Winter sports in the Silver Valley kick off this week with the Wallace girls traveling to take on St. Maries and the Women’s Silver Valley Tournament at Kellogg High School.  

What teams are poised to make a deep postseason run? Which teams are still a year or two out from their next successful run? And who are the names we’re going to be hearing and talking about over the next few months?  

WALLACE LADY MINERS BASKETBALL 

If you want to see the best inside out tandem in the Silver Valley, look no further than Wallace. Returners Bethany Phillips and Khepri Wood will lead a balanced attack for Nichole Farkas’ squad. Phillips, a near six-foot post, will present matchup nightmares each night, while Wood found her range last year as a freshman. Last year, Wallace lost the District 1 championship game and ended their season on a sour note despite finishing with an 11-6 record. This year’s team should be just as good, with a lot of returning talent and experience. This feels like a team that should be playing Boise at the end of their season. 

    Phillips
  

    Wood
  

KELLOGG LADY WILDCATS BASKETBALL 

The Wildcats find themselves in a unique position this season – They graduated a ton of their rotation from a season ago, but they return a ton of their rotation from a season ago. Jana Nearing will look to junior Dani Henrikson and sophomore Jordyn Stutzke to shoulder much of the load offensively, but seniors (and cousins) Makaila and Aubree Groth will also be key to the team’s success. Kellogg won 15 games a year ago, where they were dominant in league play against everyone but Grangeville. Four of their 11 losses came at the hands of the Bulldogs. I don’t know if they’re quite at Grangeville’s level yet, but Kellogg should be very good again this year. That being said, there's no reason why a return trip to the state tournament isn't in order for the Wildcats.

    Stutzke
  

    Henrikson
  

MULLAN LADY TIGERS BASKETBALL 

Junior Avah Blankenship has been a key part of the Mullan rotation for two seasons already, now, as a junior it would appear that the Tigers are going to go as far as she can carry them. With newcomers Coeur du Christ not fielding a girls team this year, Mullan and Kootenai are going to be duking it out for the 1A District 1 championship and a shot at the postseason. This season may require the district champs to go through a play-in game to qualify for the state tournament, this may be a hiccup for whichever squad out of the North Star League makes it.

    Blankenship
  

WALLACE BOYS BASKETBALL  

The Miners should be a fun watch all season long. This team is loaded with depth and skill, which could create problems for the other squads at the 2A level. Senior Julian Davis and freshman Cooper Miller will be the two guys that Jared Young leans on each night, but returners Henry Larson, Jordan Guardipee, Emmitt Myles, and Reece Williams will take turns throughout the season as the third impact player in Young’s rotation. The smart bet is that Wallace and Lakeside will be the final two teams standing in the District 1 Tournament – Can the Miners figure Lakeside out on the hardwood the same way they did on the gridiron? That's going to be a hard road though, the Knights are coming off back-to-back appearances in the 1A state championship game where they split matchups with perennial power Lapwai.   

    Davis
  

    Miller
  

KELLOGG BOYS BASKETBALL  

Coach Mike Martin does not like to think about how last year ended for his team. A blowout home loss to Priest River the 4/5 district eliminator. But that team was only seven guys deep and most of them were freshmen and sophomores. This year should be much different. Junior combo wing Draedan Taylor will be the guy. Length, a better handle, and added muscle have done wonders for his game. Another big difference between this year and last will be the emergence of sophomore Ty Cheney, who gives Kellogg something they had none of a year ago – Size. Other guys like Porter Lewis, Radley McDonald, and Brodie Robinson will also be key contributors to a team that should threaten for a 3A District championship. The CIL might be a four-horse race between Kellogg, Priest River, St. Maries, and Orofino – Kellogg was 1-3 against league opponents on the road last year. They'll have to be better on the road if they want to get back to state.

    Taylor
  

MULLAN BOYS BASKETBALL 

Mullan graduated a lot of seniors last year, which means that Talan Rupp-Connors gets to be the man this year for Paul Elston’s Tigers. Mullan will be in a three-team league, which means they have to take advantage of every opportunity to improve as they build toward the district tournament and potential state tournament. Mullan will feature a lot of young players this year, which could be painful to start – But by the end of this season and into the next few, it may be to their advantage.  

KELLOGG WRESTLING  

Where to begin on this one... Coach Scott Miller has a pack of hungry dogs wrestling for him this year. I mean that literally and figuratively. Johnny Stovern, Kevin Watson, Aiden Figueroa, Ricky Haralson, Chase Scribner, and Wyatt Storey all figure to be the week-in, week-out point-getters for the Wildcats. But when February hits, these six plus guys like Kyle Van Vleet and Brady Vergobbi should be in the mix for district and state championships. The Wildcats usually start to see the cream rise during the George Wild Memorial Tournament – Something about wrestling in such an emotional environment on their home floor brings out the best in the Wildcats and that momentum carries.

    Storey