Blaine County Athletes Account for 19 All-State, All-Conference Selections

The Winter High School sports season has come to an end and with that, the post season honors list have been released. A bevy of Blaine County athletes were named to their respective sports awards lists. Chinook senior Tyler Schoen (Wrestling) and sophomore Hallie Neibauer (Girls Basketball) along with Harlem standouts, senior Taya Trottier (Girls Basketball), senior Tyler Cichosz (Boys Basketball) and senior RJ Ramone (Boys Basketball) all found themselves on their respective sports All-State and First Team All-Conference lists.

The District 2B and District 9C Basketball 1st Team All-Conference list also included Harlem senior Daniel Lawrence, Hays/Lodge Pole senior Jaedyn Chandler, Chinook senior Oskar Pula and senior Toby Niederegger all found their names on their sports 1st Team All-Conference list.

The District 2B and District 9C 2nd Team Basketball All Conference list included Chinook junior Bree Swanson, Turner junior Dakota Krass and Ryan Doyle, Hays/Lodge Pole sophomore Alliya Pretty Paint, junior Nashone Shambo and senior Tyshawn Shambo, as well as Harlem senior Caleb Cole and senior Chloe Messerly. The Eastern B/C Division All-Conference Wrestling list also included Chinook senior Wyatt Dunbar and junior Lane Snider.

Harlem Wildcats • Harlem Lady Cats

The Harlem Lady Cats finished the season playing the best basketball they had played all season long. The Lady Cats finished second at the Northern B Divisional and won their tournament opener at the Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament. A big reason for that turnaround was the stellar play of Trottier and Messerly.

Trottier was again selected to the Northern B All-State team and along with Messerly were District 2B First Team All-Conference selections. Trottier scored 515 points this season which may be a school record. She also recorded 91 assists and broke her own record with 138 steals. Trottier finished her high school career with 1,513 points, 451 rebounds, 353 steals and 323 assists. "A phenomenal player all around and natural leader on the court," stated Head Coach Brandon Trottier. "She was very fun to watch and coach over the 4 years. I'm excited what she will do at the next level at MSU-Northern." Messerly finished the season with 270 points and 168 rebounds this season, "I thought she could have been First Team All-Conference this season," said Trottier. " This was her break out season. It was nice to have one of the taller girls in 2B this year, usually we're the smaller team. Definitely going to miss her presence in the middle next season."

The Wildcats had two All-State selections with Cichosz and Ramone. Averaged 20 points an outing while also playing lock down defense. Head Coach Geno LeValdo stated, " RJ defiantly worked his tail off in the off season every year and it definitely shows." Cichosz has been a 'do everything player throughout his high school career and LeValdo raved about his performance, "Tyler took on 6'7" posts to the best guards on the opposite team. He is one of these kids who always asks to guard the best player on every team."

Cichosz was hampered by injury the summer before his senior season and LeValdo was amazed at what he saw, "He's been a work horse his whole high school career. When he tore his ACL this last summer, he worked his tail off and made an unbelievable come back."

"Daniel is the General of the team, he sets everything up and directs everything on the floor, he sets the tempo and when we call upon him to be a scorer he can literally light it up from the outside, he definitely put his work in the off-season," Said LeValdo

The Wildcats fourth recipient was junior Caleb Cole and LeValdo was excited to have him join the team mid season, "It was awesome to have Caleb join the team and he made a impact right away in the middle and his defense was stellar, not only can he guard posts, we had him guard Guards also with his length and speed and he matched up with anybody."

Chinook Sugarbeeters

The Sugarbeeters had two All-State recipients at the conclusion of the Winter Sports season. Junior Tyler Schoen won the 172 pound State B/C Wrestling Championship in earning his All-State selection. "He's just a great kid. Works hard and very easy to coach," stated Chinook Head Wrestling Coach Ben Stroh.

Neibauer earned an All-State and All-Conference selection for her play on the court this season and Swanson was a Second Team All-Conference selection for the Sugarbeeters. "Hallie and Bree were great this year both were great leaders and really showed improvement from last year. Bree really worked on her shooting form and I think it paid off. She also utilized her athleticism and attacked the rim really well," said Head Girls Basketball Coach Mike Jones.Jones was impressed with how much they improved on the court, "Hallie shot the ball well too. She was able to get a lot of second chance points and could score from the outside or on the inside. Both of these ladies were usually tasked with defending some of the opposing teams best players and for them to exert that much energy and still be great on the offensive side of the ball while maintaining a high level of leadership was amazing to see and great for our team."

The Sugarbeeter boys were led by Pula and Niederegger who performed very well on the court and as leaders having returned this years as primarily the only team members with extensive Varsity experience. Pula shot 56% fro the field on the season and averaged 15.6 points per contest. He also led the team with 11.5 rebounds per game and shot 33% from beyond the arc. "Oskar's game continued to improve throughout the year and I think he is one of the top players in the state. His ability to play all five spots on the floor offensively made him a huge asset to our team," said Head Coach Chad Jones.

Niederegger put up solid numbers as well scoring 15.3 points a night on 47% shooting from the field. Niederegger converted 36% of his three-point attempts and grabbed 6.2 rebounds per game. "Toby is a very versatile player. His athletic ability has made him a huge asset to our team on both ends of the court. He puts up solid numbers every game and usually draws the toughest defensive match up on the opposing team. Toby's ability to lead by example really grew this year, and that leadership was a large factor in getting through the district tournament and on to Great Falls," said Jones.

"We had quite a few ups and downs this year, and I'm very proud of Oskar and Toby for their efforts in leading the team on the floor," said Jones. "Based on how All-State was selected this year, The 9C did not win enough games at divisionals to get more of our all-conference players on the list, unfortunately. I think both Oskar and Toby are deserving of All-State honors.

The Chinook wrestling team also had a pair of Eastern Division B/C All-Conference winners for their efforts in qualifying for the State B/C Wrestling Tournament in Billings. Senior Wyatt Dunbar at 285 pounds and junior Lane Snider at 145 pounds. Schoen and Snider both return next fall and that suits Stroh just fine, "They are good kids, very well behaved. I hope to use this year to build off of and get back on the podium as a team."

Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds were represented very well when the awards list was released. Senior Jaedyn Chandler was First Team All Conference and committed this Tuesday to Dawson Community College. Sophomore Alliya Pretty Paint and junior Nashone Shambo were named Second Team All-Conference. "Nashone and Alliya are some dedicated players and we will look for their leadership in the off season and next year," stated Head Coach Corey Morgan. Senior Tyshawn Shambo was Second Team All-Conference for the boys.

Turner Tornadoes

Sophomore Ryan Doyle was named Second Team All-Conference and averaged 12 points per game. "He has great instinct, hustle and scoring ability. Especially for being a sophomore said Head Coach Jon Brown."

Junior Dakota Krass was a Second Team All-Conference selection for the girls, "Dakota is a solid player for us," stated Head Coach Julie Welsh. "She may not have always put up big numbers each game, but was always there for key rebounds, assists and fast breaks. She kept our younger girls focused and is very coach-able with a ton of hustle."