Regis basketball has been putting on a show all season.
The Regis girls squad is 17-1 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A. The Rams’ boys squad, despite losing Isaiah Koehnke, the leading scorer in Oregon high school basketball history to graduation, is 15-2 and ranked third. Both teams are unbeaten in the Tri-River Conference despite stiff competition from perennial power Western Christian.
Second-year girls coach Tim Manning has the squad running at a frenetic pace. The Rams are averaging 68.7 points per game and giving up just 32.2. They have scored nearly 300 points more than the next-highest 2A club, Nestucca.
“We’re wearing teams out,” Manning told the OSAA. “We’ve got really good speed and stamina. We get a lot of deflections, a lot of steals, because we do a lot of trapping. We just try to disrupt other teams, get to them before they can set up an offense.”
The Rams are balanced, deep, experienced and youthful. Freshmen Frankie Koehnke and Lexi Lulay have been instant contributors. Versatile guard Clara Persons returned to Regis for her senior year after helping lead Salem Academy to a 2A title a year ago. Post Hadley Foster does everything well: she averaged a double-double as a sophomore at the 2024 state tournament in Pendleton where Regis took fifth. Mylah Etzel, Olivia Adams, Mayla Manning and Azzilin Smith provide depth. Regis’ lone loss was in a non-league game at Class 3A Amity.
Coach Jason Koehnke’s boys team looks just as strong. And they run at even a faster pace than the girls. The Rams are averaging 79.4 points per game and giving up 52.6. Their 1,351 points are nearly 175 more than second place Trinity Lutheran. Regis, fifth at Pendleton a year ago, has lost only to Trinity and Class 3A No. 1 Valley Catholic.
The veteran squad is led by seniors Jude Pokorny, Eli Silbernagel and Lucas Koehnke. All three filled up the scorebook in Pendleton a year ago, with Silbernagel (15.3 points and a tourney-leading 10 rebounds) a second-team all-tournament selection, while Pokorny shot 55.6 from the field and Koehnke hit 9 of 19 3-pointers.
Right next door the Stayton Eagles’ girls team is ranked second in Class 4A after winning the title a year ago in coach Tal Wold’s second year. Stayton’s 11-3 record includes a 41-35 loss to rival Cascade on Jan. 20 in the Oregon West Conference opener. The Eagles also have lost to Class 5A power Springfield and Baker, ranked third in 4A.
“Cascade played really well,” Wold said of the No. 8 Cougars. “They looked like an experienced group. (They have) three girls who are four-year starters who had some urgency and great leadership. We battled but missed some tough shots and had some turnovers that hurt us. We will get there. The girls show up daily with a great attitude and are working hard.”
On the boys side Stayton emerged victorious in the Cascade rivalry matchup by a 46-45 count on a half-court buzzer beater by Ruben Reyes. The Stayton boys are ranked seventh, with the Cougars at 14th.On Feb. 10 the two schools play another doubleheader, this time in Turner.
All-state football: Class 4A champion Cascade cleaned up in the all-state voting by the division’s coaches. Shane Hedrick won the coaching honor, while Cougars running back Bryce Kuenzi and defensive line teammate Matthew Hinkle earned offensive and defensive honors, respectively. There was more, too, for the 13-0 team.
Kuenzi was a first-team running back. Hinkle was a first-team defensive lineman and a second-team running back. Josiah Hawkins was a first-team wide receiver and defensive back and a second-team kick returner. Jace Johnson and Bryce May were first-team on the offensive line, while Morrison Craig made the first team at linebacker.
Jamison Walsh (DL), Vincent Medina (LB), and Dalton Kuenzi (DB) made the second-team defense. QB Cade Coreson was on the third team.
Stayton, which finished 7-3, placed RB Wyatt Kerrigan and tight end Bryce Schaan on the second-team along with punter Owen Mitzel. Offensive lineman Abraham Richter made the third team, while wide receiver Hunter Mollerstrom, place-kicker Carter Vinson, linebacker Travis Conklin and defensive back Wyatt Black received honorable mention.
