Crane wins dual championships…once again
By Joe Hathaway on Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News
BAKER CITY – Celebrating one championship is fun. Celebrating two is, well, more fun.
Crane Union High School did that this past weekend after the boy’s and girl’s teams each swept the OSAA 1A Basketball State Championship, held at Baker High.
And it hasn’t been that long since the school in Harney County claimed such a feat, both teams won basketball titles in 2022 as well.
Just as they had all year and years before, both dynasties dominated their final ones.
The Crane boys became the first 1A school to win three consecutive titles after taking care of No. 2 Nixyaawii 65-51. Junior Josh Zander led the Mustangs with 25 points, including 6 three-pointers. 6’7 junior Cody Siegner got in foul trouble early, but still added 23 points. Senior guard Carter Nichols also added 15 points in the win.
Crane finishes the season 29-1 and is 91-2 in the past three seasons.
“I think we really subscribe to spirit, communication, precision and approaching the game the right way,” said Head Coach Eric Nichols. “This is a team game, we had guys step up because this is a team game and that’s our fundamentals.”
“It feels great! I won the first two titles with my brother’s, which was awesome,” said Zander. “This one, these are my brother’s too so this is just as great. I love these guys.”
“Our hard work paid off,” said Siegner. “We came here knowing we had a target on our backs, but we just stuck to our fundamentals, what we practiced and treated it like any other game.”
Just after the Crane boys finished its season on top of the Oregon hoops world, it was the girls turn and they finished off another dominant season in convincing fashion.
The Mustangs stomped No. 2 North Douglas 59-39 to complete a perfect 30-0 season. Crane clinched its fourth title in five seasons, securing the victory just one year after the Mustangs suffered a narrow two-point loss to Damascus Christian in the championship game. They are 130-3 in the last five seasons.
Freshman Kaitlyn Siegner, brother of Kody, led Crane with 29 points and 16 rebounds, including six three-pointers.
In her first season as head coach after replacing the legendary Stub Travis, Tomika Doman is bringing home yet another title to Harney County.
“From the very beginning this has been a winning program and we’re just carrying the torch,” said Doman. “You look at the community, you look at the athletes, you look at the girls and that’s why it’s going to continue to be successful.”
Kortney Doman, the coach;s daughter and only senior on the roster, had 11 points, 8 rebounds in the win. She leaves with three state titles in her high school career.
“I can’t think of a better way to end my high school career than this. It takes a lot of work to get here and I’m proud of my team” said Doman. “I love this team and I love our community so much. It’s bittersweet.”
“I wanted to do this for Kortney and we’ve had a great year together as a team,” said Siegner. “Our community has been supportive and to bring another trophy home to them is the best.”
“For both the boys and girls, we know it’s not just us. We’re successful because of the community.” said Coach Doman.
