Vikings open season with senior leadership, depth and strong team culture

December 12, 2025 1:30 am
Cienna Richardson photo. Back row, L-R: Juelz Mahone Arias, CJ Nunez, Duncan Atkinson, Maxwell Lee, Diego Puente, Diego Cruz, Chao De Haan and Emmit Bradshaw. Middle: Kevin Perez, Chase Connell, Joe Stephens, Angelo Vaccarella, Drew Nunez, Daniel Segault, Gus Carpenter and Noe Granados. Leo Battles, Timoteo Malo, Andre Kasperski, Tomasi Malo, Jaxon Paulsen, Kenneth Farani, Mateo Orpeza Tijerina, Eliot Paulsen and Edwin Santiago. Front, coach staff: assistant coach Ryan Carpenter, head coach Corey Wiscomb, volunteer coach Andrew Stephens and Mike Connell.
Cienna Richardson photo. Back row, L-R: Juelz Mahone Arias, CJ Nunez, Duncan Atkinson, Maxwell Lee, Diego Puente, Diego Cruz, Chao De Haan and Emmit Bradshaw. Middle: Kevin Perez, Chase Connell, Joe Stephens, Angelo Vaccarella, Drew Nunez, Daniel Segault, Gus Carpenter and Noe Granados. Leo Battles, Timoteo Malo, Andre Kasperski, Tomasi Malo, Jaxon Paulsen, Kenneth Farani, Mateo Orpeza Tijerina, Eliot Paulsen and Edwin Santiago. Front, coach staff: assistant coach Ryan Carpenter, head coach Corey Wiscomb, volunteer coach Andrew Stephens and Mike Connell.

By Declan O’Malley

Sounder contributor

Basketball season has returned to Orcas Island High School, and the Vikings enter the year with a solid core of players and experienced leadership.

“We are really lucky to have some great senior leadership,” head coach Jeremy Wiscomb said. “Four-year starter Joe Stephens is heading into his ‘Last Dance’ as a senior. He loves to play, plays hard and always gives his all for the team. Chase Connell is a vocal leader and a strong presence around the basket. And Angelo Vaccarella, although still relatively new to the game, has applied his work ethic and intelligence so efficiently that we expect him to be a major player for us this season.”

Wiscomb also highlighted the impact of a newcomer.

“A pleasant surprise has been new senior player Max Lee,” he said. “He has been coming back and forth to the island for a long time, so he already knows the guys and gelled with the team instantly. He is intelligent and hardworking, and we will always take that.”

Alongside the seniors, the Vikings will rely heavily on a deep and talented junior class. Hayden Buehler, Jaxon Paulsen, Tim Malo, Kenneth Farani, Tom Malo, Andre Kasperski and Kevin Perez are all expected to see meaningful minutes.

“We are very lucky this year to have a well-rounded roster with good numbers in every grade,” Wiscomb said. “It means we will have ample senior leadership, solid role players coming up and a group of younger athletes who are hungry and learning to compete at a higher level every day. The present and the future are bright.”

Wiscomb said the players have worked just as hard at building team culture as they have at refining on-court skills.

“The brotherhood these young men have already established is contagious,” he said. “We do that really well. It should not be understated, because that bond leads to supporting each other in every aspect of the game. I am really proud of that. It will bring intensity to our offense and defense alike.”

The Vikings’ schedule features several marquee rivalry games, including matchups with Friday Harbor and a rising Mount Vernon Christian squad. Wiscomb expects those games to bring full gyms, loud bands and high energy.

Even with the excitement of rivalry atmospheres, he emphasized the importance of consistency.

“The goal is to make sure players bring it every game, taking things one game at a time,” he said.

Wiscomb said the program is intentional about how it frames expectations. Achievements such as league championships and postseason berths are goals, not expectations.

“What we expect is simple and far more important,” he said. “Show up every day. Put in the work. Control your effort. Stay positive. Bring joy to the court. Be sportsmanlike and honorable to your teammates and opponents. And above all, stay committed to academics.”

Wiscomb is joined by assistant coach Ryan Carpenter and volunteer coaches Mike Connell, Andrew Stephens and Matt Hawes.

“Come on out to the games,” Wiscomb said. “This is going to be a fun team to watch. They play with an intensity and heart that our community will be proud of.”

In their season opener, the Vikings knocked off Class 1A Granite Falls, 50-45, on the road. Now 1-0 to start the young season, the Vikings will travel to Seattle to face The Bush School on Dec. 10.