All-Region: Olson makes it a clean sweep

Coming into his freshman year as the next phenom big man in the Northern 4A, Douglas High's Keith Olson never failed to dissappointed.

He averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds a game that first year, garnering first-team All-Northern 4A and All-Sierra League honors, and never slowed down.

When the coaches around the region released this year's postseason honors, Olson claimed his fourth consecutive spot on the first-team all-region squad.

Olson's numbers weren't very much different from any of his other three seasons, down a little in points at 14.9 and up a little in rebounds with 13.5, but his leadership was what stood out the most to opposing coaches this year.

He played on a stress fracture in his foot for the last half of the season and still averaged 17.5 points per game, including a 20.7 points per game average through three playoff games.

To put it shortly, he was the most dominant post player in the region for the last four years, and everyone knew it.

What was different from the last three years, however, was he was no longer the lone Tiger to earn that first-team distinction.

This year he was joined by fellow senior Mike Gransbery on both the first-team all-region and all-league squads.

Gransbery made the easy transition over to point guard heading into the year and quickly established himself as one of the most consistent 3-point shooters in the area.

He also led the potent Tiger offense with a sense of electricity and was fearless driving his way to the basket.

He finished the year with an average of 12.1 points per game and a total of 72 3-pointers made.

Douglas' other first-team all-region honoree during the winter was on the girls' side.

Sophomore Jessica Waggoner completed her quick rise to the cream of the Northern 4A crop with a first-team all-region mention at center. She led the Lady Tigers with an average of 11.9 points per game and consistently improved on the boards.

Junior Bridget Maestretti earned her second second-team all-league mention at point guard after a season in which she averaged 5.5 points per game.

Senior Dana Pardee, who missed much of the year with an ankle injury, still garnered an honorable mention doubling at the post with Waggoner.

The boys also got a second-team all-region and all-league honoree in forward Jeff Nady, who will be one of two expected returning starters for the Tigers next year.

Defensive specialist Nate Whalin earned an all-league honorable mention after having earned the same distinction twice before as a junior and a sophomore.