State Basketball- A Photo Story

Junior Andrew Cose was a part of this year, and last year’s teams and has experienced both wins and losses with the team. “I think we were all just thinking the first game finished and felt good to get the first win in wells under our belt”

Henry Manning senior receives help from fellow teammate senior Pryce Sandfort in an attempt to steal the ball from the opposing team. The Wolves had an expected victory of 55-37 against the Ankeny Centennial Jaguars. “At the start of the year, we had the #1 ranking, and then at the end we got knocked down and nobody believed we still had a chance. It felt great surprising all those people,” Manning stated.

Henry Manning senior attempts to block a shot by opposing team Ankeny Centennial. The Wolves would later win the game. “ It felt amazing, we had never won a game at state before and it felt great going back to that locker room celebrating instead of the feeling of losing. I knew we had a tough game coming up but I wanted to make sure to enjoy that first win,” Manning states.

Junior Grant Tigges was a part of the team when they lost to Cedar Rapids Kennedy in the quarter-finals of state in 2022. He is now a part of the team who is the state runner-up to Valley high school. His athletic ability has been shown in the years he has been on the team. For the team, this win was very important. Tigges states, “Last year we went out first round so it was nice to get past the first round, but we were already focused on the next game.”

Cade Kelderman senior understands that the mental aspect of sports is extremely important, while you can be up and excited after a win you have to remember that you have more competition throughout the year, for many athletes this part is difficult. “I was excited but knew we had to get over that game quickly because we had another game the next day.” Kelderman states.

The Student sections are what most people either love or hate them. They are the ones who set the energy for the crowd. In your front row, you have your seniors leading the student section in chants, and doing most of the things the student section gets in trouble for. They are arguably the biggest cheerleaders for their school’s athletes. Senior Grant Macke is one of the seniors that are lucky to be in the very front row. Macke states “I feel like the energy matters a lot during the games. I talked to some of the basketball players and they all said that the energy of the student section helps the performance a lot.

Senior Pryce Sandfort was a part of the first Northwest basketball team to win a game in the state tournament many players this season were happy to see the win. Pryce Sandfort stated “I was very happy to move on from the first round and honestly just looking forward to our next game.”

Junior Grant Tigges still has one year left in his high school basketball career but as a junior, he makes everyone excited for his senior season. “I was just trying to enjoy it and soak it all in and at the end of the day just play basketball.”

Henry Manning shoots a three-pointer which was later made. After watching this shot the student section proceeded to become out of control with the energy. Manning states “It was an amazing atmosphere, crowd, students, and just the feeling of when I was on the court those people were there to watch US and not someone else. I will never forget that feeling.”

Senior Spencer Neiman understood the difficulties of going into the state tournament and worked through them with his team. Neiman states “Playing 3 games back to back to back.”

Cade Kelderman senior is one of the athletes that influence these young students, many little kids look up to him. Many of them want autographs from players and look up to them. So many people from the school and parents that support the team is a huge amount. “The thing that excited me most was just the environment. The crowds in all the games were really good and getting to perform on the biggest stage with all my teammates was really cool.” Kelderman stated

Junior Andrew Cose has gone 3-1 against inner city rival Waukee, as a Junior. Not only was this another win against them, but a win in the state tournament. Cose states “It felt good to get another win against them but most importantly to get to the state championship felt the best”

Pryce Sandfort senior leaves Waukee NW with a record of 3-1 against inner-city rivals Waukee. The rivalry almost or did sell out during the regular season. The reaction to the win from everyone that was supporting NW was electric. Sandfort states “ It felt very good. They were very excited when they beat us last time and really rubbed it in our faces, so to beat them that bad in the state tournament felt very good.”

Everyone loved seeing the wolves against Waukee in the state tournament not only just playing a normal game but one that was season-ending for one of the high schools. The win was an amazing feeling for everyone but especially for the team. “Great feeling to beat them in the game that matters. Very fun game. Started off a little slow but then started cruising and played some good basketball and got the win.” Junior Grant Tigges states

Pryce Sandfort Senior Plays hard against inner-city rival Waukee. The confidence that the people of Waukee had in this basketball team was amazing. The knowledge of what each player could do was well known. Sandfort stated “I thought we had a team that could make a run and win it. Also, it being my last time playing there I was excited for one last run.”

