A little success can be a funny thing. It can breed confidence, but it also brings higher aspirations – and expectations.

Big brain. Big heart. Big smile.

Mead's 6-foot-3 middle hitter was dominant in her junior campaign, leading to All-Greater Spokane League first-team honors and state 3A player of year honors, along with helping the Panthers win their second state title in three years.

Kade Brownell is poised to have his best cross country season ever.

“Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good” is a motto developed by a national sportswear company to sell women’s clothing and shoes. But it’s also a philosophy that has been co-opted by sports figures across the gamut of sports.

As she stepped up to the block her sophomore year at East Valley High School, Brigid Dinnen began to quiver. The blurred pool below her seemed daunting and her mind filled with “what ifs” as fast as her steady breathing turned to hyperventilating. The only thing that seemed to help was grounding herself, both literally and figuratively. Dinnen knew this was more than just nerves.

A nearly complete set of new bleachers towers above the football field at Deer Park High School.

Fluorescent lights beaming down in her University High School classrooms forced Carsyn Gildehaus to wear sunglasses during class.

The new high school athletics classification cycle, along with some global changes implemented by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, will cause some fairly significant league and division realignment in the Greater Spokane League and throughout Eastern Washington this season.