Millers dominate 5A All-State
The Class 5A and 4A All-State basketball teams were released last week, with multiple area teams earning awards. The Springfield Millers girls won multiple All-State awards as the cherry on top of their state championship basketball season. Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam, a junior, won the Class 5A State Player of the Year for the second striaght season, becoming the first Springfield athlete to do so since Mercedes Russell won three straight from 2011-13. Head coach Joe Williamson also won 5A Coach of the Year, the first Springfield basketball coach to win the award since Bill Wagner in 2011. Sophomore JB Robinson earned 2nd-team All-State, and senior Alexi Morgan made the honorable mention list.
On the Class 4A boys side, Cottage Grove senior Brennen Murphy made the All-State honorable mention list, the first CGHS boy to make an All-State appearance since Blake Sentman in 2017.
Billies, Bulldogs make Class 3A All-State teams
The Class 3A All-State basketball teams were also released, with six local athletes making a first, second, third or honorable mention appearance. The 1st-team All-State athletes are sophomore’s Gavin Inglish and Claire Crawford of Pleasant Hill. Both Inglish and Crawford won Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year. Senior Kiley Campos also made an appearance for the Billies on the girls honorable mention team.
For Creswell, seniors Max Velarde and Connor Hanson were both voted second-team all-state. Velarde and Hanson were first-team all-conference and helped lead Creswell to a fourth-place finish at state last month. On the girls side, junior Lauren Bailey made third-team all-state after leading Creswell to the postseason and an 18-7 record.
