Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Richfield
2. Carey
3. Dietrich
4. Hansen
5. Camas County
6. Castleford
7. Hagerman
Players to Watch
Kasey Hendren, Richfield
Tori Truman, Richfield
Jane Parke, Carey
Berenice Vargas, Carey
Hailey Astle, Dietrich
Layla Von Berndt, Dietrich
Hannah Skinner, Hansen
Ashly Botz, Camas County
Laura Thompson, Camas County
Written by: Brandon Baney
The Sawtooth Conference showcased its strength and versatility last season, as three of its members qualified for the 1AD2 State Tournament. There is an air of uneasiness around the league this season, as the graduation of Carey's Kylie Wood has left the team and individual awards wide open heading into the 2021-22 season.
Richfield earned the most votes among league coaches in the preseason poll. The Tigers went 12-14 a year ago, but defeated Garden Valley in the 1AD2 state play-in game to earn their spot among the state's best.
Head coach Buck Hendren brings back seniors Mackenzie Riley and Tori Truman, juniors Maddyson Jones and Madalyn Long, and sophomore Kasey Hendren from last year's squad. RIchfield's splits were extreme a year ago. The Tigers boasted one of the state's best defenses, while also possessing one of Idaho's worst offenses. "We have a history of great defensive intensity," coach Hendren says. "(But) we need to average more than the 35 points per game we averaged last year to be contenders in our conference."
Carey won the conference title last year, despite missing more than a month of competition due to strict COVID-19 guidelines enacted by their school district. The Panthers fell to Kendrick in the state semifinals a year ago, but rebounded to take third place with a win over Rockland.
Kylie Wood owns every scoring record in Carey High history, and has taken her talents to St. Catherine University in Minnesota. "Even though they won the conference last year I believe people on the outside will count them out because of the loss of Kylie Wood," says Richfield coach Buck Hendren. "They still have some solid players and an excellent coach." Carey coach Merrilee Sears will build around Jane Parke and Berenice Vargas.
Camas County was the third team from the Sawtooth Conference to qualify for state last year. It was the second trip to state in school history, and it was accomplished with just seven players. With the margins so thin, head coach Jon Botz will once again have to walk a tightrope.
"I lost my two post players Sam McFayden (second team All-Conference) and Ray Martin to graduation," Botz says. "I also had Alyssa Whittle (1st team all-conference) move away. Unfortunately, I have no new players moving in and only 2 freshmen coming out. We will be short handed again this year with about 7 players total, again." Jon's daughter Ashly Botz heads into her senior season as the reigning Offensive MVP in the league. She will team up with senior post Laura Thompson to give the Mushers a solid inside-out game.
Dietrich is another team that could make a jump up the league standings in 2021-22. The Blue Devils finished 10-13 a year ago, but 3-3 in league play. Head coach Rick Astle will rely on Hailey Astle and Layla Von Berndt to lead the way.
Castleford went 4-15 a year ago, and are a relative unknown in this year's conference race.
Hansen finished 2-18 last year, but head coach Nick Gonzales says depth was a big reason why the Huskies underperformed. "Having to play girls both JV and varsity took a lot out of the girls at the end of the varsity games," Gonzales says. " We lost some games from running out of gas."
Once the JV season ended, Hansen found their stride. After falling to Dietrich by 27 and 12 points in the regular season, the Huskies lost by just five in their final game at districts. Junior post Hannah Peters is a returning All-Conference selection, and will pair with fellow junior Kiley Williams down low this year. They'll be surrounded by guards Liz Manzeno, Adriana Sanchez, Jesica Gomez, Gracie Torrero, Alexis Schmidt and Abbey Gomez.