T O U R N E Y T O W N  ARCHIVES

This page is part of the Tourneytown.com archives and is no longer updated.

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Mark Holleman has had an athletic career worth remembering, but the Lynden Christian senior became briefly famous for a reason he'd like to forget.

Yes, he's that Mark Holleman: the quarterback who led his team to the Class 2A championship game and then had them poised on the brink of victory before he dropped the ball in the end zone after the final buzzer to celebrate ... instead of downing it to bring the game to its official end.

So, instead of giving up a last-play-of-the-game, victory-clinching safety -- which was Holleman's intent -- the play turned into a bizarre victory-erasing touchdown, handing the win to an Elma team that had been manhandled all game long by the Lyncs.

If you're from anywhere in Washington -- or, for that matter, if you're a sports fan who turned on any national sports show in early December -- you know all about that Mark Holleman.

But if you're from outside Whatcom County, here's what you may not know: Holleman isn't some knucklehead who should be remembered for a split-second mental belch. He's one of the state's best athletes in not just one, but three sports.

He's a baseball pitcher with an arsenal (fastball near 90 mph, a good curve and changeup) good enough to have generated Division I recruiting interest. He was all-state in football as a hard-hitting defensive back and was the second-leading vote-getter for quarterback in the balloting for the Associated Press all-state team. And he's a snake-strike-quick guard in basketball who averages 13 points a game and has 3-point range like you've never seen outside of the NBA.

Not that any of that mattered to the dolts who spent the first half of the season heaping abuse at him from the stands at some away games.

"There's been two different types of people," Holleman says. "There's the people who say, 'Great year, you did great, don't worry about it.' And there's people in the crowd that are hollering at you, chanting 'SportsCenter, SportsCenter' at you. That can kind of make you feel a little uncomfortable.

"For the most part I shut it out pretty good. At times, it's been pretty hard. I've handled it pretty well, I think."

Holleman struggled in the early part of the season, but that was only partly because of the emotional hangover from football. Part of it was the physical absence of his basketball backcourt buddy Kevin Kooy, who had suffered a knee injury during the football playoffs and missed nearly half of the basketball season.

When Kooy returned to the lineup, starting the final nine games of the regular season, Holleman's game picked up -- especially his long-range shooting.

"Lately, he's shooting many fewer 3-pointers but hitting more," coach Vic Wolffis says. "Early in the season he was shooting 12 or 13 times, maybe making four. Now he's shooting six to eight and making four or five. His efficiency is getting a lot better. As Kevin's game improved, that's when Mark's game improved."

As for the "SportsCenter! SportsCenter!" chanters, Holleman said the worst abuse came in a game at Sultan. But Holleman's getting the last laugh. He's playing in the state tournament. Sultan's basketball team didn't win a game.

© 2003 All photos, content and design are properties of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

For questions or additional information about this site,
e-mail us at:

Tourney Bracket
:: Boys tournament
 
Other Games
Saturday
:: Lynden Christian 60, Kiona-Benton 54
:: Hoquiam 64, Ilwaco 39
:: Chewelah 63, Cashmere 52
:: Nooksack Valley 56, Pullman 54
Friday
:: Lynden Christian 70, Steilacoom 63
:: Kiona-Benton 52, Othello 45
:: Ilwaco 45, Connell 39
:: Hoquiam 48, Lakeside 46
:: Pullman 57, Cashmere 40
:: Nooksack Valley 68, Chewelah 36
Thursday
:: Lynden Christian 58, Meridian 55
:: Steilacoom 70, Ridgefield 39
:: Othello 71, Chimacum 57
:: Kiona-Benton 66, La Center 47
:: Cashmere 48, Connell 44
:: Pullman 67, Ilwaco 37
:: Nooksack Valley 59, Hoquiam 40
:: Chewelah 66. Lakeside 51
Wednesday
:: Connell 57, Lynden Christian 45
:: Cashmere 52, Meridian 39
:: Pullman 70, Ridgefield 57
:: Ilwaco 50, Steilacoom 35
:: Nooksack Valley 70, Chimacum 42
:: Hoquiam 54, Othello 53
:: Chewelah 50, Kiona-Benton 28
:: Lakeside 66, La Center 51
 
Latest Statistics
:: Boys tournament
 
Team Capsules
:: Boys tournament

Record Books
:: Boys records
:: Boys champions
:: Boys all-time scoring leaders
 
District Results
:: Boys tournament
 
Girls Tourney
:: Girls tournament