These were a few of my favorite things in high school sports 2025-26 | Dave Nichols
I got my first round of golf in for the season on Saturday – if you can call it that – so that must mean high school sports have wrapped up and I’m down to just one beat for the summer.
What’s this I hear about “weekends?” I’ll have to try that sometime. But I am looking forward to a few lazy Fridays poolside or on a lake somewhere – in between Spokane Indians games, of course.
But first, a retrospective of the 2025-26 high school sports season is entirely appropriate before we go wandering off for a couple of months.
Maybe by the time the fall season rolls around I’ll finally get around to buying those darn bifocals I need to actually watch games and work on my laptop at the same time.
But enough about my problems. Let’s take a look at some of the best performances and stories that high school sports had to offer our region over the last school year.
And if you want to see all the stories I mention in this column, they are all linked in the online story at spokesman.com/high-school-sports.
Fall sports
Gonzaga Prep football went undefeated in league and shut out Curtis 42-0 to reach a State 4A quarterfinal before falling to potential future NFLer AJ Tuivaiave and Graham-Kapowsin.
Cheney football has made a remarkable turnaround the past few seasons. The Blackhawks’ success this season reached new heights as they qualified for the State 3A playoffs before bowing out in an all-time classic in the Round of 32 at Roos Field.
Hard to figure which Graham brother – Cheney’s John or G-Prep’s Nate – had bragging rights during the holidays. At least they got one quiet day together in a duck blind this year.
Mt. Spokane volleyball withstood the rigors of GSL play, earned the second seed to the loaded State 3A tournament and finished second, led by the play of all-state senior outside hitter Berkeley Neilson.
Mead boys cross country cruised to the State 4A championship, placing their five scorers in the top 20.
Mt. Spokane slowpitch won its third consecutive State 3A/2A championship behind senior Quincy Schuerman’s big day. The Wildcats outscored their three opponents at the state tournament 59-6.
The West Valley girls soccer team achieved something quite remarkable. Not only did the Eagles finally win their first State 2A title after five consecutive trips to state, including losses in the championship and semifinals, but they did so by going undefeated and unscored upon all season, outscoring opponents 150-0. Senior Jenna Howe, headed to Eastern Washington, scored her 100th career goal earlier in the season.
MODE Prep brought the region’s first national prep circuit basketball team to Spokane – with grand designs for more.
Winter sports
It was a solemn basketball season in the Spokane area, with the tragic news of Colfax and Hooptown Elite boys coach Reece Jenkin’s diagnosis and eventual passing from pancreatic cancer in February. As hard as it was for everyone involved, the family showed incredible grace and resolve.
Never was there more on display than the day Jenkin died in February, when his freshman daughter, Allie, and his senior son, Adrik, not only played, but each turned in performances that strained credulity.
The boys team, led by Adrik, then went on to close out an undefeated season, winning the State 2B title for the second time in three years, with Allie on the bench sitting next to the memorial of their father.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Jenkin and his family were supported the whole way by the entire Colfax and Spokane basketball communities.
That wasn’t the only somber story, though, as Medical Lake’s Owen Pitts passed away in February as well, but not before scoring a basket for the Cardinals and going through a graduation ceremony in front of a packed gym.
Gonzaga Prep boys basketball reached the State 4A title game for the second consecutive season. But unlike last year’s championship win, a fourth-quarter substitution technical thwarted a Bullpups rally. G-Prep’s girls finished sixth after an undefeated league season.
Jaden Ghoreishi, the league’s MVP as a junior, missed a good chunk of his senior year due to a medical issue but came back to lead Mt. Spokane through districts and take fourth at the State 3A tournament before he heads to Colorado State in the fall.
Ridgeline’s Madi Crowley, a first-team all-league selection, is trading her basketball sneakers in for rowing oars. Her classmate, Caden Andreas, became the sixth-leading scorer in league history.
Mat Classic provided a local four-time champion, and the first state titles for a group of talented freshmen. And Rogers wrestling coach Rod Tamura turned in his whistle after a pioneering coaching career that spanned nearly 40 years.
The Greater Spokane Showcase, featuring the Denny Humphrey Memorial boys all-star game and the Jack Blair Memorial girls all-star game, once again provided an entertaining way to close out the high school hoops season.
Spring sports
Someday, maybe very soon, Simon Rosselli could be a household name as a U.S. Olympian. For now, the pride of the Mead Panthers and the No. 1-ranked high school discus thrower in the nation added more records and two more state titles to his impressive resume, helping his school secure the team title, before heading to the University of Oregon to pursue his dreams.
West Valley senior Lauren Matthew bided her time and broke through to the top of the podium at state this year in the 2A 400-meter championship. She also won the 100, was third in the 200 and helped the Eagles take second in the 4x400 relay.
Gonzaga Prep gets a lot of attention each year for its football and basketball teams – and rightfully so. This year, the Bullpups wanted to be known as a baseball school, too. They didn’t quite reach their goal as the first GSL team to ever win a state title, but they came as close as they could.
The State 4A boys tennis doubles finals was a battle between teammates. And for the four Mead players and their coach, they wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Mt. Spokane and Freeman fastpitch softball teams finally came out on top. Cheney’s boys golf team secured a state championship, too, while West Valley’s Melia Cerenzia captured her second individual title.
Gonzaga Prep’s Dave McKenna was inducted into the state football coaches association hall of fame. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Finally, and speaking of nice guys, voice of Eastern Washington football and basketball – and the GSL game of the week – on the radio, Larry Weir had a very close call while golfing with buddies in May. Let’s all be thankful he’ll be able to resume his duties in the not-so-distant future thanks to some quick thinking and life-saving heroics.