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Denson earns highest honor on all-state list Crater senior named 4A girls player of the year and is joined on the first-team list by teammate Sarah Pool. South's Whitney Grant, in 4A girls, and Eric Fiegi, in 4A boys, are second-teamers By DON HUNT Mail Tribune The best of the best. Crater High basketball standout Amy Denson earned that distinction Tuesday when she was named the Oregonian's Class 4A state girls player of the year. Joining Denson on the first team were Comets teammate Sarah Pool, Glencoe's Tiffany Schmidt, Willamette's Denise Hill and Central Catholic's Vanessa Wyffels. Beaverton's Sean Coste was selected coach of the year. Other local girls were also honored. South Medford's Whitney Grant was named to the second team and Ashland post Marla Morin received honorable mention. On the Class 4A boys side, South Medford's Eric Fiegi was named second team, Grants Pass' Tyler York and Roseburg's Joe Newton were chosen third team and South Medford's Ryan Heil and Grants Pass' Brant Minor gained honorable mention. Denson led the state in scoring during the regular season with a 20.7 average and then averaged 23 points at the state tournament. She also averaged 11.5 rebounds per contest and finished as Crater's all-time leading scorer with 1,326 points. "There are a lot of good players in the state and obviously this is a great honor," Denson said. "I really appreciate what people have done for me over the years. I've had a lot of support from my family, teammates and coaches." David Heard, who coached Denson during her three seasons at Crater before retiring earlier this month, wasn't the least bit surprised the 6-foot-1 senior center walked off with the award. "She was clearly the most dominant player in the state," Heard said. "She put up the best numbers on a team that won 25 games, and she had a good state tournament." The Comets faltered as a team at state, however, settling for a seventh-place finish following runner-up showings the previous two years. Denson said she would trade her player-of-the-year award for a state title. "I would do that in a second," she said. Denson is headed to Arizona State on a basketball scholarship. She plans to enroll in school at Tempe in June and get in some early workouts before official practice begins in October. "I'm so excited - I can't wait to go down there and join their program," said Denson, who is expected to immediately contribute to a team that won the Pac-10 tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament this season. "I want to get there in the summer and get a head start in school and basketball." Pool, meanwhile, said she was honored to be a first-team, all-state selection but admitted she still hadn't gotten over a subpar performance at the state tournament. "I know someday I'll really appreciate this, but right now it's tough to get beyond what happened at state," said Pool, a 5-8 point guard who was second behind Denson in state scoring at 20.5 points per game and will attend California in the fall. "I can't think about an individual award right now because we didn't win a state championship." Grant, South Medford's senior point guard, enjoyed an outstanding postseason that likely punched her ticket to a Division I college. Grant scored 22 points in pacing the Panthers to a 64-59 triple-overtime victory over Lakeridge that advanced them into the state tournament, then erupted for 69 more in three state tournament games. Grant finished her career as South Medford's all-time leader in points, assists and steals. Her postseason efforts caught the attention of University of Portland coach Jim Sollars and Santa Clara coach Chris Denker, among others. "It really felt good to finish on a strong note and get some recognition," said Grant, who is expecting a visit from Portland coaches this week. "You don't get much exposure playing in Medford, and so it was great to go up there (Portland) and play in front of some college coaches. "I have a desire to play at the Division I level, and hopefully now that can happen." Fiegi had a big season for the South Medford boys. The 6-9 senior center averaged 20.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots in leading the Panthers to a 24-3 record and the Southern Oregon Conference championship. Fiegi signed a letter of intent Monday to play at Western Baptist College in Salem. The boys first team consisted of Westview's Marshal Hartman, Thurston's Shea Washington, Churchill's Jordan Kent, Wilson's Chris Rodgers and Jesuit's Scott Dougherty. Tigard's Shawn Alderson was chosen boys coach of the year after guiding the Tigers to the state championship. BOYS First Team - Marshal Hartman, Westview, 6-7, sr.; Shea Washington, Thurston, 6-6 sr.; Jordan Kent, Churchill, 6-5, sr.; Chris Rodgers, Wilson, 6-4, sr.; Scott Dougherty, Jesuit, 6-5, sr.. Second team - Eric Fiegi, South Medford, 6-9, sr.; Ryan Gabel, Tigard, 6-4, sr.; Tyler Hayes, Bend, 6-5, sr.; Brandon Lincoln, Jefferson, 6-5, sr.; Alex Swerzbin, Clackamas, 6-0, sr. Third team - Tyler York, Grants Pass, 6-0, sr.; Matt Henderson, Beaverton, 6-4, sr.; Joe Newton, Roseburg, 6-7, sr.; Chris Stephens, Madison, 6-1, sr.; Greg O'Neal, David Douglas, 6-2, sr. Honorable Mention - Jay Mayernik, Thurston, 6-5, jr.; Ryan Heil, South Medford, 6-1, sr.; Brant Minor, Grants Pass, 6-3, sr.; Sean Lake, North Salem, 6-2, sr.; Thomas Gardner, Jefferson, 6-4, jr.; Mike Green, Crescent Valley, 6-1, jr.; Jared Zabransky, Hermiston, 6-3, sr.; Tommy Magnuson, Tigard, 6-8, sr.; Kevin Tyner, Central Catholic, 5-11, sr.; Jered Alsup, Churchill, 6-4, sr. Player of the year - Marshal Hartman, Westview. Coach of the year - Shawn Alderman, Tigard. GIRLS First team - Amy Denson, Crater, 6-1, sr.; Sarah Pool, Crater, 5-8, sr.; Tiffany Schmidt, Glencoe, 6-1, sr.; Denise Hill, Willamette, 6-0, jr.; Vanessa Wyffels, Central Catholic, 5-10, sr. Second team - Aundrea Morrison, Hermiston, 6-0, jr.; Becky Harwood, Lakeridge, 6-0, jr.; Rachel Byers, Beaverton, 6-1, sr.; Whitney Grant, South Medford, 5-6, sr.; Melissa McBride, Oregon City, 5-6, sr. Third team - Ashley Shearer, Barlow, 5-7, sr.; Brittney Davis, Jefferson, 5-5, so.; Courtney Fritz, Jesuit, 5-8, jr.; Ashley Covey, Corvallis, 5-9, sr.; Heather Arns, Glencoe, 5-9, jr. Honorable mention - Annie Roberts, Churchill, 5-8, sr.; Jenna Washington, Thurston, 6-0, sr.; Marla Morin, Ashland, 6-0, jr.; Tanya Alsherif, St. Mary's, 5-11, sr.; Courtney Bothum, Silverton, 5-8, sr.; Shannon Barton, Tigard, 5-9, sr.; Kristen Forristall, Oregon City, 6-2, so.; Kristin Gunderson, Wilson, 6-0, sr.; Sara Gale, Corvallis, 6-2, sr. Player of the year - Amy Denson, Crater. Coach of the year - Sean Coste, Beaverton. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.