Colfax girls honored at banquet

Award winners at the Monday girls basketball banquet, from left, Alexie Smith, Miss Hustle;

Taylor Garcia, most inspirational; Parker Warwick, co-winner of most improved; Carmen Geller, most valuable player, and Abbie Miller, co-winner of most improved. Garcia and Gfeller were named captains.

Basketball season for Colfax girls ended Monday night at the banquet table with four seniors honored for their Bulldogs hoop careers and presentation of varsity and junior varsity awards.

Hoop action for the girls shut down three weeks earlier when their season ended one game short of the state 2B trophy round at Spokane. They were stopped by St. George's, a team they could not top during the season.

They dropped to an elimination game after a loss in the quarterfinals to Davenport, a NE foe which caught fire at the end of the season and went all the way to the state championship.

Colfax advanced to the Spokane show with a win over Dayton in the regional round. Dayton, which had been atop the state's new rating system for much of the season, also wound up with a trophy at state.

Carmen Gfeller, who led the Colfax scoring over the season as a junior, was named most valuable player.

Senior Taylor Garcia was voted most inspirational. Coach Corey Baerlocher noted Garcia capped off her career with a high-scoring run at the NE district playoff when she averaged more than 20 points over three games. The district run finished with a pull-away win over the Liberty Lancers.

Gfeller and Garcia shared the team captains award.

Senior Parker Warwick and junior Abbie Miller were co-winners of the most improved award. Warwick put together a strong senior season after being sidelined for most of the previous two years with injuries.

Sarah Kraut and Alexie Smith were other seniors at the head table with Garcia and Warwick.

Smith received the team “hustle” award.

Other players receiving varsity awards were Rachel Brown, Taylre Sakamoto-Howell, Madi Cox, Piper Cai, Josie Riebold and Greta Geier.

Colfax will return with five of this year's junior veterans back as seniors.

Baerlocher noted he planned to follow up on a season-end suggestion from Riebold that the team "return to the old ways" when they crank it up for another run next year. He commented the old ways will mean a lot more effort, but it could pay off.

Assistant coach Joel Warwick presented certificates to Skylre Sakamoto-Howell, Averi Mackleit, Shyah Antonie, Kaitlyn Cornish, McKenna Lomax and Lilly Swan. Six of the varsity players also competed with the jayvees.

Coach Warwick noted one of the highlights for the season was ending the home win string posted by Colton's jayvees with a five-point explosion at the end of the game.

Two players who will also receive certificates are Goldie Akesson and Johanna (Jo Jo) Stolle, the German exchange student who had a big impact on the Bulldogs' volleyball season.

Stolle, who had never played competitive basketball, decided to turn out and played in 10 jayvee games before she had to return to Germany for the second term of school there.