Volleyball high school All-American watch list released, with a few names that you will know if you are a Wildcat or Red Wolve fan
The Wildcat and Red Wolve volleyball seasons are right around the corner, and we got an interesting piece of news this week that will certainly be worth a little water cooler chatter if you are either a Mount Si or Cedarcrest volleyball fan.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association on Tuesday released its “watch list” for their All-American teams which they will select following the season. Several of the players they named to the list are from Washington, and some of their names will be familiar to local volleyball fans.
The list is led by a player who has been a very difficult one for Mount Si in recent SeaKing district tournaments. Seattle Prep’s middle blocker Olivia Magill was one of seven total Washingtonians who made this list, and if you are a Wildcat fan, you know why. Magill has been a tremendous force for the Panthers the last three seasons, and her efforts helped SP win the state title last season. Another player from the Metro who made the list, and one who could give Mount Si problems this fall at districts if the Wildcats face them is Eastside Catholic’s Kameron McLain. Both of these players are middle blockers.
Former Wildcat C-team coach Callie Wesson, now running the show at Skyline, will be coaching another member of this group – outside hitter Maddie Magee. And Cedarcrest fans will probably know the name McKenzie Daniels. The libero from the Red Wolves’ Cascade Conference rival King’s of Seattle was also selected. Sarah O’Connor of Kingco 4A’s Roosevelt in Seattle, and players from North Kitsap and Spokane’s North Central were also named to this list from Washington.
All of the players from the western side of the Cascades played for either of two Washington Volleyball Academy U-17 club teams this past season, certainly showing that program to be possibly the top one in the region among club teams right now. WVBA’s 18s team this past club season featured two graduated Mount Si players – Zoe Gogan and Aubrey Larion. Gogan signed to play with WSU this fall, while Larion is expected to play as well this fall, but is not currently listed on any college roster as far as we know.
Tuesday news and notes
Mount Si football gets a big donation
The Mount Si football program was the beneficiary of a significant monetary donation last week from the Snoqualmie Tribe.
The tribe donated $10,000 to the Wildcat football booster club, money which will be used to help fund the program this fall and in the future. RaeAnn Wahsise, a parent of an incoming freshman on the Wildcats team this fall and a Snoqualmie tribal member, was surprised when she first heard about it. “I was absolutely blown away,” Wahsise said.
The tribe made an official presentation of the donation last Friday to football coach Charlie Kinnune at the tribal offices in Snoqualmie.
Wahsise told the SVSJ that as far as she knew, it was possibly the first time, and at least the biggest one to date, that the tribe has donated money to help support Mount Si sports, and she added that the tribe may make future donations to other area schools and sports programs.
CHS alum to take on top club golf pros from around the nation
A Cedarcrest High School grad who has become one of the top men’s golf professionals in Washington yesterday punched a berth to a prestigious national tournament for golf club professionals.
Derek Berg, who graduated from CHS several years ago and went on to have a stellar career at the UW, fired rounds of 69 and 70 to total out at 139 and win the Callaway Golf Professional Golf Association (PGA) Assistant Championship regional tournament down in suburban Portland. Berg, who was representing Bellevue’s Glendale Country Club, beat fellow club pro Josh Immordino, representing Kent’s Riverbend Golf Course, by one stroke, and took home $1,100 for his efforts. Berg and Immordino also picked up the two regional berths from this tournament to the Callaway Golf PGA Assistant National Championship tournament, to be held in November down at the PGA’s headquarters course in Florida.
Somewhat tough day on the water for two Valley hydroplane drivers
The Seafair hydroplane races on Lake Washington yesterday saw some mixed results for two North Bend hydroplane drivers.
We start by talking about Kayleigh Perkins, who drives the UL-72 Foster Care/Change a Lifetime boat in the Unlimited Lights series. Thanks to a strong showing Saturday, she was seen as a favorite to win the Graham Trucking Cup in yesterday’s UL final. However, many of you probably saw what ended up happening during that final race – she, in a furious effort to recover from a slow start, hit some bumpy water, got some air underneath her hydroplane, and the boat flipped in the north end of the course, stopping the race. She suffered some very minor injuries as a result of the incident and was knocked out of the race when it restarted later; the race was ultimately won by Perkins’ main Lights rival, Paul Becker, who was in the lead in the initial race when Perkins’ incident occurred.
