Win or lose, locals love Hoopfest

SPOKANE – Gorgeous weather and competitive basketball drew an enthusiastic crowd to the heart of the city on June 24-25 to enjoy Hoopfest, the largest 3 on 3 basketball tournament in the world. Teams from as far away as France shared the streets with local teams, including those from Reardan, Davenport, Odessa and Harrington.

After the pandemic halted the event for two years, 16,000 players welcomed the return of one of Spokane’s signature events. 422 basketball courts spanning 45 downtown blocks made Spokane, for at least one weekend, the epicenter of basketball. Spectators, some sitting in the shade and others basking in the sun, crammed the sidewalks to watch teams with names such as Fruit Hoops Too, Feisty Ballrillas, Dill With It and Sweet Tabasco pit their skills against teams of similar age and ability.

The HERicanes, a fourth and fifth-grade team from Odessa, Harrington and Davenport, was one of the first to hit the courts Saturday morning. Sporting sky blue uniforms, they cruised to a win in their first game and ended the tournament with a 3-2 record.

“I had a lot of fun but got tired,” Bella Ibarra said. “It was neat because I hit a game winning two-pointer in sudden death overtime.”

The Lil Tornadoes, a second and third-grade team also from Odessa/Harrington, looked sharp decked out from head to toe in their bright red uniforms.

“The kids lost all of their games,” coach Jon Evans said, “but played well considering two of them played up an age group and one of them never played in a game before. They were in way over their heads but fought hard and kept a good attitude.”

Representing Reardan High School’s class of 2028, Gone Swishing won the consolation bracket in their division, earning them the distinction of being the King of the Losers.

“This was my first Hoopfest, and it was amazing,” Treyson Singleton said. “It was fun playing in an environment with so many people and to be awarded the King of the Losers t-shirt made it all worthwhile.”

Rylynn Green, age 14, from Wellpinit, shared the court with her Frybread Burglar’s teammates from Reardan.

“We won two games and lost two, but the best part about Hoopfest was walking around with my friends,” Green said. “Everyone here was very nice. It was a fun weekend.”

Davenport was well represented at the event.

The team Catch Fire caught fire in their first two games, and then their flame flickered. They went 3-2 and lost by one point to the eventual champion in their division. The tourney was special for Jaeger Jacobsen, who will be a high school senior next year because it allowed him one more chance to be on the court with cousin Brenick Soliday and Jesse Raugust, both of whom recently graduated.

“We played pretty good,” Jacobsen said, “except we kind of choked. We did whatever we wanted to on the court knowing we wouldn’t suffer huge consequences like we would have on the school’s team.”

Fruit Hoops Too, another team from Davenport finished 2-1. The players chose their favorite fruit to adorn their shirt, giving them a unique look.

“Hoopfest was a fun experience,” Jensyn Jacobsen said. “It was great to connect on the court with my teammates in situations that are out of our comfort zones.”

Glenna Soliday enjoyed the challenge of playing against players of varying skills and having to adapt to the more physical play than she normally sees in high school games.

“Hoopfest was a great experience because it gave us some practice during the summer,” she said.

Sawyer Raugust added, “I got to be in the sun and enjoy one of my favorite things in life – basketball. It’s something I hope to do for the rest of my life.”

Drew Lawson, editor of the Lincoln County Record-Times, filled his team’s roster with friends from Vancouver. The team finished with a 2-2 record and the honor of being crowned King of the Losers in their division.

“All our games were competitive, and it was satisfying to know we could go toe-to-toe with some good teams,” he said.

For Davenport school superintendent Chad Prewitt and head boys basketball coach Matt Henry, Hoopfest was a reunion of sorts. When Prewitt coached in Harrington, Henry was his assistant. They joined forces with former Harrington players Terry Kissler and Matt Wagner to form team Slow Motion.

“I always wanted to play with these guys,” Prewitt said, “and this year we did it.”

When Prewitt was not on the court, he walked around watching as many Northeast 2B players as possible.

“We might be rivals, but Bi-County teams root for each other,” he said.

