Mountain View boys and Evergreen girls took the long route to their league titles

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

This was a long time coming for both championship programs of the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.

The Mountain View boys last won a league title in 2009.

For the Evergreen girls? Try 1980. Yep, some 43 years ago. 

Both are champions now, hoping to make it to state.

Here are a couple of championship stories from the 3A GSHL:

Mountain View Boys Basketball

For some programs, it might take a year or two to turn things around, to make it to the top.

It took a little longer at Mountain View.

That just makes it that much more special.

“It started six years ago when I took over,” said Mountain View coach JC Alexander. “It’s just been built over time. It’s really taken this senior group to really buy into what we want and what we want to do.”

In fact, senior Isaiah Vargas said he believed this could be the team way back when he was a freshman.

“We knew we had the talent, and we could make it far,” Vargas said.

The work had to be put in, of course. Sure enough, his senior year, Vargas and the Thunder have gone places they haven’t been to in quite some time. And they are not finished. 

Mountain View shared the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League title with Kelso, then topped Kelso earlier this week to earn the No. 1 seed to the bi-district tournament. 

Vargas scored a career-high 39 points in Monday night’s thriller. 

A year ago, Mountain View finished second in the league and missed out going to state by a game.

“We knew we could be first,” Vargas said.

This is the first time Mountain View has won a league title since 2009.

“Feels amazing. It’s like making history,” Vargas said. “It’s crazy.”

The Thunder open the bi-district tournament on Saturday, with hopes of earning a trip to state. They also promise to appreciate every step in this journey.

It’s been a while, after all.

“Just hanging out with my teammates and having fun, enjoying time with them,” Vargas said. “You only live one time. You’ve got to make the best of it.”

Next: Mountain View hosts Gig Harbor at 5 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the bi-district tournament. The winner qualifies for the state regionals. The loser will fall into the consolation bracket, still with a chance to make it to state. 

Evergreen Girls Basketball

A year ago, Kimora Ross was a student at Cascade Middle School, right next to Evergreen High School.

She knew about the girls basketball program. She also heard negative stories about the high school.

Didn’t change her mindset.

“My goal was to build up the culture,” Ross said. “I’ve heard some pretty bad things before I came to the school. I wanted to come here and raise up (the standards) for Evergreen High school and for myself. It feels great to come here and succeed.”

Ross is one of top players on the Evergreen girls basketball team, a program that won one game last year and is now the 3A GSHL champion.

“It came from practice and a lot of hard work,” Ross said. 

She also said team bonding played a key role. The players like each other, so they play hard for each other.

“I’ve met so many people through basketball, and they have become family to me,” Ross said.

That family did something special, with the program winning a league title for the first time in 43 years.

“It just felt like relief,” Ross said of when Evergreen clinched the championship. “Don’t get me wrong. I knew it was going to happen. But it was a relief. It just felt great.”

It is all part of the process that Ross helped start, with the start of her high school career.

“We wanted to build something up, not just for Evergreen girls basketball, but for Evergreen High School,” Ross said.

Next: Evergreen hosts North Thurston at 7 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the bi-district tournament. The winner qualifies for state regionals. The loser will fall into the consolation bracket, still with a chance to make it to state.