09/11/2026
2022β23 Kelso Hilanders!
π MYGAMERBROS HOOPS TEAM SPOTLIGHT
π΅π‘ 2022β23 KELSO HILANDERS
π 13β10 β’ 7β1 GSHL β’ TIED FOR THE TOP OF THE 3A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE
The 2022β23 Kelso Hilanders were a team whose overall record didn't completely tell the story.
Kelso finished 13β10, but when it came to the games that mattered most in the 3A Greater St. Helens League, the Hilanders were one of the best teams in the league.
Under longtime head coach Joe Kinch, Kelso went 7β1 in league play, tied Mountain View atop the standings and forced a special tiebreaker game to determine the league's No. 1 and No. 2 postseason seeds.
Along the way came a 104-point double-overtime shootout, a 38-point blowout of Capital, a 38-point league victory over Heritage, an impressive late-season turnaround against Mountain View and another trip into the District 3/4 postseason.
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π΅ SEASON AT A GLANCE
π Overall Record: 13β10
π 3A Greater St. Helens League: 7β1
βοΈ Non-League: 5β7
π₯ Postseason: 1β2
π₯ League: Tied for best league record; lost first-place tiebreaker
π¨βπ« Head Coach: Joe Kinch
π Classification: 3A
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π LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS WITH A WIN
Kelso opened the season December 2 at home against Prairie.
The Hilanders immediately put a league victory in the win column.
π΅ KELSO 65
PRAIRIE 52
Three days later came a difficult 70β50 loss to Tumwater, but Kelso responded with a quality road victory over Emerald Ridge.
π₯ Kelso 57, Emerald Ridge 42
After a loss to Rogers of Puyallup, the Hilanders returned home and defeated Black Hills 58β44.
Kelso was 3β2 heading into one of the games that would ultimately determine its league championship hopes.
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βοΈ ROUND ONE β MOUNTAIN VIEW
On December 15, Kelso traveled to face Mountain View.
The Thunder handed the Hilanders their firstβand ultimately onlyβloss of the official league schedule.
π» Mountain View 52, Kelso 41
That result would loom large for more than a month.
Kelso wouldn't get its rematch until January 30.
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π₯ 85 POINTS AGAINST CAPITAL
Kelso bounced back in a big way.
π΅ KELSO 85
CAPITAL 47
The Hilanders exploded offensively in a 38-point victory.
Then came a trip to the SunDome.
Kelso defeated Ellensburg 58β44 before dropping the second game to West Valley-Yakima, 61β41.
The calendar turned to 2023 with Kelso still very much in contention.
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π THE HILANDERS TAKE CONTROL IN LEAGUE PLAY
Once January arrived, Kelso began stacking GSHL victories.
π₯ Heritage β W 79β58
π₯ Evergreen β W 71β53
After a non-league loss to Skyview came the second meeting with Prairie.
This time Kelso was on the road.
It didn't matter.
π΅ KELSO 76
PRAIRIE 68
Kelso had completed the season sweep of Prairie.
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βοΈ A TOUGH NON-LEAGUE STRETCH
One of the reasons Kelso's 13β10 overall record doesn't tell the complete story was the difficulty of its non-league schedule.
The Hilanders faced programs including:
π Tumwater
π Emerald Ridge
π Rogers-Puyallup
π Black Hills
π Capital
π Ellensburg
π West Valley-Yakima
π Skyview
π Union
π Camas
π Battle Ground
π Mark Morris
Kelso faced Union at Lower Columbia College, losing 75β47, and then dropped a 77β57 decision to Camas.
Then came one of the wildest games of the entire season.
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π― DOUBLE-OVERTIME SHOOTOUT
January 24, 2023.
Battle Ground at Kelso.
Regulation wasn't enough.
One overtime wasn't enough.
By the time it was over, the two teams had combined for 198 points.
π΅ KELSO 104
BATTLE GROUND 94
π₯ DOUBLE OVERTIME π₯
It was Kelso's highest-scoring game of the season and the Hilanders' only trip into triple digits.
