Seattle Times All-Kingco Team -- Sorenson, Minahan Shine -- Eastlake, Inglemoor Stars Named Best In Conference; Pepple, Langston Honored As Top Coaches
Kim Sorenson of Eastlake and Al Minahan of Inglemoor have been named KingCo basketball players of the year by The Seattle Times.
Ed Pepple, whose Mercer Island boys team has won a school-record 24 consecutive games, was chosen boys coach of the year. Sammamish's Kathy Langston, whose Totems exceeded all preseason expectations by finishing second in Division III with an 8-7 record (11-10 overall), was selected girls coach of the year.
Sorenson, a senior who will attend Santa Clara next fall on a basketball scholarship, led KingCo in scoring for the third consecutive season. The 5-foot-9 guard averaged a career-best 21.4 points to help the Wolves win the Division III championship and reach the Class AAA state tournament for the second consecutive season.
Minahan, also a senior, averaged 22.4 points for the Vikings, who finished second to Mercer Island in Division II before being eliminated in the Sea-King district tournament. Minahan also broke his school record for free-throw percentage by making more than 90 percent of his free-throw attempts this season.
Minahan is joined by three seniors and a lanky sophomore on the first team. Jason Heide of Issaquah, a 6-10 center headed to Oregon State on a scholarship, averaged 18.9 points and 14 rebounds to help Issaquah capture the Division III title. Marques Tuiasosopo, a 6-2 forward who has signed a football scholarship with the University of Washington, averaged 15.8 points.
Diron Mobley, a 6-0 guard, averaged 14.8 points for No. 2 Mercer Island, which plays No. 1 Mount Vernon tomorrow night in the championship game of the Wes-Sea-King bi-district tournament. Curtis Borchardt, a 6-8 sophomore who averaged 16.4 points for Eastlake, completes the first five.
Two juniors from Bothell, the girls champion, made the first team. Point guard Becki Ashbaugh was third in KingCo scoring with a 16.9 average and Jennae Krell was fifth with a 15.5 average for the Cougars, who have qualified for the state tournament. Juanita senior Jennifer Kutz, who finished second in scoring with a 19.0 average and is headed to Weber State on a scholarship, also made the first team. So did Redmond senior Lauren Ashbaugh, who averaged 14.9 points and has signed to play at California.
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KingCo Boys
First team
Al Minahan 6-3 Senior Inglemoor
Jason Heide 6-10 Senior Issaquah
Marques Tuiasosopo 6-2 Senior Woodinville
Diron Mobley 6-0 Senior Mercer Island
Curtis Borchardt 6-8 Sophomore Eastlake
Second team
Marco Quinto 6-5 Junior Interlake
Tim VanWieringen 6-7 Senior Lake Washington
Frank Shields 6-1 Junior Redmond
Josh Karp 6-5 Junior Bothell
Jason King 5-7 Junior Lake Washington
Third team
Brian Trofholz 6-3 Senior Bothell
Elliott Prasse-Freeman 6-2 Sophomore Mercer Island
Bryan Brown 6-1 Senior Mercer Island
Ryan Iraola 6-0 Senior Issaquah
Alex Carter 6-3 Senior Newport
Honorable mention
Bothell - Jeff Nelson, 6-5, senior; Dan Sandrin, 6-6, junior. Eastlake - Mike Shane, 6-5, senior. Issaquah - Elliot Cohn, 6-0, senior. Inglemoor - Obinna Ocholonu, 6-4, senior. Juanita - Cory Ortiz, 6-3, sophomore. Mercer Island - Tyler Besecker, 6-5, sophomore. Newport - David Lance, 6-1, junior.
Player of the year - Al Minahan, Inglemoor.
Coach of the year - Ed Pepple, Mercer Island.
KingCo girls
First team
Becki Ashbaugh 5-5 Junior Bothell
Kim Sorenson 5-9 Senior Eastlake
Jennifer Kutz 6-0 Senior Juanita
Lauren Ashbaugh 6-1 Senior Redmond
Jennae Krell 5-10 Junior Bothell
Second team
Brooke Ingalls 6-0 Senior Eastlake
Syesha Thomas 5-5 Senior Interlake
Jen Babin 5-10 Senior Bothell
Meghan Geddes 5-10 Senior Lake Washington
Kim Evanger 5-10 Junior Issaquah
Third team
Trish Huffman 6-1 Junior Eastlake
Lexie Richards 5-10 Sophomore Mercer Island
Shennae McNairy 5-8 Senior Lake Washington
Anna Sturing 6-4 Senior Lake Washington
Amie Karkainen 6-0 Senior Interlake
Honorable mention
Bellevue - Jessie Brashen, 5-5, sophomore. Bothell - Nicole McCain, 6-0, junior. Inglemoor - Cori Enghusen, 6-7, junior. Interlake - Rosalie Shaw, 6-2, junior. Issaquah - Courtney Hellum, 5-3, junior. Lake Washington - Aurora Erickson, 5-8, junior. Newport - Anna Mickelson, 6-1, junior. Redmond - Lisa Milne, 5-7, sophomore; Lynne Peeples, 5-8, junior. Sammamish - Heidi Brunhaver, 5-9, senior.
Player of the year - Kim Sorenson, Eastlake.
Coach of the year - Kathy Langston, Sammamish.