March 14th, 2011
Jesuit Sweeps State Basketball Title Games
Portland boys, girls teams capture championships
Long after most of the fans had gone, Jesuit’s Kyle Wiltjer stood at center court of the Rose Garden Arena and hugged his coach, Gene Potter.
It was a fitting way for the Kentucky-bound Wiltjer to end his career with the Crusaders.
Wiltjer finished with 13 points and five rebounds and the top-ranked Jesuit Crusaders won their third consecutive OSAA Class 6A basketball championship with a 60-46 victory over Westview on Saturday night.
“This is the best feeling right now, a great way to go out,” Wiltjer said.
Jack Grodahl had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Jesuit (26-2), which became the first big-school boys team to win three straight state titles. Jordan Akwenuke added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Jesuit’s girls won the 6A championship earlier in the evening, making the Crusaders the first big school to claim both the boys and girls state titles in the same year.
“We just focused on 2011. We didn’t talk about winning three,” Wiltjer said. “Let’s just be the best team we can be this year. It was a lot of fun.” Austin Kuemper, who is headed for Oregon, had 15 points for the No. 7 Wildcats (21-6).
Girls
In Portland, Jesuit can now lay claim to a state championship in every girls sport sanctioned by the OSAA after the Crusaders defeated Clackamas 42-39 for the Class 6A girls basketball championship Saturday night.
Elizabeth Brenner had 17 points and scored the go-ahead basket with 2:12 remaining to lead Jesuit (27-1). The Crusaders failed to win a state championship in three previous trips to the girls basketball final, including 2010.
Jesuit recently celebrated the school’s 100th overall state championship. Brenner hit 6 of 14 shots and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Jesuit. Clackamas (27-2) was led by Shelby Vasconcellos-Mattocks with 11 points, while Jen Reese had 10.
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