While the 2019-2020 postseason continues, the Mountlake Terrace Hawks’ boys basketball squad can already celebrate a state title as the team was proclaimed a WIAA Winter Academic State Champion this week.

At a 3.66, the Hawks posted the highest collective grade point average of all 2A boys basketball squads in the state to earn the WIAA Scholastic Awards Program honor.

While calling the achievement “remarkable,” Mountlake Terrace Coach Nalin Sood also said he it wasn’t all that striking due to the character of his squad.

“It isn’t remarkable because this is from a body of work over months and years and who these young men are,” Sood explained. “This is a credit to our 11 young men on the varsity basketball team, their families that have instilled in them a work ethic and commitment to academics (and) the staff/community of MTHS that always goes that extra mile to help students achieve.”

Sood also praised the work of a mostly-unnoticed member of the MTHS boys basketball program, basketball team academic advisory Michole Mattix.

“Michole’s tireless efforts to assist our student athletes and keeping them focused and committed to academics during the school year has assisted them as they all worked to earn this significant award and achievement,” Sood said.

The MTHS boys basketball academic state championship is the second such title that a Terrace sports team has earned in the past three years; the 2018 Hawks’ baseball team also won the honor in the spring 2018.

The 2019-2020 Terrace basketball team will receive a plaque commemorating their academic state title next month at the 2A Hardwood Classic in Yakima.

— By Doug Petrowski