Napavine senior Sam Fagerness, who helped the Tigers win the Class 2B state football championship, and Adna senior Isabella Elwood, a forward on the Pirates’ girls basketball squad, have been selected as the Community First Auto Group Athletes of the Month for January.
Sam Fagerness, Napavine football
Fagerness came up huge in the Tigers’ biggest game of the year, hauling in a touchdown reception and coming up with a momentum-swinging fumble recovery during Napavine’s 34-16 victory over Liberty (Sprangle) in the Class 2B state championship game at the Tacoma Dome.
The state title capped a stellar career for Fagerness, who started 53 games for the Tigers. Napavine went a combined 47-6 in games Fagerness started.
“Sam has been a tremendous player to coach. His consistency was something our program was able to rely on for the past four seasons,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said. “He is a tremendous leader with an amazing work ethic and has set a tone for the future of this program that few others have been able to do.”
Trailing 3-0, Napavine took the lead for good when quarterback Wyatt Stanley hit Fagerness on a 13-yard scoring strike with 3 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers never trailed from that moment on, en route to winning their first state title since 2008 and third overall as a program.
“Fittingly, Sam probably played one of his greatest games in our state title game this year,” Fay said. “He had a spectacular touchdown reception and a crucial fumble recovery. He also played very well defensively as one of our leading tacklers in the game. Sam is an intelligent young man with a very bright future.”
Defensively, Fagerness, a four-year starter, finished fourth all-time in career tackles at school during Fay’s tenure at Napavine.
He finished with a combined 302 total career tackles (146 solo, 156 assisted).
Fagerness finished his senior year with 103 tackles, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and five tackles for loss.
Isabella Elwood, Adna basketball
The Pirates are eyeing a Central 2B League girls basketball championship and Elwood is a big reason why Adna finds itself near the top of the league standings.
A reserve last season, the 5-foot-10 Elwood has transitioned nicely into her current starting role and is averaging a double-double during her senior year, scoring 12.8 points a game to go with 10 rebounds a contest.
“She’s really taking those minutes and is running with them,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said. “She’s playing great. With the graduation of a couple of seniors, she’s really taken that starting role to heart. We’ve challenged her a little bit.”
Elwood opened up league play by scoring 27 points and hauling down 15 rebounds as Adna defeated rival Napavine, 58-48.
“Last year, I didn’t feel I could do much,” Elwood said. “I just felt I was a person on the bench. Just went in every once in a while just to give someone a breather. Now, I feel like I can take a role and be a shooter.”
In addition to being the Pirates’ leading rebounded, Elwood is shooting 62 percent (61 of 98) from the field. She is also doing it on the defensive end of the court, registering 2.1 steals per contest.
“Isabella has provided us with a post presence this season,” Bannish said. “Her upside is huge if she is willing to devote time to the weight room.”
Adna opened the year with 11 consecutive victories before falling to Kalama, 55-45, on January 6. Elwood scored a team-high 16 points in the loss.
The Pirates, who are 13-1 overall and 8-1 in league play, responded from the defeat by winning their next two games, including a thrilling 53-48 overtime victory in the Lower Columbia College’s MLK Classic tournament over 3A Kelso, a school that has approximately 1,000 more students than Adna.
Community First Auto Group will be selecting an athlete of the month during the school year with all recipients being entered into a pool for a scholarship opportunity. The Athlete of the Year will be chosen at the end of the year with one male and one female student athlete receiving $500.
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