Whitefish High School grad Kurt Paulson, Glacier alum Jaxen Hashley and Bigfork native Isaac Martel have all been recognized for their outstanding seasons by the Frontier Conference.
Paulson is in his first season as the head coach at Carroll College and was named the league’s Coach of the Year after leading the Saints to the regular season championship, a top 10 national ranking and a 25-7 record. The former Carroll point guard coached in high school and college following his graduation, including a stint as the head coach at Bigfork High from 2011-13. Paulson was an assistant coach at Oregon State University before being named to the top job at Carroll last spring.
Hashley led Glacier to its first Class AA state championship on the hardwood in 2017, but planned to be a college football player after graduation. When injuries derailed his career at Montana State, Hashley transferred to the University of Providence and is the Frontier Conference’s co-Freshman of the Year, sharing the honor with Carroll’s Shamrock Campbell. The 6-foot-7 Hashley averaged 11.0 points and 8.7 rebounds for the Argos in his first collegiate season, starting 24 times and helping Providence to an 18-12 overall record. Hashley was also named honorable mention all-conference.
Martel has been named one of the Frontier’s Champions of Character following his senior season at Rocky Mountain College. The 6-foot guard, who was a sophomore during Paulson’s last year as Bigfork’s head coach, played in 11 games for Rocky this year and averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds.
Carroll, Providence and Rocky are all seeking at-large bids to the NAIA tournament.