Once again, Whatcom County will be sending two representatives to the Class 1A boys basketball state tournament, and, as usual, one of them is Lynden Christian, which has placed in the top three the past five tourneys and is making its 12th state appearance in a row.
But the other one? Welcome back, Nooksack Valley.
The Pioneers have one of the most storied boys basketball traditions in the state with 30 state appearances, 19 trophies, and two state championships but will be making their first trip to state since 2011.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Nooksack Valley coach Jason Heutink, who went to state all four of his years and starred on the 2003 state championship Nooksack squad. “It feels like we should have been here before. I’m happy especially for these senior boys and their families. They’ve watched us lose the last couple of years (in the playoffs) and how we’ve lost.”
The Nooksack Valley seniors, including starters Jayden Anderson, Crew Bauman, Cole Coppinger, and Owen Wichers, have mostly played in the shadow of the Pioneers’ Class of 2025, which came up one game short of reaching state the past two seasons.
For previews of all the regional games involving Whatcom teams, check out Regional Previews.
But the Class of 2026 helped Nooksack erase at least some of the bad memories by beating nemesis Meridian in the Class 1A District 1 consolation finals on Saturday, sending the Pioneers back to the Promised Land despite a 10-14 record and a 16th seed among the 16 teams.
“(Early in the season) I would probably told you it’s a slim chance,” Heutink said of ending the state drought. “But you’d have a hard time convincing me that there’s a better, more competitive league than ours. And the Whatcom County teams that survive do pretty well when they get over there. I hope that continues.”
“Over there,” of course, is the Yakima SunDome, and Whatcom County has indeed done well. Besides Lynden Christian’s ongoing success including state titles in 2022 and ’23, Meridian placed fourth last year and Blaine was third in 2023.
And the Lyncs look like they’ll again be a championship contender.
They come in with a sparkling 23-1 record — their only loss being to a 4A playoff team by four points on the road the first week of the season — and LC has already claimed the Northwest Conference and District 1 titles.
The Lyncs will also be at full strength with all-state guard Dawson Hintz and fellow all-league juniors Gunnar Dykstra and Kaden Veldman returning from last year’s state runner-up squad.
“We just want to continue doing the things we’ve done throughout the year, the things that won us the conference and district championships,” said LC coach Tim Zylstra. “Hopefully, the adversity we’ve had through the year will make us bond together.”
By earning the second seed, the Lyncs will face a familiar foe in the state regional in a very familiar setting. They will take on seventh-seeded Chelan — a team they’ve played in team camps during the summer — on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Lynden High School.
The winner will advance directly to Thursday’s state quarterfinals in the SunDome. The loser will also move on to Yakima, but will have to play a loser-out contest on Wednesday and win that to join the double-elimination portion of the tourney.
Meanwhile, the Pioneers will open state play against an unfamiliar opponent in an unfamiliar venue. Nooksack will face ninth-seeded Fort Vancouver on Friday at 6 p.m. at Camas High School. This will be a loser-out contest, with the winner moving on to Wednesday’s first round in Yakima in another elimination contest.
Here’s a look at both Whatcom teams and their 1A regional games:
#16 NOOKSACK VALLEY (10-14) vs. #9 FORT VANCOUVER (20-3)
Friday, 6 p.m., at Camas High School
If Pioneers win: Play Seattle Christian-Zillah loser in a loser-out game on Wednesday, March 4, at 2 p.m.
If Pioneers lose: Their season is over.
Regional outlook: The Trappers might come in with a chip on their shoulders after receiving a ninth seed despite a 20-3 record, a 15-game winning streak, and the Trico League and District 4 titles. They have size with 6-foot-6 post Leighton Livengood and athleticism with quick forward Jaxen Appelt, who were league co-players of the year. But having no common opponents, it’s hard to figure how the Pioneers will match up with Fort Vancouver — and how the Trappers will match up with Nooksack’s balanced attack.
State preview: Once again, it’s the usual suspects who are the favorites in whatever order you want — undefeated top seed Zillah, second seed LC, and sixth seed King’s, one of whom has won 10 of the past 11 state titles. Toss in defending champion and fifth seed Annie Wright and third seed Royal, whose only losses have been to Zillah, and you have the makings of a wild and competitive tournament.
Pioneers coach Jason Heutink: “Now that we’re here, you can throw that (teams’ records) all out the window. We’ve been playing well and playing with confidence. If we play like we can, we can compete with any team.”
#2 LYNDEN CHRISTIAN (22-1) vs. #7 CHELAN (22-4)
Saturday, 4 p.m., at Lynden High School
If Lyncs win: Play in quarterfinals on Thursday, March 5, at 2 p.m.
If Lyncs lose: Play Cascade Christian-King’s Way Christian winner in a loser-out game on Wednesday, March 4, at 10:30 a.m.
Regional outlook: The Goats are a dangerous 22-4 team with two of those losses coming to Royal. They also will have a definite size advantage over the Lyncs with 6-foot-7 junior Ted Uttech and 6-3 brothers Luca and Trevor Faletto. They can score lots of points, but they can give up points, too, and if there’s one thing that LC does well, it’s put up points.
State preview: Unlike last year, when everybody pointed at transfer-ladened Annie Wright as the heavy favorite, there are at least a half-dozen serious contenders for the gold ball not to mention a couple of dark horses with great records like Fort Vancouver and Chelan. But if you want to compare tough schedules, you can’t get much tougher than Lynden Christian’s and Nooksack Valley’s, so expect the Whatcom teams to make some noise.
Lyncs coach Tim Zylstra: “Zillah is still the favorite, and Royal and Annie Wright will probably make the final four, or King’s, and Bear Creek if they play well. But we’re all back at zero-zero. We’ve had a bit of adversity with a player sitting out, but otherwise, we were playing where we needed to be. We’ll find out Saturday.”
CLASS 1A BOYS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 27
#9 Fort Vancouver (20-3) vs. #16 Nooksack Valley (10-14), 6 p.m., at Camas HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#10 Cascade Christian (16-8) vs. #15 King’s Way Christian (18-8), 6 p.m., at Mount Tahoma HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#12 Wapato (15-11) vs. #13 Montesano (17-6), 6 p.m., at Davis HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 28
#3 Royal (21-3) vs. #6 King’s (17-6), 2 p.m., at Davis HS (both to state tournament)
#11 Overlake (17-7) vs. #14 Elma (14-7), 2 p.m., at Issaquah HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#2 Lynden Christian (22-1) vs. #7 Chelan (22-4), 4 p.m., at Lynden HS (both to state tournament)
#1 Zillah (23-0) vs. #8 Seattle Christian (17-5), 6 p.m., at Davis HS (both to state tournament)
#4 Bear Creek (17-7) vs. #5 Annie Wright (15-9), 6 p.m., at Issaquah HS (both to state tournament)
