1A Boys State: Meridian Beats Chelan, Take Fourth In State

When they were shooting baskets during fifth-grade recess, Talon Jenkins and Jaeger Fyfe would talk about playing on Saturday at the Class 1A state tournament in the Yakima SunDome.

Seven years later, their dream became a reality — and they have a trophy to prove it.

Jenkins, Fyfe, and their Meridian boys basketball teammates defeated Chelan, 59-48, on Saturday, March 8, to wrap up a 20-9 season and place fourth in the state. It was Meridian’s fourth trophy and marked the only time the Trojans have won on a Saturday at state.

“That’s all we talked about,” Fyfe said after finishing his career with 30 points on Saturday. “It wasn’t the big one, but a trophy is a trophy. We made history.”

The Meridian team of 2025 certainly did. They returned to state, marking only the second time in school history that a squad has made back-to-back state appearances. And they won three state tournament games, tying the 2010 runner-up team for most state victories.

“We definitely knew we had a squad that could do this,” said Meridian coach Shane Stacy.

On Saturday, Meridian jumped out on the Goats with a 19-4 run to start the game and stretched the lead to as much as 19 in the third quarter. Even when Chelan managed to cut the margin to 11 late in the game, the Trojans never lost control.

Chelan finished the season at 24-7 and took home the sixth-place trophy.

A big reason for Saturday’s win and the season’s success was Meridian’s senior class. Jenkins and Fyfe, of course, have been all-conference performers since their sophomore years.

Fyfe had another great tournament game, hitting all six of his 3-pointers and scoring 22 points in the first half to get the Trojans going. He also finished with 5 rebounds and 3 assists in addition to his 30 points. Jenkins had 12 of his 19 points in the second half and collected a team-high 8 rebounds.

With the outside shots falling, senior post James Hedahl wasn’t needed as much in scoring on Saturday but had another big rebounding day with 7 boards. Senior guard Canyon James provided leadership and hustle to the Trojans’ young backcourt, and senior Brock Haugen came off the bench to provide 7 minutes of physical defense.

The Trojans also got another nice game out of sophomore guard Pierce Brzozowski, who made four of five shots from the field for 8 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Their other sophomore guard, Trey Alexander, dished out 3 assists.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the two senior stars were reflective after playing their last game for the black and gold.

“Your whole career flashes before you,” said Jenkins. “All the hours in the gym, the times you got yelled at, the sets of lines. We knew we were going to do something special. I hope they (the younger kids) take it and run with it. We were just planting seeds.”

When asked what he’d think of in the future looking back on the season, Fyfe said, “All the memories … the little things outside of basketball.”

Stacy said what made the team special was its willingness to be coached — “They believed in us,” he said — and all the time the seniors were willing to put in not only working on their own games but in helping the younger players, as exemplified by Jenkins and Fyfe.

But it was the team’s character that he’d remember most.

“This group means the world to me,” he said. “I look back at what we’ve gone through. It has not been easy. This has been a tough year. These boys brought me comfort.”

And they brought home a trophy too.

For their efforts, Fyfe and Jenkins were named to the all-tournament second team. On the first team were Lynden Christian’s Dawson Hintz and Gannon Dykstra.

Although the WIAA does not sanction all-tournament teams, in voting by media members, Jeremiah Harshman of Annie Wright was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Joining Hintz, Dykstra and Harshman on the first team were Dekker Van De Graaf of Zillah, Kaiden Wilson of Seton Catholic, and Reggie Lester of Annie Wright.

Joining Fyfe and Jenkins on the second team were Martin Kaupanger of Annie Wright, Grant Wardenaar of Royal, Tev Uttech of Chelan, and Memphis Jones of Zillah.

Meridian 59, Chelan 48

Chelan 9 14 10 15—48

Meridian 19 14 16 10—59

Chelan: Luca Faletto 2, Trevor Faletto, Zac Noyd 10, Jacob Allen 7, Nolan Harris 9, Tev Uttech 18, Eric Mercado 2.

Meridian: Talon Jenkins 19, Damion Hayes, Jaeger Fyfe 30, Canyon James, Brock Haugen, Matthew Blankenburg, Daniel Larsen, Trey Alexander, Gabe Galbraith, Pierce Brzozowski 8, James Hedahl 2, Josiah Harris.

CLASS 1A BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT

At Yakima SunDome

Wednesday, March 5

Seton Catholic 68, Cashmere 61 (loser out)

Meridian 65, Overlake 52 (loser out)

King’s 69, Bellevue Christian 67 (loser out)

Chelan 69, Bear Creek 51 (loser out)

Thursday, March 6

Zillah 61, Seton Catholic 59

Annie Wright 53, Meridian 22

Lynden Christian 69, King’s 4422-2), 7:15 p.m.

Royal 67, Chelan 46