Helliges earn top honors; Cresswell, Gehling, and Wyrick all 1st-team

LEE COUNTY – The father-son duo of John and Luke Hellige got top honors in the SEI Superconference South All-Conference honors.
John Hellige, who took the Crusaders to their first-ever Class 1A District championship and to a substate loss to Winfield-Mt. Union, was named co-Coach of the Year along with West Burlington’s first-year coach Cody Van Fleet. Van Fleet led West Burlington to an undefeated season and a berth in the Class 2A State Basketball tournament.
Luke Hellige was named Player of the Year in a tight race with West Burlington’s  Mason Watkins.
Hellige led the conference in scoring with 597 points and was second in rebounds with 205. The junior was also tops in the league in 3-point shooting with 72, eight ahead of Watkins in second place.
Central Lee’s Brayden Wyrick was also named to the 1st team. The junior Hawk led Central Lee in scoring and was sixth in the conference in scoring with 346 points. Wyrick was fifth in rebounds with 169 and third in blocks with 21.
HTC’s Conner Gehling also was named to the first team all-conference squad. The senior was second in the conference with 55 blocks and was third in scoring behind Hellige and Watkins at 389 points.
In the Southeast Conference, Bloodhound Senior Hunter Cresswell was named to the first team all-conference. Cresswell was sixth in scoring in the conference with 273 points and second in rebounds with 158, with 117 defensive boards, which was also second best in the loop.
Junior Dayton Lamar and sophomore Nolan Guzman were selected for second team all-conference, while Leif Boeding and Julian Dear were both picked as honorable mention.
Dear, Cresswell, Cade Denning, Henry Morris, Boeding, Jan De Gracia Hernandez, and Mario Gomez Gutierrez all were named academic all-conference.
Mt. Pleasant’s Payton Hagens was named Player of the Year.
Back in the SEISC, Central Lee’s Will Hayes and Owen Swan, and HTC’s Adam Sobczak and Layne Rung were all named to the 2nd-team all-conference south division. Maddox Rung and Nathan Box were named to honorable mention.
Fort Madison Head Coach Ryan Wilson was named the coach of the Iowa Boys Coaches Association All-Star game for the southeast squad.