Sophomore Pederson gives Glacier Peak a bright future
Published 6:20 pm Saturday, March 5, 2011
TACOMA — An outstanding group of seniors played its final basketball game for Glacier Peak High School on Saturday, but the future is promising for the Grizzlies, especially considering the return of sophomore Zach Pederson.
The 6-foot-5 forward tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in Glacier Peak’s season-ending loss Saturday against the Kamiakin Braves at the Tacoma Dome. It capped an impressive winter and a great Class 3A state tournament for Pederson, who helped his team place fifth.
“He’s an amazing player,” Glacier Peak senior Jack Bonner said of Pederson. “He really stepped up these last couple weeks and played really big for us. He’s got a great career ahead of him.”
Pederson’s role for Glacier Peak became more prominent when 6-foot-11 senior center Payton Pervier left the team for an undisclosed reason just before the district playoffs.
Up to the challenge, Pederson “knew he had more responsibilities toward the end of the season,” Bonner said, “and I think he responded really well.”
Pederson grabbed 18 boards and scored 15 points Thursday in Glacier Peak’s quarterfinal win versus North Central of Spokane. A day later in the semifinals, he attempted just four shots and scored four points but had 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in a loss against Bellevue.
Against Kamiakin in the third/fifth-place consolation final, Pederson led the Grizzlies in points, rebounds and steals.
“He has a great feel around the basket; really, really great touch,” Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter said. “We expected him to have a solid year, but he really worked hard and one of the things he can really take a lot of pride in — and one thing we’re going to build on — is at state he really played his best basketball.”
Next season, Pederson’s responsibility on the court will continue to grow.
“We’ll graduate some players,” Hunter said, “and so he’ll be the guy we’re looking for to pick up some of the slack.”
Southard’s college plans
On the basketball court, Tanner Southard was a three-year starter and 2011 All-Western Conference 3A honorable mention for Glacier Peak. But in college he plans to play his other sport, football. A prolific wide receiver and three-year starter for the Grizzlies’ football team the past several years, Southard plans to walk on at Washington State University. During the 2010 football season, the sure-handed 6-foot-2 Southard made 57 receptions for 1,252 yards (22 yards per catch) with 18 touchdowns.
Batting .800
At the start of the season the Lake Stevens High School girls basketball team set five goals for itself. Vikings coach Randy Edens framed the list and brought it to each of the Vikings’ games.
So, now that the season is over, how successful were the Vikings, who placed fourth Saturday at the Class 4A state tournament, in reaching their aspirations?
League championship? Check.
District title? Yep.
State berth? Done.
Place at state? Check.
Hold opponents to an average of 40 points per game or less? Well …
“I think we might have missed that one by a little bit,” senior guard Katie Goddard said.
Long-range bomber
Jackson senior guard Brett Kingma set a 4A tournament single-game record Friday when he attempted 20 3-point field goals in a 70-42 loss to Olympia. The old mark of 18 was set in 1996 by Derek Birley of Evergreen. Kingma made five of his attempts.