The Seattle Times has more on what Perkins thinks contributed to the accident, plus a couple of photos. KIRO-TV has video of the flip, see that here.
The incident yesterday was the second major incident for Perkins and her boat on Lake Washington this season; back in the spring, during a preseason testing session on the lake, the UL-72 caught fire and exploded, heavily damaging the boat. Perkins also escaped injury in that incident.
As for her brother Brian, he rebounded from a tough start Saturday to take third in one heat and win a second heat race to make the Unlimited Albert Lee Cup finals race. However, he and his boat, the U-21 Miss Albert Lee, did not finish the race, won by veteran driver Steve David in the Oh Boy! Oberto.
Some news on this Sunday, 8-7-11
A North Bend teen will be competing in the finals today of the World Junior Rowing Championships after a nice rebound over the past two days.
Class of 2011 Mount Si grad Austen Bolves, who has signed with the UW for college rowing this fall, and teammate Michael Evans of Portland won their second-chance “repechage” junior’s men’s pairs race Friday to advance into the semis yesterday. Team USA clocked a time of 6:54.94 to win that race and make it into the race yesterday, where they finished fifth and will race in a consolation final today. They clocked 6:55.46 to finish about nine seconds behind the winning boat from Romania.
Bolves was one of nearly 30 Mount Si seniors to sign college letters of intent this past school year.
-It was a mixed day on the water yesterday locally for two North Bend hydroplane drivers at the Seafair races on Lake Washington.
In the unlimited lights events, Kayleigh Perkins scored two heat wins piloting her UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime boat, and sits in a first-place tie for points going into today’s final heats. Meanwhile, in the H-1 Albert Lee Cup, brother Brian and his U-21 Miss Albert Lee Appliance boat were disqualified from their heat race, so they will be looking to rebound today. The boat qualified fourth best on Friday, clocking a speed of around 148.5 mph, so the chances of Perkins and his team doing well today look good. By the way, if you aren’t headed out to Lake Washington and are in the Seattle area, KIRO will once again be bringing you full coverage of the activities starting at 9:00 this morning.
-One last small item and that is from the letter of intent file. Another Cedarcrest athlete from the recently graduated class of 2011 has signed on the dotted line.
Baseball player Mark Bishop joined several other CHS seniors in inking a college sports future, putting his “John Hancock” on a scholarship to attend Shoreline CC and play baseball for the school next spring. This year’s signing list was led, of course, by football player Jared Klingenberg, who signed with Division I Idaho becoming the first CHS/Tolt football player to sign a D-I scholarship and we have some news on him as well.
Kilngenberg is listed on the Idaho roster as a tight end, and if he doesn’t redshirt this fall, CHS fans who have a satellite dish will be in luck. Idaho’s season-opening game September 1 against Bowling Green over in Moscow, ID, has been picked up by the Denver-based Altitude sports cable network and is set for a 6:00 pm kickoff. Several of the Idaho games are being televised regionally over in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, but if you have Dish or DirecTV, Altitude may be a good bet for at least a couple of additional games this fall.
Speaking of satellite dishes, Mount Si fans who have one and want to see Joe Farmer’s first college game provided he, too, doesn’t redshirt, are also going to be in luck. Illinois State’s first game this fall, against Eastern Illinois on September 1, has also been picked up for television. That game will be broadcast by CSN-Chicago and kick at 4:30 Pacific time. Both Altitude and CSN Chicago are part of the satellite services’ sports packs, so if you want to see these guys in action, you may want to give the dish folks a call and sign up for their service.
National tournament dreams for one Valley softball player dashed
What was turning into a nice run in the loser-out bracket for a Mount Si softball star and her summer team down at the Premier Girls Fastpitch nationals in California ended abruptly this morning thanks to a big inning.
