Claire Butler and Henry Gabalis were selected as the KRKO Russell & Hill Student Athletes of the Month for November.
Claire Butler is finishing her senior year at Glacier Peak High School. She was a four-year competitor for the Grizzlies swim and dive team, earning a top-five finish at state each season. At 13, Butler’s gymnastics career ended after suffering an elbow injury, but that didn’t stop the recently-crowned 2025 4A 1-meter dive champion from setting her sights on a new challenge.
Butler placed fifth as a freshman in 2022 with a 312.40 score and improved to third place as a sophomore in 2023 with 329.15 points. Though she dropped one podium spot to fourth place as a junior in 2024, she set a new score of 339.20. Butler’s teammate, Addison Farman, placed first in 2023 and 2024, so it was only a matter of time before Butler became a state champion. The wait didn’t take long because at this year’s state meet, she posted her best score, 375.95, topping Redmond senior Morgan Christian (346.15) and Jackson sophomore Timbre Grevenkamp (324.60).
Though she’s currently undecided about where she’ll be diving in college, Butler is interested in studying astrophysics or astronomy.
Henry Gabalis is finishing his senior year at Archbishop Murphy High School. He was a four-year starter on the Wildcats football team, playing tight end, wide receiver and running back. Alongside Jack Sievers, a fellow teammate who was selected as the KRKO Russell & Hill Student Athlete of the Month for October, Gabalis witnessed both the demoralizing 0-8 record in 2022 as a freshman and the jubilation of his school being crowned state champion in 2025 as a senior.
After a winless season in the Northwest Conference 2A (NWC 2A) to kick off Gabalis’ high school career, Archbishop Murphy improved to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in league play his sophomore season in 2023. However, the Wildcats still didn’t advance to districts. It wasn’t until Gabalis’ junior season in 2024 that Archbishop Murphy was slotted second in the NWC 2A with 10-2 overall and 7-1 league records, but it also topped Bremerton in the 2A District 1/2/3/4/5/6 game to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2019. The Wildcats made it to the semifinals and fell to Tumwater, which finished runner-up to Anacortes in the championship game.
But for his final season this past fall, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound captain ended his high school career the best way possible. After going 8-0 in league play, Archbishop Murphy continued its dominance by beating Pullman in the district tournament and eliminating last year’s champion, Anacortes, in the state semifinals. The Wildcats then got their revenge over Tumwater in the championship game, which took place under the lights at Husky Stadium, and Gabalis also tallied a touchdown, helping to contribute to a perfect season: 13-0. The state title was Archbishop Murphy’s first since 2016.
According to 247Sports, Gabalis is a four-star recruit and rated No. 3 in Washington state. On Dec. 12, 2025, he stayed true to the wildcats theme and officially signed to play for the University of Arizona, choosing over programs such as Oregon State University, University of California Los Angeles, Washington State University and several others. And in addition to dominating on the gridiron, Gabalis also thrives on the baseball field. During the week he was committing to play football at the University of Arizona, he also went 10-14 at the plate, recording three home runs, a triple and 12 RBI.