Seven Washington County high school basketball players claimed first-team honors recently with the release of the All-Eastern Midland Conference (EMC) and All-Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) teams.
Four Blair Bears and three Fort Calhoun Pioneers earned the designation after successful seasons on the floor.
10 Bears recognized overall
Makayla Baughman, Molly Ladwig, Luke Ladwig and Kip Tupa earned first-team EMC honors after leading their Blair basketball teams to the state tournament.
Molly Ladwig, a freshman guard, led the BHS girls (18-7 overall) in scoring as they reached their first NSAA State Championships tourney since 1998. She averaged 12 points per game, scoring 27 against Omaha Skutt in Lincoln. The Bear also entered the state tourney averaging 3.9 rebounds per game to go with a team-best 81 assists and 53 steals.
Baughman, meanwhile, closed out her senior season with a 11.3 point per game scoring average. The Benedictine College recruit also pulled down 4.3 rebounds each game and had 47 assists before the Bears' one-game stint in Lincoln.
Luke Ladwig, Molly's older brother, finished his senior season as the Blair boys' (15-10) leading scorer. He averaged 14.6 points per game going into the state tournament, while also contributing 68 assists and 43 steals.
Tupa scored at a 7.9 average, but also had a team-best 76 assists and 47 steals.
In addition to the Bears' first-team honorees, six BHS basketball players claimed EMC honorable mention for their play. Senior Maggie Valasek (5.3 ppg), sophomore Leah Chance (4.4) and freshman Addie Sullivan (5.6) represented coach Matt Aschoff's girls team, while seniors Jacob Czapla (9.6) and Sawyer Lawton (5.9), and sophomore J'Shawn Unger (8.3) represented coach Chris Whitwer's boys.
3 Pioneers make 1st team
Fort Calhoun Pioneers Grayson Bouwman, Carsen Schwarz and Tess Skelton are first-team all-NCC basketball players.
Bouwman, a sophomore, led the state-qualifying Pioneers (21-7) with a 17.1 scoring average, breaking the school's season record for points. He also set a FCHS free throw record during his second prep campaign.
Schwarz, meanwhile, finished his career with a 13.4 scoring average during his senior season. He scored 27 during the Pioneers' state semifinal game with Auburn.
The school record-holder in assists — Schwarz — led his team in that category (3.1 apg) as well as rebounds (9.1), too.
Skelton, a Nebraska Wesleyan recruit, led her Calhoun girls team (9-14) in scoring with 14.3 points per game to go with 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 3.8 steals.
In addition, two Pioneers earned honorable mention from their conference. Zane Schwarz, Carsen's senior brother, averaged more than 10 points per game as a senior, while Bria Bench closed her sophomore season with an 11.2 scoring average to go with seven rebounds per night.
4 AHS players recognized
Arlington senior Dustin Kirk was named to the All-NCC second team, while classmates Colby Grefe, Logan Kaup and Kate Miller claimed honorable mention.
Kirk led the Eagles' boys team (8-15) with a 12.8 scoring average, while also notching 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists each game. Grefe, meanwhile, notched 11.4 points per game to go with a team-best 5.4 rebounds.
Kaup scored 10 a game, too.
Miller was one of Arlington's senior leaders on the girls side. Her team went 7-17 this season with a 1-1 mark during the Class C1 Subdistrict 6 Tournament.