Not all participants in Hoopfest were youngsters. The Swinging Doors sponsored a team in the 75-79 age division on which Reardan’s Larry Soliday and Odessa’s Jon Heimbigner played. Their teammates were Bob Hutchens who led Dayton High School to the state tournament in 1967 and former state representative Terry Nealey who graduated from LaCrosse High School. Soliday, a star on Reardan’s 1966 state championship team, hit two clutch shots in the closing minutes of the last game to clinch the Hoopfest title for his team.

“Playing at my age (75) is hard on the legs,” Soliday said. “But I love the game of basketball and have played it my whole life. We aren’t as explosive as we used to be, but we can still shoot, rebound and play tough defense.”

Lawson summed up how many felt about Hoopfest.

“It is a great opportunity to get outside with family and friends to take part in intense but friendly competition,” he said. “It’s definitely a bucket list item for a lot of Eastern Washington people.”

Though Hoopfest is an opportunity to compete, Prewitt said the highlight for him was visiting with other people.

“We had fun playing and shared a lot of laughs this weekend but sports is really about building relationships,” he said.

Known local Hoopfest results

• Atty Upps, 0-3, Hadley Starkel, Mattie Schroeder, Ava Scrupps, Kjerstin Scrupps

• Ballrillas, 2-1, Charlie Schreck, Dahlia Strozyk, Avery Prewitt, Addie Christerson

• Boys R Back In Town, 3-1, Rob Hopkins, Nathan Hopkins, Cody, Hopkins, Shane Hopkins

• Catch Fire, 3-2, Brenick Soliday, Jaeger, Jacobsen, Jesse Raugust

• Core Four, 3-2, Karsten Flaa, Fred Frolov, Justin Vaughn, Bret Wilson

• Dill With It, 5-1, Champions, Emalie Jacoby, Jordyn Stutzke, Ty Cheney, Porter

• Lil Tornadoes, 0-3, Jaxon Ibarra, Conner Evans, Michael Douglas, Brayten Carroll

• Feisty Ballrillas, 3-2, Fiona Strozyk, Charlotte Soliday, Paige VanBuren, Rayna Waters

• Fruit Hoops Too, 2-1, Jensyn Jacobsen, Glenna Soliday, Sawyer Raugust, Tatum Hupp

• Frybread Burglars, 2-2, Rylynn Green, Blake Wynecoop, Levi Collier

• Gone Swishing, 3-2, Consolation winner, Treyson Singleton, Gavin Wynecoop, Mavrick Frolov, Carmelo Green

• Gorilla Code, 4-2, Dustin Jenness, Owen Wilkie, Cooper Henry, Emmett Prewitt

• Gorillas, 3-2, Everett Prewitt, Bennett Wagner, Hunter McClusky, Daxton Sewell

• HERicanes, 3-2, Bella Ibarra, Sadie Steward, Gianna Breedlove, Taryen Carroll

• Hooper Troopers, 2-2, Layton Albertson, Rhett Watson, Gavin Scrupps, Macklin Strode

• Odessa Tigers, 1-2, Alex Goslin, Kaleb Walter, Michael Winney, Kolter Watson

• Shake N Fake, 4-2, Ashley Zagelow, Mackenzie Bjornberg, Brystal Neilson, Samiah Smoger

• Slow Motion, 3-2, Chad Prewitt, Matt Henry, Terry Kissler, Matt Wagner

• Sweet Tabasco, 2-2, David Wynecoop, Hunter Wynecoop, Liberty Anderson, Jaylee Abrahamson

• Swinging Doors, 4-0, Champions, Larry Soliday, Jon Heimbigner, Terry Nealey, Bob Hutchens

• Taco Juice, 3-2, Cash Colbert, Jason Schillinger, Evan Gunning

• Talls and Smalls, 0-3, Harper Carstensen, Angela Douglas, Hartlee Steward, Luna Horak

• Timme Time, 5-1, McGuire Knopp, Brock Gustaveson, Mac Larmer, Caige Colbert

• Yball Starters, 2-2, Consolation winner, Drew Lawson, Jon LaValley (inj.), Kendall Crang, Noah Root