The changing of the guard continues in Thompson Falls.

Fortunately for the Blue Hawks and Lady Hawks basketball teams, the ranks of the guard corps is deep.

Heading into the rapidly approaching 2023-24 high school basketball season, big losses to graduation are being replaced by big gains from the young rank and file hoopsters who are making their bid for the next generation of Blue Hawks and Lady Hawks players.

Both the boys and girls teams have been hit hard by the graduation bug, but the news is not all bad as the Hawks and Lady Hawks prepare for the 2023-24 season.

Last year’s Blue Hawks boys team finished the year 13-12 overall, with a postseason overtime loss to Anaconda bringing the boys season to an end.

The Lady Hawks, meanwhile, were also eliminated by the Copperheads, ending their year with a 14-7 record, good for second place in the Western 7B conference race.

And both teams lost several key players to graduation as they prepare for the upcoming Class B season.

The Lady Hawks suffered the heaviest losses to graduation, losing several all-conference and all-state players in the mix.

Gone for this year is all-everything forward Ellie Baxter, who was a first team all-state selection as well as first team in the Western B Division.

Baxter has since moved on to Carroll College in Helen via a basketball scholarship, the latest area player to sign with the Lady Saints in the past two years.

Also moving on via graduation are guard Chesney Lowe, forward Avery Burgess , forward Natalie Roberts and Aliva McCormick.

But the Lady Hawks return a solid group of youngsters, paced by recent volleyball all-state sophomore selection Gabi Hannum, a 6-0, athletic forward. Hannum will have teammates Sarah Koskela and Olivia Fitchett back this year as the Lady Hawks look to compete with league power Eureka once again.

The Lady Hawks have a tall, athletic group of returnees, including senior Hattie Neesvig back in the fold, along with 5-9 sophomore Annalise Faribank and 5-6 sophomore Addie Pardee.

The returnees have fueled optimism with second year head coach Mike Tessier.

“Everybody in the league looks good this year,” Tessier said. “We feel good about the girls we have coming back. We lost a lot through graduation but like who we have coming back”.

Tessier, a former coach at Noxon, said he has been watching the young talent at Thompson Falls and likes the potential they represent.

“I was excited about coaching this young group, they have a lot of athleticism,” Tessier said. “We will get tested right off the bat and will have a good idea of what he have and what we need to improve upon pretty soon”

The story, in many ways, is the same for Blue Hawks boys head coach Jake Mickelson, who is also the school’s athletic director.

“We lost a lot of players to graduation,” Mickelson said. “ But we feel pretty good about the players we have coming back this year. We have a good group of underclassmen we feel are ready to play at the varsity level”.

Mickelson listed all conference players Eli Ratliff and Jesse Claridige as two of the main losses from last year’s roster. Also gone via the graduation path are seniors Breck Ferris, Ben Cooper, Jacob Britt and Alex Menzel.

But coming back for another year is 6-3 junior Bryson LeCoure, the quarterback of the football team and a high-scoring basketball forward, as well as Braxton Dorsher, guards Nick Tessier and Cael Thilmony and junior Kaiden Robbins. The team is loaded with a solid group of sophomores working their way up the varsity chain.

Head coach Mickelson said he was pleased with the strong player turnout this year, with 25 players showing up for opening drills and practices. And he said defending league champion Eureka will once again be among the top teams in the 7B, along with Anaconda.

“We get pretty much right into things pretty soon,” he said. “We should know by Christmas where we stand and what we need to improve upon”

Also out of for basketball this year is 170-pound state wrestling champion Max Hannum, who will attempt the grueling double-sport duo of wrestling and basketball this year.

"We are glad to have Max out, he will be a good addition to our team", Mickelson said.

Both the boys and girls teams open the season with the Anaconda Tip-off Classic, December 8-9.

“I like what I’m seeing at this early point of the season,” Mickelson added.

    Thompson Falls girls head basketball coach Mike Tessier, with whistle, conduct drills with this year's Lady Hawks team as they prepare for the 2023-24 season set to open next month. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    State wrestling champ Max Hannum, goes up for a layup during basketball practice last week with the Blue Hawks basketball team. Hannum will participate in both sports this season for T Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Thompson Falls basketball coach Jake Mickelson (Black shirt and shorts) conducts pre-season drills with this year's Blue Hawks basketball team as they prepare for the 2023-24 season last week in T Falls. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)