STAT HOUND MEDIA
CENTRAL WASHINGTON DIGITAL PREP SPORTS
ANDREW HAMIL/Stat Hound contributor
Teams find ways to shine with stars sidelined
Grandview, Zillah make successful tweaks with top player out injured
By JERREL SWENNING/Stat Hound
Dec 21, 2025
As if a daunting early schedule wasn’t a big enough hurdle for Grandview’s boys basketball team, the Greyhounds could’ve done without seeing their top player from a graduation-depleted roster go down.
But that’s where they found themselves against Zillah in Game 3 on the 2025-56 season, when Frankie Medina left with a leg injury.
Grandview, facing league favorites West Valley, Selah and the Leopards, as well as Sunnyside and the Yakima Valley’s top scorer Aiden Sanchez, started the season 0-4.
But the Hounds have rallied, relying on a stifling defense that has given up a smidge over 40 points per game in the last four contests, all victories.
“We tell the boys we will have off nights at the offensive end but cannot have off nights at the defensive end,” Grandview coach Frankie Medina Sr. said. “The defensive end is all effort and things we can control as a team.”
The offense has been buoyed by the emergence of 6-foot-6 junior Braden Santos and the addition of Deontae Haward, a senior who transferred from Kamiakin.
Howard has averaged 20.5 points a contest during the winning streak, while Santos has had games of 26 and 20 points.
“It has been great to see Braden playing as big as he has for us this season. He had a big summer and fall so it’s what we were expecting and knew he could for us,” Coach Medina said. “Deontae has been a great addition for us. He does a lot for us at both ends of the floor.”
Sophomore Darius Montelongo added 22 points in a victory against Ephrata.
Grandview (3-1 CWAC, 4-4 overall) is hoping to get the younger Medina, a first-team all-CWAC selection last season, back for the SunDome Shootout Dec, 29-30.
Strength in numbers
The top-ranked Zillah boys team has been without two-time SCAC Player of the Year Dekker Van De Graaf the last three games after he hurt his ankle.
The Leopards (4-0 SCAC, 6-0 overall) haven’t missed a beat, winning at Connell by 14 and posting running-clock wins against Kiona-Benton and Naches Valley at home.
Returning starters X Castilleja, Memphis and Jayden Saenz all have multiple double-digit outputs in the last three games, as does Wapato transfer Budda Aranda.
Zillah also has shown off its depth.
After totaling five points in the first three games, sophomore Tidus Reed has scored 11 points twice, and junior Jaxon Maras added 12 in the victory against Ki-Be.
“We have enjoyed Dekker saving the day over the last three years, I think it might be a blessing in disguise for this team,” Leopards coach Mario Mengarelli said. “We will be very excited to get him back, but we have taken a big step as a team in his absence. The depth of this roster is its biggest strength.”
Mengarelli said Van De Graaf’s ankle is getting better. After Tuesday’s game at Cashmere, Zillah has two games at the SunDome Shootout and a key SCAC matchup Jan. 3 against Royal.
CWAC squeeze
Last season it was the CWAC boys that were top heavy and had too few state berths for the number of top-10 teams.
This time around, it’s the girls side which will leave at least one team left out of the Yakima Valley SunDome come the first week of March.
Prosser (No. 3), Ellensburg (5), Selah (6) and Grandview (10) all reside in VarsityWA’s Class 2A top 10.
The Bulldogs (2-2 CWAC, 4-2 overall), who have advanced to the state championship four straight years and won the title in 2022 and 2023, had their 82-game regular season winning streak ended Thursday by Grandview.
Ellensburg then saw its 48-game home winning streak end against the Herbie Wright-led Mustangs (4-0, 5-1).
With Bella Standish, Molly Moffat and Ellie Markus, the Bulldogs are still a strong team, yet with only two state berths – and a crossover with the Northwest Conference for another berth – they could miss state.
Last year, it was Grandview’s boys, who went unbeaten through the CWAC, that missed out on state.
The Greyhounds were upended by Selah in a district semifinal and then fell to West Valley of Spokane in a winner to state contest.
Royal rolls on
The transition to the basketball season has been a smooth one for the Knights, whose roster is filled with many players who helped the Knights to a sixth straight 1A state football championship.
Junior standout Grant Wardenaar, Royal’s quarterback, is averaging 33.5 points per game, and the left-hander opened the season with 42 points against Connell.
The Knights are 4-0 under veteran coach Tim Ravet, who is in his first year guiding the Knights.
Milestone for Mesplie
Toppenish boys basketball coach Joseph Mesplie reached the 200-win mark this past weekend.
Mesplie, who returned to the sideline for the 2023-24 season after a year away, had guided the Wildcats to a sixth-place state finish in 2A (2020), and back-to-back fifth places in 1A (2022-23).