Prep basketball and wrestling teams wrapped up their pre-holiday schedules Dec. 20–22, while all other sports were off. Following a five-day break, local teams will get back to mid-season games on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
Western Washington University’s basketball programs, which have been idle since Monday, Dec. 18, won’t return to action until Thursday, Jan. 4.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of winter sports.
Prep
Boys basketball
Nooksack Valley’s Caden Heutink leans for the shot as he falls out of bounds Friday, Dec. 22 while driving to the hoop in a game against Blaine. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
The Northwest Conference standings remain largely the same after a slow week of basketball during the holidays.
Lynden (7-2, 6-0 NWC) is one of just two teams that are undefeated in conference games, alongside second-place Lynden Christian (8-0, 5-0 NWC). The rivals are continuing to dominate local schools, as they haven’t lost a step since both clinching back-to-back state titles a season ago (Lynden in Class 2A, LC in 1A).
LC dominated the team that was its biggest local 1A competitor last season on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Blaine, which finished third in the state a year ago, lost to the Lyncs 97-27. The Borderites have struggled in the early portion of the new season, currently sitting in 15th place with a 2-6 overall record (1-5 NWC). The Lyncs, however, just keep winning with their undefeated record.
Lynden has won two games in a row after defeating Sedro-Woolley, 58-32, on Friday, Dec. 22.
The Lions have Whatcom County’s leading scorer in senior Anthony Canales (23.4 points per game), according to Whatcom Preps. Junior Brant Heppner is also fourth in the county with 18.4 points per game.
Third-place Bellingham (6-2, 5-1 NWC) bounced back from a 71-48 loss to Meadowdale on Dec. 20 by beating Ferndale, 50-45, on Friday, Dec. 22. The Bayhawks are off to their best eight-game start since 2016 when they were 7-1.
Nooksack Valley (6-2, 4-2 NWC) remains in the mix at fifth place in the conference standings. The Pioneers defeated Blaine, 60-59, on Dec. 22 before going on holiday break.
The only other Whatcom County team with a positive league record is Sehome (5-3, 3-2 NWC), as the Mariners continue to work through losing nearly their entire starting lineup from last season’s team that reached the 2A state tournament. Sehome edged Sedro-Woolley, 52-47, on Thursday, Dec. 21.
Meridian (4-3, 2-3 NWC), Squalicum (2-5, 2-3 NWC) and Ferndale (2-7, 2-4 NWC) are fighting to stay in the hunt in the middle of the league standings. Meridian was the only team of the bunch to win their final game before break — an 88-64 win over Mount Baker (3-7, 1-4 NWC) on Dec. 22.
Girls basketball
The NWC girls basketball standings are wide open.
Five local teams have one league loss or are unbeaten in league games through winter break. Only a few teams are middling, while three Whatcom County teams have yet to secure a win against conference opponents.
Nooksack Valley (8-0, 6-0 NWC) leads the pack once again, continuing to assert the likelihood of a Class 1A state title defense. The Pioneers’ last game was a 78-30 win over Blaine on Dec. 22, led by 18 points from senior University of Washington signee Devin Coppinger.
The 5-foot-10 guard leads the county in scoring with 24.3 points per game, according to Whatcom Preps, while Blaine’s Jordyn Vezzetti is the next closest with 14.4.
Ferndale (7-3, 5-0 NWC) is in second place in the league hierarchy, and the Golden Eagles bounced back from a blowout loss to Stanwood, 60-33, by crushing Bellingham 65-29 on Dec. 22. Despite their NWC membership, Ferndale has the toughest path to a state tournament berth among Whatcom County programs because of its 3A classification.
With its only loss coming to league-leading NV, Lynden (8-1, 5-1 NWC) currently sits in fourth place. The Lions bounced back from their loss to the Pioneers by dominating Sedro-Woolley, 81-15, on Dec. 22.
Sehome (5-2, 4-1 NWC) and Lynden Christian (5-3, 4-1 NWC) are also part of the top-end club. The former lost its final game before the break, 69-41, to Lake Stevens on Dec. 20. The latter downed Blaine, 66-24, on the same night. Each could vault up the conference hierarchy with post-holiday win streaks.
After those five teams, there is a dramatic drop-off. Blaine (3-4, 1-4 NWC) and Meridian (2-4, 1-4 NWC) are in 10th and 11th place, respectively. Meridian did, however, win its last game before the break with a 45-35 victory over Mount Baker.
