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.