New coach Jesse Heiny sees competitive season
It’s been more than a decade since El Molino has posted a winning basketball season competing on the Sonoma County League circuit, but first-year head coach Jesse Heiny hopes to change all that before realignment next fall of high school sports leagues.
Heiny takes over from former head coach Steve Cavalin, inheriting a program that won just two games last year, including a disappointing 0-12 SCL campaign.
The Lions return a solid nucleus of six players from that squad, with four seniors ready to assume a strong leadership role.
“We aim to improve our skills and ability to compete in games, and intend to increase our win total from a year ago,” Heiny said. “We’ll work hard and hopefully share the ball while playing tough and mindful defense.”
The group of returning varsity players starts with senior forwards Shane Spelman and Curtis Lewis, who will be central figures in the team’s fortunes. Other key returnees are senior forward Landon Bienas, junior guard Sam Wilson-Mietz, junior forward Wyatt Stringfellow and junior guard Chase Nicholls.
Bolstering the roster are first-year varsity players; senior forward Andy Junge, junior guard Zach Hunt, junior guard Sam Kenny, junior center Mac Osman, junior forward Aaron Daniels, junior guard Cassius Philips, junior forward Logan Woolsey and junior forward Thomas Siegert.
“Two of our seniors, Shane Spelman and Curtis Lewis, played good minutes on the varsity team last year and I expect these two to lead the team in our efforts to compete on both sides of the ball,” Heiny noted, adding that first-year senior Ricky Valedez will also make big contributions. “We also have a good crop of juniors who will play significant roles on our team this year.”
El Molino (0-1) has already logged one outing so far, falling to Lower Lake, 69-66 in the preseason road opener on Nov. 21. The Lions returned home to host Justin Siena in the home opener on Nov. 28 (after press time) before preparing for the 69th annual Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament in Healdsburg on Dec. 6-9. El Mo will host Analy in the league opener on Jan. 4.