The Beverly Bandits, a top team out of the Chicago area, scored seven runs in the fourth inning to respond to a challenge from the Washington Ladyhawks Miller team and hand the Puyallup-based squad, which features Mount Si senior-to-be Maura Murphy, an 8-4 loss which knocked the Ladyhawks out of the tournament. WLH had scored twice in the third to break a 1-1 tie and take the lead, before the Bandits’ bats exploded in the fateful fourth.
Murphy went 0-2 with a run scored; she did not start the contest but served as a courtesy runner for teammate Hannah Melick and scored in the third on an error by the Bandits pitcher on a ball hit by another ‘Hawk, Ashley Thompson. Mellick hit a home run in the contest, but by the time that big hit took place – the bottom of the seventh – the result was pretty much in stone.
The Ladyhawks couldn’t overcome five errors in what turned out to be an error-filled game similar to the one which took place a couple days ago against a team from Florida.
WLH made it to that game by winning both late last night and this morning. In the game which took place late last night, after the ‘Hawks dispatched a team from Oklahoma, WLH’s offense exploded late to help the ‘Hawks win 9-3 over the East Cobb Bullets out of suburban Atlanta. Murphy had her best game of the tournament, going 2-4 with an RBI.
This morning, WLH needed a clutch hit in a key spot to score a win in an excellent pitcher’s duel with the California Grapettes out of Stockton. Murphy went 0-1 before being lifted midway through the game for a defensive replacement, but it was teammate Erika Smyth who was the heroine in this one, helping lift the Ladyhawks to the win.
Smyth’s single in the sixth scored Yvonne Rericha with the game’s lone run in the 1-0 decision. Pitchers Madi Schreyer and Cara Custer combined on a four-hit shutout.
Murphy finished the tournament hitting .214, but despite the low numbers, her OPS average was a solid .944. Fans can look for a lot from her next spring with Mount Si softball, then in the future with George Washington University, whom she has committed to playing for starting in 2013.
North Bender’s chance at world glory on the water falls just short
A North Bend teen’s dreams of being a world rowing champion came to an end yesterday at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Eton, England.
2011 Mount Si graduate Austin Bolves, one of several Wildcat 2011’ers to sign Division I college letters of intent last school year, to row for the UW this fall, was paired with a Portland rower, Michael Evans, in Team USA’s entry at the worlds in the junior men’s pairs race. The USA finished third in its heat race, clocking 7:24.96, and did not make the semifinals. They will race again in a consolation round today.
The USA in their heat competed against Greece, South Africa, France, Chile and Hungary, with the Greek and South African boats winning the two slots to the semis.
Bolves and fellow Mount Si grad Megan Hutchison both will be rowing for the UW crew teams this fall. Those two were among nearly 30 Mount Si Class of 2011 grads who signed college letters of intent this past school year.
Local club baseball team’s national title hopes dashed in heartbreaking fashion in San Diego
Several Valley players saw their baseball championship dreams end in heartbreaking fashion, as their club team’s run in a national tournament came to a quick end with two tough losses.
The O’Brien Autogroup’s U-16 team, based in Bellevue, fell in both games at the USABF’s World Series in San Diego 1-0, first Wednesday to the San Diego Falcons team, then again yesterday by that same score, this time to the California Cobras club. The two losses knocked them out of the tournament after they started out very well, winning four of five first-round games.
In the loss Wednesday, which was in 14 innings, O’Brien was only able to get three hits the entire game. Two of those were by Mount Si player Carson Breshears. Fellow Valleyites Gunnar Buhner, Connor Swift, and Griffin McLain all went hitless in their at-bats. Swift and McLain attend Mount Si while Buhner attends Eastside Catholic.
Yesterday’s loss was in regulation, as Swift got the call on the mound and gave up the game’s lone run, in the fourth. He only allowed four hits and three walks, striking out five, so despite the defeat, Swift pitched very well in his six innings of work.
Breshears and McLain were hitless at the plate; O’Brien picked up just five hits total.
