Fall sports wrapping up as winter teams form

Winter sports are fast approaching with turnouts for basketball, wrestling and gymnastics beginning next week.

But there’s still a weekend of volleyball to go for Freeman, and the Scotties football team begin state playoffs on Saturday.

And East Valley’s football team stayed alive Tuesday night with a 30-3 victory over West Valley-Yakima in a 3A play-in game. The Knights (8-3) are home against Clover Park (8-1) in a first-round state playoff game Saturday at 1 p.m.

East Valley’s girls soccer team was eliminated by unbeaten West Valley-Yakima 1-0 Tuesday in the first round of 3A state playoffs.

Top-ranked Pasco (10-0) ended University’s surprising drive to the 4A football playoffs with a 49-6 victory in a play-in game Tuesday. The visiting Titans finished with a 6-5 record.

Cross country and 4A volleyball completed their seasons last weekend.

East Valley’s boys cross country team had its highest finish since the 1967 second-place team on which current coach Dave McCarty was the Knight’s second finisher.

University’s volleyball team, despite an unexpected ending, earned its first state trophy as part of the state’s most dominant league and region.

Cross country

“From second to last in the Greater Spokane League to third in state.”

McCarty couldn’t resist the ribbing after his Knights had secured the third-place trophy in the 3A boys meet.

His comments concerned the preseason newspaper prediction of where his team was expected to finish. Call it motivation. They wound up tied for fifth in league and finished second in region before placing at state.

Junior Nick Atwood earned a ribbon for his 10th place overall finish in 16 minutes, eight seconds – just 23 seconds behind the leader. He was the third-fastest underclassman in the race.

Sophomore teammate Tyler Thatcher wasn’t intimidated by his first state appearance at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, placing 17th with 16:17.

“Tyler ran really well,” said McCarty.

They were seventh and 12th for team purposes. Seniors Matt Tonani (32nd overall and 21st for team purposes) and Keith Holt (44th and 30th) were major factors in EV’s 121-point total. And senior, Max Dollfe, completed team scoring.

Although Holt, who typically ran second behind Atwood, didn’t finish as high as McCarty had hoped, realistically, the Knights couldn’t have expected to finish higher than they did.

Bishop Blanchet won with 79 points and second-place North Central scored 85.

“It goes back to team,” said McCarty. “Other guys stepped up so I’m not disappointed.”

Knight junior Jo E. Mayer finished ninth to earn a trip to the podium and ribbon. She clocked 19:08 in a tight finish. Only other award winner was Valley Christian sophomore Justin McNamara who finished 10th in the Class B boys race.

West Valley senior Curtis Fitzhugh placed 20th among 3A boys in 16:20 and junior Larsen Agee was 29th in 19:58 among 3A girls.

“She ran really well,” said coach Jim McLachlan. “She ran the race just like we wanted. It was a very good time for her.”

University’s girls team placed 10th overall in the 4A girls race led by Leslie Berkseth and Karen Owens in 19:33 and 19:37 respectively.

They finished ahead of or right with GSL runners who had beaten them during the year. Berkseth was 36th overall (23rd for team scoring purposes) and Owens was 41st (26th). Other Titan scorers, Rachel Fridye, Alicia Johnston and Katie Owens were farther back. But the good news is they are all sophomores.

Freeman’s boys finished eighth in the 1A race, junior Pete Olmsted the highest finisher in 29th place. The Scotties girls were seventh in the combined 1A/B race, sophomore Maeve Sayres the highest finisher, placing 53rd out of 136 finishers.

Titans sixth in volleyball

There was plenty of excitement after Friday’s first day of State 4A volleyball when all four eastern regional teams reached the semifinals to verify what coaches had asserted.

This was where Washington’s best volleyball was being played.

By winning twice, over Everett in four games and Bethel in five, the Titans assured themselves a trophy.

A hard-fought loss, 25-20, 26-24, 25-22, to Eisenhower, denied them a title date with destiny, but third-place seemed a realistic and rewarding ending. The opponent was Gonzaga Prep, a team U-Hi had beaten twice this year.

U-Hi settled on sixth place instead, losing 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 to the Bullpups, who had their second-highest finish in their second trip.

Mead defended its state title with a three-game win over Eisenhower.

The trophy year, that included U-Hi’s first GSL championship, an invitational tourney title in Kent, and second-straight state appearance, brought to a close the three-year careers of Mandy Daniels, Daidre Mendenhall and Jamie Utesch.

Three other seniors, Kristina Kielbon, Alissa Lanker and Cassie Taylor were part of the history-making season as well.

Daniels and Mendenhall led the team in kills in two matches each at state. Daniels led in digs three games and Mendenhall led in blocks all four matches.

Junior Kara Crisp, a three-year starter who will anchor next year’s team, compiled 155 assists during the weekend in Everett.

Freeman keeps state date

Wins didn’t come easy this year for Freeman volleyball after graduating six seniors from a team that finished second and third the past two years in the State 1A tournament.

But coach Kenny Davis never doubted.

“We knew we had a pretty good team,” he said. “But we were healthy only against Davenport and healthy against Kettle Falls the last match of the year. They were the only matches when we were all together at once.”

And so a team, finally healthy, went from third-place in the Northeast A League to its annual state appearance this weekend in Yakima by beating Newport twice in the District 7 playoffs.

“I kept telling the kids we had enough talent to go,” said Davis. “Injuries and illness gave us an opportunity to play others and now everyone is filling their proper role.”

Among the infirm were veterans middle Kayla Floyd, suffering from back spasms, and Claire Moberg, who had strep throat and has been moved exclusively to libero to conserve her energy.

Freeman plays 10 regularly with only Jessie DePell and setter Jesica Jackson going all-around. Other in varying roles are Jaclyn Riordan, “Oompa and Loompa” – 5-footers Crystal Heigh and Wylie Patton – plus Sara Robinson, Brenda Trejbal and Jennesa Miller.

And, said Davis, freshmen Lauren Nooner and Bree Riddle could see action at state if injury or illness should crop up again.

A healthy Scotties team, he said, can trophy after a season filled with struggle.

“We went through frustrating times, but I could see it coming,” Davis said. “We came together the last two weeks and are excited.”