NWC Team Previews – 1A – Lynden Christian

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here I will be starting a new series of articles, featuring team previews for each team in the Northwest Conference. Not every team will have their own article, as I will be combining those teams in which I don't have much information on. I will be dividing this up by class, then by team within the NWC. The first team up is the Lynden Christian Lyncs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lynden Christian had an amazing year last season, winning the 1A state tournament. They dominated all year long, finishing the year 22-1. Their only loss was 60-63 game to cross-town rival Lynden Lions. They easily won the district tournament, advancing to the state tournament and getting a first round bye. During round 2, they rolled over Quincy HS, 67-44. After beating Quincy and advancing to the semi-final round to take on Life Christian Academy. They snuck out a win in the semi-final round, 53-49. There, they advanced to the state championship game against Kings HS. It was the game everyone was waiting for and it didn't disappoint, the Lyncs would pull off the win 61-58 securing the 1A state championship title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Graduated:</em></strong> Andrew Hommes (NWC League MVP, Point Loma Nazarene University), Jamison Hintz (Arizona Christin University-football), Will Colwell, Eli Bootsma, Crew Bosman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Returning:</em></strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1270689' first='Tyler' last='Sipma'] ('23), [player_tooltip player_id='1587972' first='Griffin' last='Dykstra'] ('23), Dexter Zylstra ('23), Lane Dykstra ('23), [player_tooltip player_id='1457515' first='Jeremiah' last='Wright'] ('24), [player_tooltip player_id='2158603' first='Kayden' last='Stuit'] ('24), [player_tooltip player_id='2158292' first='Dawson' last='Bouma'] ('24)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Newcomer to watch:</em></strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1587970' first='Gannon' last='Dykstra'] ('25) <em><strong>Breakout Player: </strong></em>[player_tooltip player_id='1457515' first='Jeremiah' last='Wright'] ('24)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6341df4e826c3","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1270689"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Tyler is ranked as a top 5 guard in the 2023 class for a reason. He facilitates the offense for the Lyncs very well. When I watched him over the summer, he showed the ability to create shots for his teammates and himself. He runs the offense to perfection, distributing the ball throughout all of his teammates. In my eyes, he has the ability to win the leagues MVP, or help out a certain teammate who I think also has a chance, win it.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1457515"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Jeremiah is the player I was mentioning earlier about having a chance to win the leagues MVP. He's ranked 22nd in the 2024 class but to me, that might just be too low. Over the summer he was extremely dominant on the boards, jumping over opponents with ease on both sides of the ball to get the rebound. He's efficient in the pick and roll game, being able to use his body to his advantage to get easy buckets. He's going to have a big junior year this season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Gannon Dykstra ","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Lynden Christian HS","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Gannon is one of the top newcomers to this Lynden Christian team. Over the summer, he played a decent sized role and got varsity minutes off the bench. When on the court, he showed the ability to hit the outside shot consistently. He can also be effective in the pick and roll game, I assume learning / watching Sipma play. His sophomore year will be a big step for him, as he prepares to take a lead role his junior season after Sipma ('23) graduates.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-64f7af402e24a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Lynden Christian team has quite a bit of returning role players and also players who were on the team last year who will play bigger roles this season. The chemistry will still be outstanding for this Lyncs team, just like last year. Sipma, like I mentioned can fill in more of a leadership role very well and Wright, will take on a bigger role on both sides of the ball as well. Another key player will be senior [player_tooltip player_id='1587972' first='Griffin' last='Dykstra'] who has a lights out lefty stroke from long range. He should have a big role in the offense next year as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->