In a season that may not have been full of highlights on the court, the teams and coaches for the 2015-2016 season agreed it was full of memories for all three boys’ basketball levels. Their collective records did not tell the full story of the shaky season; the laughter, hard work and progress throughout the season did.
On Wednesday night, March 23 family members, coaches, players and fans made their way to the Oakdale High School Main Gym for the end of the season awards ceremony. The evening began with varsity coach Hondo Arpoika thanking all of those who made the season possible from players, staff, parents, behind the scenes people and fans. Shortly after, first year freshman coach Grant Miller took the floor and introduced his team. Coach Miller shared stories with the crowd of memories and progress for each of his players. Three of them took home hardware for their season accomplishments. Earning the Mr. Mustang award was Jeff Crowley. Earning the team’s Best Offense honors was Jensen Mauchley and Cameron Olsen claimed the Best Defense award.
Following the freshman celebration, Oakdale’s junior varsity team took center stage with head coach Don Muniz, who brought his team down from the bleachers one by one to thank and highlight each one of them. Four players took home awards for the JV team. Junior Rodin took home the team’s Most Improved Player award. Two year junior varsity player Drew Legan was named Most Consistent/Outstanding player recipient. Earning the Hustle Award was Andrew Munoz and capping off the junior varsity evening was Jordan Kraude who took home the Mustang BMT “Born Mustang Tough” Award.
The finale of the evening came when Oakdale’s varsity team took the floor. With memories and laughs shared by first year varsity basketball coach Arpoika and his staff, four players took home one final memory of their season. Foreign exchange student from Austria, Maximillion Renner, was named Most Improved player. Prior to coming to America, Renner did not have a basketball background. Five months later the big guy can dunk the ball and be a force down low. He also competes on the track and field team where he is a thrower for the Mustangs. Renner was also noted as a talented volleyball player where he took over in the recent Powder Puff volleyball game. Junior Nick Woody took home the Hustle Award for his dedication to the program and ability to get up and down the court. Senior Adam Olsen was a leader on the football field under the Friday night lights this past fall, but during the winter he was a leader on the court in the gym. Olsen was awarded the Brian Irvine “Character” Award. Soft spoken, he nonetheless took to the leadership role and set an example for what an Oakdale basketball player should be, according to his coaches. The big winner of the night was Jace Krick. Taking home both the Most Consistent/Outstanding and Mustang BMT Player of the Year honors, the junior was awarded for his efforts during the season.