104 points.
A memorable night at Kelso High School.
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π KELSO vs. MARK MORRIS
Three nights later came a completely different kind of battle.
Kelso traveled across the river to face neighboring Mark Morris.
This time, one point separated the teams.
π΄ Mark Morris 63
π΅ Kelso 62
From a 198-point double-overtime shootout against Battle Ground to a one-point game against Mark Morris just three days later, Kelso was playing some of its most dramatic basketball of the season.
And next came the game the Hilanders had been waiting for.
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π₯ REVENGE AGAINST MOUNTAIN VIEW
Kelso's only league loss had come at Mountain View.
The first meeting:
π» Mountain View 52, Kelso 41
Six weeks later, Mountain View came to Kelso.
The result was dramatically different.
π΅ KELSO 80
MOUNTAIN VIEW 61
Kelso didn't simply even the season series.
The Hilanders won by 19 points.
From an 11-point loss to a 19-point victory, Kelso produced a 30-point turnaround between the two meetings.
And suddenly the race for the top of the GSHL was wide open.
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π 7β1 IN THE GSHL
Kelso closed league play with two more victories.
π₯ Kelso 76, Heritage 38
A 38-point victory.
Then:
π₯ Kelso 67, Evergreen 57
The Hilanders had completed their league schedule at:
π 7β1 π
Mountain View also finished 7β1.
That meant the league championship race required one more game.
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βοΈ ROUND THREE β FOR THE TOP SEED
Kelso and Mountain View met for a third time on February 6 at Skyview High School.
The first two meetings couldn't have been more different.
βοΈ Mountain View 52, Kelso 41
βοΈ Kelso 80, Mountain View 61
Now came the rubber match.
This one was much closer.
π» Mountain View 69, Kelso 63
Mountain View claimed the tiebreaker and the league's top postseason position.
Kelso's official GSHL record remained an impressive 7β1.
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π₯ DISTRICT 3/4 3A TOURNAMENT
Kelso entered the District 3/4 Tournament with no margin for error.
The first opponent was Yelm.
Loser out.
The Hilanders responded with one of their biggest offensive performances of the season.
π΅ KELSO 88
YELM 79
Kelso survived.
The victory moved the Hilanders into another loser-out contest against North Thurston.
This time, the season came to an end.
π» North Thurston 69, Kelso 47
The 2022β23 Kelso Hilanders finished 13β10.
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π BY THE NUMBERS
π΅ 13β10 Overall
π 7β1 GSHL
βοΈ 5β7 Non-League
π₯ 1β2 Postseason, including the league tiebreaker in the supplied totals
π Tied for the best regular-season league record
π§Ή Swept Prairie, Heritage and Evergreen
π₯ 104 points vs. Battle Ground
β±οΈ 2OT victory over Battle Ground
πͺ 30-point result swing against Mountain View
π 88 points in a loser-out district victory
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π RATINGS & RANKINGS
β Points Rating: 24.885 β #32 in 3A
β RPI: 0.5449 β #27
β Colley: 0.6944 β #30
β LM W/L: 0.9101 β #34
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π΅π‘ 2022β23 KELSO HILANDERS ROSTER
π #1 Michael Henderson β 5'9" β Guard β Junior
π #2 Zeke Smith β 6'0" β Wing β Senior
π #3 Easton Marshall β 6'0" β Wing β Junior
π #4 Naiser Lukas β 5'11" β Guard β Senior
π #5 Hayden Yore β 5'11" β Guard β Junior
π #10 Ethan Mitchell β 6'3" β Wing β Senior
π #11 Triton Hagdahl-Daniel β 6'3" β Wing β Sophomore
π #12 Blake Eastham β 6'5" β Post β Senior
π #13 Dawson Green β 6'0" β Wing β Senior
π #15 Tucker Amrine β 5'10" β Guard β Sophomore
π #22 Gunnar Burt β 6'4" β Post β Senior
π #32 Payton Stewart β 6'6" β Post β Junior
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π SIZE IN THE FRONTCOURT
One thing immediately stands out when looking at Kelso's roster.
