LAKEWOOD — The Lakewood boys basketball team welcomes back nine seniors but the Cougars’ new, coach Anthony Wiederkehr anticipates four of them will standout.

Seniors Hunter Fritz, Chance Schueller, Ryan Alford and Paul Coleman are the team captains, bringing experience to the floor.

“Those four in particular will become better as a unit,” he said. “They have the fundamentals.”

Though the veteran help is crucial, the team has improved as a whole.

“I think we had an extremely productive off season,” he said.

Wiederkehr watched “from the passenger seat” last season as an assistant coach and said he is ready to lead the Cougars.

“They’ve been with this program longer then I have,” he said. “Experience on the floor is something hard to replace.”

LAKEWOOD — For the Lakewood girls basketball, it is the underclassmen who are expected to make a difference.

Coach Chris Walster is especially excited for freshman Emily Senyitko, and juniors Hayley Senyitko and Marissa Blair.

Last season, Blair was first team All-Cascade Conference and was the team’s lead scorer and rebounder, and Haley Senyitko was the team’s second highest scorer. Haley’s younger sister, Emily, will be the “biggest difference maker as a new player,” Walster said.

ARLINGTON — The Arlington girls basketball team graduated 6-foot-1 senior Lyndsay Leatherman, but return a handful players with state experience.

“It’s going to be a little bit different without Lyndsay as our post,” coach Joe Marsh said.

But speed will compensate for the lost height, Marsh said.

“The game is going to be faster,” he said. “Some things will be different but we will still play great defense.”

Juniors Jayla Russ, Emma Janousek and Gracie Castaneda all played during Arlington’s state run at the Tacoma Dome last season.

“Jayla is going to have a big year,” Marsh said. “Emma has played good defense and Gracie is a great athlete, and that’s good for offense.”

MARYSVILLE — Marysville Getchell basketball returns Taylor Canal, Marina Wika, Kaitlyn McCormick, Justice Vela and Kyrin Jarvis.

MG Shannon Grandbois expects leadership from her experienced group.

“The cool thing about this group, is that I have had these girls for all four years,” MG coach Shannon Grandbois said. “It makes my job a lot easier that they have leadership. They have made leaps and bounds in improvement.”

Jarvis was a state sprinter for MG and thus a “natural athlete,” Grandbois said.

“I think with us we’re just going to focus on how to make these girls successful,” Grandbois said. “I just want them to take away a great experience.”

MARYSVILLE — Marysville-Pilchuck boys basketball team returns promising seniors and underclassmen to its roster.

Seniors adding height and experience will be captain Michael Painter and senior Bryce Vitcovich, both at 6-foot-4, and Cole Grinde described as a “solid player.”

Returning juniors are Josh Bevan, who had a 38 percent 3-point shooting average last season, 6-foot-4 Nate Heckendorf and Bryce Juneau, who averaged seven assists per game.

MARYSVILLE — Entering its fourth year in athletics, Marysville Getchell’s basketball team returns some players.

One of those, coming off of football, is sophomore Collin Montez, who saw a lot of time playing last year as freshman.

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Getchell wrestling team returns six senior wrestlers.

One of them is Daniel Knowlton, who competed in regionals last season.

“A lot of these guys played, junior varsity,” MG coach Todd Freeman said. “We’ve returned a lot of guys from within our program.”