Board member Tim Ross congratulating Coeur d’Alene High’s Cameron Cope, who won the scholarship drawing for boys high school athletes in attendance.
Scholarship sponsor Sandy Ross congratulating Coeur d’Alene High’s Ann Marie Dance, who won the scholarship drawing for girls high school athletes in attendance.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen congratulates the 3A-1A Male High School Athlete of the Year Eli Gibson of St. Maries High. Eli had his hand in a little bit of everything this school year. In football, Eli was the Offensive MVP of the Central Idaho League and earned all-first team league honors at both quarterback and linebacker. He also was a second-team selection at linebacker on the Idaho Statesman All-State 2A Team. In basketball, Eli helped St. Maries win its sixth Central Idaho League title in the last seven years and also helped the program win its first state championship in 60 years. He was named Player of the Year in the Central Idaho League.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, and board member John Friesz, right, congratulate Gunner Giulio of Coeur d’Alene High, the 5A-4A Male High School Athlete of the Year. - Gunnar was a force in football where he earned first-team all-Inland Empire League honors as a running back and also was a second-team All-State selection by the Idaho Statesman. In wrestling, Gunner posted a 36-2 record and was the No. 2 seed at state in the 170 pound class. He won his first two matches by pins and then claimed a 4-1 decision to advance to the finals, where he claimed a 5-3 victory.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, and board member John Friesz, right, congratulate Brooke Jessen of Timberlake High, the 3A-1A Female High School Athlete of the Year. Brooke was selected as the Intermountain League’s CO-MVP for both basketball and volleyball. While being a force on the volleyball court, Brook helped the basketball team repeat as State 3A champions. Timberlake post a 23-2 record and in the state championship game she finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Brooke has committed to play basketball at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
Lakeland High’s Katy Ryan, center, shows off her trophy after being named the 5A-4A Female High School Athlete of the Year, along with NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, and board member John Friesz, right. Katy was the selected the 4A Inland Empire League MVP in volleyball and co-MVP in basketball. She helped Lakeland capture the state 4A volleyball championship for the first time in school history. She was named to the Idaho State Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A first team. Katy has committed to play volleyball at Washington State University.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates St. Maries High boys basketball coach Bryan Chase after he was named co-Boys Coach of the Year. The Lumberjacks went 23-1 on the season. The team captured the state title by beating Ambrose 52-50. In that game, St. Maries trailed by five but scored the last seven points of the game to claim the win. It also had a nail-bitter in the semifinals, winning on a last-second 3-pointer. It was the program’s first state title in 60 years.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulations Coeur d’Alene Charter girls soccer coach Stacy Smith after she was named Girls Coach of the Year. Stacy led Coeur d’Alene Charter to the state title when it defeated Sugar Salem 1-0 in double overtime. The team outscored the opposition 19-1 at state and the 19 goals are a State Class 3A record. Smith led the team to a 16-1-1 record and the team won 13 matches by shutout.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, center and board member John Friesz, back right, pose with the St. Maries High boys basketball team after it was named Boys Team of the Year. The Lumberjacks went 23-1 on the season. The team captured the state title by beating Ambrose 52-50. In that game, St. Maries trailed by five but scored the last seven points of the game to claim the win. It also had a nail-bitter in the semifinals, winning on a last-second 3-pointer. It was the program’s first state title in 60 years.
