BRIDGER VALLEY — As the Wyoming High School 3A State Basketball Championships begin Thursday in Casper, the Bridger Valley will not have a team on the court.

It is a rare occurrence for the valley’s basketball programs at Lyman High School and Mountain View High School.

Based on records available through the Wyoming High School Activities Association and Wyoming-Basketball.com, the last time neither school qualified for the state tournament was during the 2001-02 season. That year marked the first time since the 1980-81 season that the valley did not have a boys team reach state.

Looking further back, the previous occurrence came during the 1963-64 season when neither boys team qualified. Girls basketball was not yet offered at either school at that time, with programs beginning later on in 1976.

While this season ended short of the state tournament, down years happen for every program, and both schools showed flashes of promise that could help the valley return to the state stage in the coming seasons.

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Mountain View Boys

The Buffalos finished the season 10-13 overall and 3-7 in conference play and will graduate a large senior class.

Senior Ashton Colangelo led Mountain View in scoring with 17.7 points per game while also leading the team in offensive rebounds at 2.7, defensive rebounds at 4.9 and total rebounds at 7.5 per game. Colangelo ranked second in Class 3A in scoring and fourth in rebounding in the 3A West. He led the Buffalos in scoring in 19 games and recorded eight games of 20 points or more during the season.

Mountain View will graduate seven seniors. Kolby Roitz led the team in assists and steals with averages of 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The Buffalos also lose Ander Oroz, Race Carr, Keagan Pitts, Justus Platts and Lindsay Tait. Pitts also led the team in blocks and averaged seven points per game.

Several players are expected to return next season, including Colt Madsen, Roper Buckley, Brendon Walker and Preston Phillips. Madsen finished second on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per game and was tied for the team lead in assists. He also finished just behind Roitz in steals with 36 for the season compared to Roitz’s 38.

Lyman Boys

The Eagles finished the year 10-12 overall and 3-7 in conference play. Junior Jevin Maxfield led the Eagles in several major categories, averaging 12.5 points per game along with 2.2 offensive rebounds, 2.9 defensive rebounds and 5.1 total rebounds per game.

Maxfield’s top scoring performance came against Meeteetse High School when he scored 26 points while making four of his five 3-point attempts. His best rebounding performance came against Kemmerer High School with 11 rebounds while also scoring 18 points. Junior Dallin Bradshaw was second on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game, giving Lyman a strong returning combination heading into next season.

The Eagles will graduate several contributors, including Hayden Jackson, who averaged eight points per game and served as the team’s top 3-point shooter. Lyman will also lose Dallin Smith, Cody Hurdsman and Colter Dewitt, one of the team’s bigger players who also led the Eagles in assists.

Mountain View Girls

The Lady Buffalos finished 4-19 overall and 0-10 in conference play. Addyson Stephens led Mountain View in scoring with 9.9 points per game. She also recorded the team’s three highest scoring games of the season, including a 24-point performance against Wind River High School.

Junior Mariah Micheli led the team in assists, while Abby Jo Wells averaged a team-best 1.9 steals per game. Another junior, Ellie Stoddard, led the team in several other statistical categories. She averaged 3.0 offensive rebounds, 4.1 defensive rebounds and 7.1 total rebounds per game while also leading the team in blocks at 0.3 per contest.

Mountain View battled injuries during the season, with only three players appearing in all 23 games.

The Lady Buffalos will graduate seniors Eliza Roitz and Taylor Antonino.

Lyman Girls

The Lady Eagles finished the season 10-11 overall and 2-8 in conference play. Senior Lexie Snyder led Lyman in scoring at 9.8 points per game while also leading the team in offensive rebounds with 3.0 and total rebounds with 6.5 per game. Snyder led the Lady Eagles in scoring eight times during the season, including a 21-point performance against Glenrock High School that stood as the team’s highest individual scoring game of the year.

Lyman will graduate Snyder along with Hayden Hewitt, Addison Smith and Rylee Hysell.

Sophomore Eden Smith provided a bright spot for the future. She led the team in defensive rebounds with four per game and also led the Lady Eagles in assists at 2.7 per game and steals at 2.4. Smith and Snyder were also the team’s top threats from 3-point range, leading the team in both makes and attempts.

Although the valley will not be represented in Casper this week, several returning players across both schools could help the Bridger Valley programs rebound and compete for state tournament spots in the years ahead.