The Hilanders had size.
π₯ Payton Stewart β 6'6"
π₯ Blake Eastham β 6'5"
π₯ Gunnar Burt β 6'4"
πΉ Ethan Mitchell β 6'3"
πΉ Triton Hagdahl-Daniel β 6'3"
Five members of the 12-player roster stood 6'3" or taller, while Stewart, Eastham and Burt gave Kelso three players listed specifically as posts at 6'6", 6'5" and 6'4".
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π A VETERAN GROUP
Kelso's roster featured a strong senior presence.
π SENIORS β 6
π΅ Zeke Smith
π΅ Naiser Lukas
π΅ Ethan Mitchell
π΅ Blake Eastham
π΅ Dawson Green
π΅ Gunnar Burt
π‘ JUNIORS β 4
π΅ Michael Henderson
π΅ Easton Marshall
π΅ Hayden Yore
π΅ Payton Stewart
πΉ SOPHOMORES β 2
π΅ Triton Hagdahl-Daniel
π΅ Tucker Amrine
Half of Kelso's varsity roster consisted of seniors, but the Hilanders also had four juniors and two sophomores gaining experience during the 7β1 league campaign.
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π¨βπ« COACHING STAFF
π Head Coach: Joe Kinch
πΉ Assistant Coaches:
π Tom D'Aboy
π Cedrique Chaney
π Spencer Davis
π Justin Roberts
π Scott Sims
The Kelso staff guided the Hilanders through a challenging non-league schedule and to one of the best records in the 3A Greater St. Helens League.
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πΊπ£ TEAM SUPPORT
πΊ Band Director: Derek White
π£ CHEER ADVISORS
π΅ Emilie Jorgensen
π΅ Ashleigh Thorup Erazo
π΅ Haley Cox
π£ CHEERLEADERS
π‘ Alexa Abel
π‘ Brook Braaksma
π‘ Claire Brigman
π‘ Emma Brown
π‘ Adison Cox
π‘ Emma DeLong
π‘ Payton Ferguson
π‘ Keatley Hammer
π‘ Kaylin Januscheitis
π‘ Kenzie Junnikkala
π‘ Elise McWain
π‘ Lilah Mode
π‘ Khloe Palmer
π‘ Hazyl Ray
π‘ Ashlynn Verhei
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π« KELSO HIGH SCHOOL
π΅ Kelso High School
π‘ Hilanders
π Kelso, Washington
π¬ 1904 Allen St.
βοΈ School: 360-501-1800
βοΈ Athletics: 360-501-1898
π¨βπ« Head Coach: Joe Kinch
π Superintendent: Mary Beth Tack
π« Principal: Sheri Walker
π Athletic Director: Ryan Aldred
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π THE LEGACY OF THE 2022β23 HILANDERS
The final record says 13β10.
The league record tells another story.
7β1.
Kelso was extremely difficult to beat when the 3A Greater St. Helens League championship was on the line.
The Hilanders swept Prairie.
They swept Heritage.
They swept Evergreen.
And after losing their first meeting with Mountain View by 11 points, they came back and defeated the Thunder by 19.
That forced a third meeting to decide the league's top postseason position.
There were memorable games beyond the league race.
A 104β94 double-overtime victory over Battle Ground.
A 63β62 battle with Mark Morris.
An 88β79 loser-out district victory over Yelm.
And a season that remained alive until February 15.
The 2022β23 Hilanders combined a six-man senior class with a group of underclassmen that included 6'6" junior Payton Stewart and gave Kelso a roster built around size, experience and depth.
They didn't make the state tournament.
But for eight games during the official GSHL schedule, almost nobody could solve them.
Seven wins. One loss.
And when the regular-season league race was finished, Kelso was tied at the top.
π΅π‘ 2022β23 KELSO HILANDERS π‘π΅
π 13β10 β’ 7β1 GSHL β’ TIED FOR THE LEAGUE'S BEST RECORD
π MyGamerBros Hoops β Preserving the History of Washington High School Basketball