the air in the 1A District 4 ranks, especially on the northern side of things. Last season, four of the five teams in the 1A Evergreen finished below .500, with league champs Eatonville getting the district’s third and final bid to the regional round and promptly losing there in decisive fashion.
Now, the question is whether the Evergreen will get new blood near the top of its standings, whether it can hold its own against the 1A TriCo, and whether anyone can make noise deep into the postseason.
So far, the answer is a distinct “possibly.” The Cruisers got their season off to a delayed start, and gave up 103 points to 2B Morton-White Pass in their opener. In their stead, though, multiple teams have raced ahead to stake early claims.
Close to home, Tenino could well be in a position to take the next step, under first-year coach Ryan Robertson. The Beavers started four freshmen last season, and the growing pains might be in the rearview window by now, with everyone coming back with a year’s experience. Noah Schow is slotting into the leading scorer role, with Jack Burhardt and Austin Gonia also featuring heavily.
Elma and Hoquiam have also gotten off to hot starts, and one game won’t define Eatonville’s season; there’s no reason to doubt the Cruisers will get going at full force soon to defend their league crown.
Down south, defending district champs Castle Rock have similarly started off hot, as has Seton Catholic, and while King’s Way Christian hasn’t won many of its non-league games against 3As and 4As, that experience will only help the Knights going forward into January and February.
Tenino
Coach: Ryan Robertson (first)
2021-22 record: 7-11 (districts)
Returning starters: Jack Burkhardt, Will Feltus, Austin Gonia, Noah Schow
Newcomer(s) to watch: Keegan O’Connor, Preston Snider
Quotable: “The biggest thing is that we are a team, we get great support from our bench, they all play hard for each other and love playing together. We’ll be a team, which is awesome. Next, our identity is going to be defending, we’re going to get after teams with our length and size, we rebound really well already. Then we can space the floor well and attack it, we’re going to be pretty hard to guard. Our identity is we’re going to be really good and keep getting better.” — Ryan Robertson
