The Seward Seahawk basketball teams showed a solid performance at the recent ASAA March Madness 2A State Championships.
An incredible 57-30 quarterfinal victory against Wrangell kicked off the boys’ tournament, advancing Seward to play the No. 1 seed Unalakleet. Despite the Wolfpack’s early lead, the Seahawks had closed the gap by the fourth quarter. It wasn’t until a controversial violation call during a free throw by power forward Van Shank gave Unalakleet a slight upper hand, allowing them to win by just two points (44-42). In the ensuing third place match, the Seahawks fought hard to take down the Metlakatla Chiefs 52-49.
Future outlook was high, however. “There’s still a lot of talent here,” said Shank, who is a team captain. “I think if they work hard over the summer, and put in the work, then yeah, we’ll have a great team next year.”
The Lady Hawks impressed with three blow-out matches against Cordova (49-16), Unalakleet (32-29), and Glennallen
(51-29) to take the girls’ team’s first state championship in 28 years. It’s certain to say that this season was one of their best, finishing with a 27-2 record, all 27 of which were consecutive.
In the off-season, the teams say goodbye to six seniors; from the Boys: Talon Lemme, Jack Lindquist, Noah Price, and Van Shank; from the Girls: Addison Lemme and Natalie Sieminski.
“It has been super awesome and fun; I love the coaches and I love my team. We’re all very close,” related the graduating Sieminski. “I’m going to miss it, it was a really fun experience… I’m gonna miss everyone.”