The game against Waukee was very [physically challenging for both high schools. From guarding to shooting, many fouls were called throughout the whole game. When the Wolves pulled out the win the students thought that the tournament should just end there, there isn’t much to see anymore. Junior Grant Tigges was one of the players for the Wolves who had the job of guarding Omaha Billew. Tigges states “Probably Waukee game for me. Had a tough matchup but I accepted the challenge.”

senior Henry Manning takes a 3-point shot against Waukee in the Semi-finals in the State tournament. Manning stated “If I’m being honest. That was the best feeling I’ve ever had not just in athletics but in my life. I told Pryce before the game in our shoot around “we are not losing this game” and he looked at me and said “oh trust me, I know” we really did not want to get sent home by those guys especially in the semis.”

Cade Kelderman has been a part of the inner city rivalry between Waukee vs Waukee NW for the 2nd time. These were the biggest games every single time they happened. The team was beaten down very badly the 2nd time they played Waukee in the regular season. Kelderman states “That win felt really good. When we lost to them in the regular season, I think a lot of us wanted to play them again because we knew we could play better and were confident we could beat them if we played again.”

Cade Kelderman senior, was playing in his last state tournament ever, most of the team has been playing together for years and now they are having to leave and move on with their lives. Kelderman stated “I was just trying to enjoy it all. As a senior, it was my last time playing with everyone so I was just trying to enjoy it and create lifelong memories.”

Junior Grant Tigges had to play a very hard game before the championship game against West Des Moines Valley. He and his team had to play inner-city rival Waukee high school. Everyone including the team knew this was the game to see and one that Would be the memory of the state tournament everyone remembered. Tigges states “The win against Waukee was probably the best part of the tournament.”

Cade Kelderman played very hard with his teammates, especially in this game and not having much rest. “The hardest part was probably the rest factor. We had to play 3 games in 3 days, something we didn’t do at all during the regular season. You had to move on from games pretty quickly because you had to get ready for another opponent that you’ll be playing the next day.”

Junior Andrew Cose started Varsity all season for the wolves, competing against Waukee not only once but all 3 times they competed against each other. “t felt good to get another win against them but most importantly to get to the state championship felt the best” Cose stated

Senior Henry Manning throws a ball into the game while playing offense against valley high school in the state championship game. Manning states “I think [defensively] valley. We didn’t match up with them as well as the first 2 games. It was physical and they exploited the mismatches.”

Pryce Sandfort senior who ends his high school career as a 1x State Champion, 4x state qualifier and a 1x state runner-up. When it comes to the mental aspect of the sport some people find it harder than others. Sandfort states “I’m not really sure, but probably just staying focused in the present and not looking ahead”

The Bench is the team’s biggest supporter. The energy of the bench for the 2023 basketball season was unmatched. Senior Kaid Smith-Fitzgerald is one of the players that contribute to the energy. Smith-Fitzgerald states “The bench energy mattered big time because it would help our team make runs. We also brought a lot of energy and kept the team’s head up when things went wrong.”

Sophomore Nitish Sankaranthi played many games with the varsity team. He played extremely well and showed his athletic ability to be great against big named players like Omaha Billew. The championship was not an easy matchup for the Wolves. “Definitely the final game of the season against Valley. We had a long week of playing games in back to back days and they were just on a roll that night which made it difficult to stop them from scoring.” Sankaranthi states

A team’s goal is to win the biggest title you can. This is the same goal that Junior Grant Tigges and his team had as well, Tigges states “ Losing in the State championship. That was our goal from day one and we got so close.”

Cade Kelderman Senior starred in all 3 state games. This was the last game in his high school career. When it comes to difficult games many can look and see that Valley high school was the hardest for them in the tournament. “Valley was the hardest. They have a lot of talent all over the floor and they’re all pretty athletic.” Kenderman states

Henry Manning senior shakes hands with the opposing teams coach after a loss to Valley high School in the State Championship game. “Definitely losing in the state championship. We came so close and felt like we had a good chance before the game. But now not only is the season over but also my basketball career after 15 years.”Manning stated

Senior Pryce Sandfort was awarded Mr. Basketball 2023. Mr. Basketball is an award and a title given to the best male basketball player in the state. He was a part of the Academic All-State, All-District first team, All-state first team and All-Substate team 7 alongside teammate Senior Cade Kelderman. He is continuing his basketball career at The University of Iowa. While all the titles and accomplishments are great, the greatest is Mr. Basketball 2023. “I was very excited. I knew how much history the award had and to be in that group of winners is awesome.”