Timberlake High girls basketball coach Matt Miller, left, and NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, second left, post with a few members of the Timberline squad after it was named the Girls Team of the Year. Timberlake went 23-2 and repeated as state 3A champions. It’s only losses were to Coeur d’Alene and it beat Lake City. Timberlake won all three games at state by an average of nearly 19 points.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates Potlatch High’s Gabe Prather after he was named the 3A-1A co-Wrestler of the Year. Gabe went 34-1 and captured the 2A title at 160 pounds. Gave was the No. 1 seed and scored three straight pins before claiming a 5-4 victory in the championship match for the crown.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates St. Maries High’s Dylan Sotin after he was named the 3A-1A co-Wrestler of the Year. Dylan went 42-1 at 120 pounds and captured the 2A State title. At state Dylan was the third seed in his weight class and won his first two matches by pins. He then scored a 7-3 win in the semifinals and upset the top seed with a 5-3 win for the championship
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates Coeur d’Alene High’s Gunner Giulio, center, and Drew Roberts, right, after the two were named 5A-4A co-Wrestler of the Year. Gunner posted a 36-2 record and was the No. 2 seed at state in the 170 pound class. He won his first two matches by pins and then claimed a 4-1 decision to advance to the finals, where he claimed a 5-3 victory. Drew posted a perfect 19-0 record this year and captured the Idaho State 5A title at 152 pounds. At state he won his first two matches by pin and then a 16-5 decision. In the championship match, he claimed a tight 3-2 victory.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates St. Maries High’s Eli Gibson after he was named the 3A-1A co-Boys Basketball Player of the Year and 3A-1A co-Football Player of the Year. In basketball, Eli helped St. Maries win its sixth Central Idaho League title in the last seven years and also helped the program win its first state championship in 60 years. He was named Player of the Year in the Central Idaho League. In football, Gibson was the Offensive MVP of the Central Idaho League and earned all-first team league honors at both quarterback and linebacker. He also was a second-team selection at linebacker on the Idaho Statesman All-State 2A Team.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates Post Falls High’s Caden McLean after he was named the 5A-4A Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Caden was the co-MVP of the 5A Inland Empire League. He was named the best high school basketball in Idaho prior to the start of the season by MaxPreps. He averaged close to 20 points a game this year.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, poses with Timberlake High’s Taryn Soumas, center, and Brooke Jessen, right, after the pair were named 3A-1A co-Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Brook and Taryn sharing this award only seems appropriate. The two shared the Intermountain League MVP award and were first-team all-league selections in helping the team post a 23-2 record and repeat as the Idaho State 3A champions. Jessen has committed to play at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. She had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the state championship game while Soumas led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 7 of 10 shots. Taryn will continues her career at the College of Idaho this fall.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, poses with Coeur d’Alene High’s Skylar Burke after she was named the 5A-4A Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Skylar was the Player of the Year in the 5A Inland Empire League. The junior averaged 16.6 points and 10 rebounds per game at the Idaho State 5A Tournament and helped Coeur d’Alene to a fourth-place finish.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, and board member John Friesz, right, congratulate Coeur d’Alene High’s Jack Prka after he was named 5A-4A co-Football Player of the Year. Jack earned several post season honors, including being named the MVP of the Inland Empire League and a first-team selection to the Idaho Statesman Class 5A All-State Team. Jack will continue his football career at Carroll College
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, poses with Lake City High’s Logan Robillard after he was named the Boys Swimmer of the Year. Swimming in a virtual meet, Logan was the only District 1-2 male swimmer to claim an individual title. Logan won the 500 freestyle and followed it up with a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, poses with Moscow High’s Helen Schumaker after she was named the Girls Swimmer of the Year. Even though the Idaho State meet was a virtual event with swimmers posting times at their local pools and comparing them across the state, Helen had an excellent state meet. She placed first in both the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle in the 4A meet. She helped Moscow to a third-place finish at state.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, congratulates Troy High School’s Morgan Blazzard after she was named the 3A-1A Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. Only a junior, Morgan was a dominated outside hitter, which helped her earn the Whitepine League’s Division 1 Player of the Year. She is a three-time all-state selection and helped Troy to a third-place finish at state last fall.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, poses with Lakeland High’s Katy Ryan after she was named the 5A-4A Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. Katy was the MVP of the 4A Inland Empire League and held Lakeland capture the state 4A championship for the first time in school history. She was named to the Idaho State Volleyball Coaches Association Class 4A first team. Katy has committed to play volleyball at Washington State University.
NIAHOF Board Chair Rick Rasmussen, left, poses with Sammie Wood of Post Falls High after she won the Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award. Sammie dominated District I-II meets last fall. She claimed the district title and also posted the top time at state among all area runners. She finished sixth in the 5A meet in 18 minutes and 44.41 seconds to help Post Falls to a second-place finish.