Mount Baker (3-7, 0-3 NWC), Squalicum (2-5, 0-4 NWC) and Bellingham (2-7, 0-6 NWC) remain winless in league games.
Boys wrestling
Mount Baker hosted 16 other teams, including four from Whatcom County, for the Mount Baker/Justin Compton Invite on Dec. 21.
The home team emerged in second place with 193.5 team points, following only Wapato, led by first-place finishes from Daniel Washburn (157 pounds) and Wyatt Freeman (165).
Mount Baker also had three second-place finishers in Isaac Dekriek (113), Andrew Monteith (132) and Vance Lawrence (175), as well as a third-place finisher in Gavin Compton (144).
Squalicum, which finished seventh with 93 team points, got a top finish from Jonah Papetti in the 120-pound weight class, followed by a second-place finish from Griffin Smith (150) and a third-place finish from Isaac Lowry (285).
Lynden (48 team points) captured 12th, led by a third-place finish from Christian Velasquez in the 126-pound weight class. Wyatt Bacon’s third-place finish in the 190-pound weight class led Nooksack Valley (43.5 team points) to a 14th-place finish.
Two Ferndale wrestlers, Wyatt Straight and Jacob Gandy, placed top-eight in the 30-team Pac Coast boys wrestling tournament on Dec. 21–22 at the Clark County Event Center in Ridgefield, Clark County.
Straight finished second in the 285-pound weight class, while Gandy took fourth at 157 pounds.
GNAC men’s basketball standings — Dec. 27
| Men’s basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 2-0 | 8-4 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 2-0 | 5-4 |
| Western Washington | 1-0 | 9-3 |
| Saint Martin’s | 1-1 | 11-1 |
| Central Washington | 1-1 | 8-3 |
| Seattle Pacific | 1-1 | 8-7 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 1-1 | 3-7 |
| Simon Fraser | 0-1 | 2-10 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0-2 | 10-3 |
| Western Oregon | 0-2 | 3-7 |
GNAC women’s basketball standings — Dec. 27
| Women’s basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 2-0 | 11-3 |
| Central Washington | 2-0 | 10-3 |
| Seattle Pacific | 2-0 | 4-7 |
| Western Washington | 1-0 | 9-2 |
| Western Oregon | 1-1 | 6-5 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 1-1 | 4-5 |
| Simon Fraser | 0-1 | 8-6 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0-2 | 6-5 |
| Saint Martin’s | 0-2 | 2-7 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 0-2 | 2-10 |
Boys basketball, Northwest Conference — Dec. 27
| Boys basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Lynden | 6-0 | 7-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 5-0 | 8-0 |
| Mount Vernon | 5-1 | 8-2 |
| Bellingham | 5-1 | 6-2 |
| Nooksack Valley | 4-2 | 6-2 |
| Anacortes | 3-1 | 5-1 |
| Sehome | 3-2 | 5-3 |
| Meridian | 2-3 | 4-3 |
| Lakewood | 2-3 | 3-4 |
| Squalicum | 2-3 | 2-5 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 2-4 | 3-6 |
| Ferndale | 2-4 | 2-7 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1-4 | 4-5 |
| Mount Baker | 1-4 | 3-7 |
| Blaine | 1-5 | 2-6 |
| Oak Harbor | 0-5 | 2-6 |
Girls basketball, Northwest Conference — Dec. 27
| Girls basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Nooksack Valley | 6-0 | 9-0 |
| Ferndale | 5-0 | 7-3 |
| Burlington-Edison | 5-0 | 6-2 |
| Lynden | 5-1 | 8-1 |
| Sehome | 4-1 | 5-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 4-1 | 5-3 |
| Anacortes | 3-2 | 5-3 |
| Oak Harbor | 3-2 | 5-4 |
| Lakewood | 2-3 | 4-3 |
| Blaine | 1-4 | 3-4 |
| Meridian | 1-4 | 2-4 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 1-5 | 4-5 |
| Mount Baker | 0-3 | 3-7 |
| Squalicum | 0-4 | 2-5 |
| Mount Vernon | 0-4 | 1-5 |
| Bellingham | 0-6 | 2-7 |
Standings were updated at 10:04 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28 to reflect the outcome of games played on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
