Lynden Green and Gold Invite: Stand-out Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the high school summer league going along, I went back to Lynden HS in Lynden, WA to attend the Green and Gold Invite for the 2nd straight year. Here are the results as well as the first and second teams from the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This tournament featured 2 separate brackets of varsity teams. For the Gold Division, we had Lynden Christian beat Mount Si win the championship. LC had a 10+ point lead against Mount Si for most of the game, until Mount Si started up a comeback to bring the game close. LC's [player_tooltip player_id='2392727' first='Dawson' last='Hintz'] closed the game out as well as [player_tooltip player_id='2739562' first='Gunnar' last='Dykstra'], who played fantastic for the Lyncs all weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The semi-final games of the Gold Division were fantastic games too, with Mount Si defeated 2A powerhouse Lynden in their home gym. [player_tooltip player_id='1863247' first='Chase' last='Mentink'] took over the game and the weekend for Mount Si with Latt Ford and [player_tooltip player_id='2021624' first='Brady' last='Hennig'] out with injuries. Lynden Christian beat Sequim in the other semi-final game with the guard combination of [player_tooltip player_id='2392727' first='Dawson' last='Hintz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2739562' first='Gunnar' last='Dykstra'] dominating in all aspects. They push the pace and play off of each other smoothly and make big plays. [player_tooltip player_id='2726766' first='Solomon' last='Sheppard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2729711' first='Jericho' last='Julmist'] excelling for Sequim and showing they will be a hard duo to play against. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Gold Division All-Tournament Team:</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>MVP:</em></strong> <em>[player_tooltip player_id='2392727' first='Dawson' last='Hintz'] </em>- 2027 - Lynden Christian - Dominated every game, displaying elite decision making along with explosive dunks and smooth jumpers from mid-range as well as from deep. High level guard who is poised for a very big season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id='2739562' first='Gunnar' last='Dykstra']</em> - 2027 - Lynden Christian - Gunnar keeps on improving and is growing into an elite scoring guard. He is quick on the court, with or without the ball and continues to improve his handles. He hit a lot of tough shots, being off balance and still being able to knock it down. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1863247' first='Chase' last='Mentink'] </em>- 2026 - Mount Si - Chase was elite all weekend long, changing his pace at times and forcing opposing teams to play the pace he wants. He can speed it up with the ball in his hands, attacking quickly and being able to finish through traffic with both hands. Mentink hits deep 3's too, knocking them down with ease and pulling it with no hesitation. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id='2464769' first='Ty' last='Jorgenson'] </em>- 2026 - Lynden - Ty was the best athlete on the court all weekend long. He dominated every game, jumping out of the gym and being able to score from all 3 levels. He is relentless when attacking the bucket and in transition isn't afraid to dunk on someone if they try to jump with him. Someone found out the hard way when Jorgenson dunked on him, which brought energy to the gym.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id='2726766' first='Solomon' last='Sheppard']</em> - 2026 - Sequim - Solomon displayed his ability to score from all 3 levels and also be able to turn defense into offense. He was excellent on the defensive side of the ball, being able to use his length to get deflections and easy buckets on the other end. He has a smooth jumper and can find his spots quickly while being able to hit the shot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Green Division All-Tournament Team:</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Green Division saw Sehome take home the championship, beating Lakewood in the championship by one point. The Green Division had less players, so there won't be as many players listed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>MVP:</em></strong><em> Xavier Kelley </em>- 2026 - Sehome - Xavier exploded for a 40 point performance against Lummi, scoring from all 3 levels and out-running the 1B state champs from last season the entire game. He can score from all 3 levels and has been becoming more athletic on the court, leading to easy buckets for him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1685499' first='Nolan' last='Wright'] </em>- 2026 - Sehome - Nolan is a fantastic pure point guard who knows how to find his open teammates at any point. He does a great job at pushing the pace, being able to out-pace opposing teams with ease and get the finish at the rim. He has a smooth mid-range jumper too, being able to rise above defenders with ease. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id='2622822' first='Caleb' last='Greenland'] </em>- 2026 - Lakewood - Lakewood is a all new-look team but Caleb did fantastic this weekend at putting the team on his back. He scored from all 3 levels and showed off his strength in the paint while being strong with the ball and finishing through traffic with ease. He is poised for a huge season next season with Lakewood.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->