Valley players with mixed results on softball diamond at national tournaments
It was a mixed result for Valley youth softball players competing in national tournament play yesterday.
First, in Midland, TX, at the ASA U-14 nationals, the Northwest Ladysharks Wetherbee softball team’s dreams of a national softball championship are over, as they fell in convincing fashion.
The Kirkland-based team, with Mount Si sophomores to-be Celine Fowler, Rachael Picchena, Nikki and Jenny Carroll, fell to the Scottsdale (AZ) Fever 8-1 in a loser-out contest. This ended a great postseason run for the Sharks, who got their berth after a dramatic run through the loser-out bracket in the Seattle regionals to take the national berth from that tournament.
Meanwhile, things were much better down in Huntington Beach, CA, for another local team with a Mount Si player.
The Washington Ladyhawks’ U-18 Miller scored a pair of blowout wins to remain alive in the Premier Girls Fastpitch national tournament. In their first game of the day, Ladyhawks pitchers Alleyah Armendariz and Ashley Thompson combined on a no-hitter, blanking the Chaos Gold out of suburban Philadelphia 8-0. WLH scored runs in all five innings, and were aided by seven errors from the ladies out of Philly. Mount Si senior-to-be Maura Murphy did not start the contest for WLH, but got a chance to run the bases late in the game, failing to score.
In the second game, the ‘Hawks rolled over the Tulsa (OK) Eagles, 9-0. Murphy, who has verbally committed to play college softball at George Washington University, went 1-2 with a walk and a run scored. She got a single in the third, then scored one of the Ladyhawks’ four runs of that frame on a single by Armendariz and subsequent error by the Tulsa left fielder.
WLH plays again today.
Updates from the softball diamond
We have some updates for you on Mount Si softball players with their club teams at national tournaments today.
First, in Huntington Beach, CA, the Washington Ladyhawks Miller team won their first game of the Premier Girls Fastpitch U-18 Nationals this morning, taking a 4-1 decision in an error-filled contest over the Lady Gators Gold Stump team out of West Palm Beach, FL. The ‘Hawks were able to pull it out despite committing four of the six total errors committed by the two teams in the contest.
Mount Si senior-to-be Maura Murphy, who has verbally committed to George Washington University, got the start at second for the Puyallup-based Ladyhawks, and went 0-1 with a strikeout before being pinch-hit for late in the contest.
The game-changing moment for the Ladyhawks happened in the bottom of the third. With the score tied 1-1 after the two teams exchanged runs in the opening frame and a runner on, WLH’s Megan Cooley singled, then things really got interesting. The baserunner, Rogers High (Puyallup) senior-to-be Lana Van Dyken, was able to score on an error by the Gators’ first baseman. Cooley, a senior-to-be up at Mill Creek’s Jackson High School, then was able to score on a second error, this time by the Gator pitcher.
The Hawks added an insurance run in the sixth, then rode the arm of Cara Custer to seal it. She fired a complete-game three-hitter, striking out 11. Custer, who graduated this spring from Spanaway Lake High School and will be pitching next spring for Texas Tech, had a no-hitter going for 4 2/3 innings before the Gators pounded a pair of hits in the fifth.
The win advanced WLH into a game which has just gone final with the So Cal Athletics. The A’s, out of the Los Angeles area, won the game 2-0.
The key moment happened in the fifth, when the A’s Erin Ashby hit a two-RBI single off of ‘Hawks pitcher Madi Schreyer, a junior-to-be at Woodinville High School.
Murphy got a single in the fifth for her first hit of the tournament; she had been 0-7 prior to the hit.
A’s pitcher Delanie Gourley fired a complete game two-hitter to get the win in the circle.
WLH plays again tomorrow.
In Midland, TX, at the ASA U-14 nationals, the NW Ladysharks Wetherbee team finds itself in the loser-out round after falling this morning in the opening round of the playoffs.
LSW, a Kirkland-based team with Mount Si sophomores to-be Celine Fowler, Rachael Picchena, Nikki and Jenny Carroll, went down to the Texas Aces Express out of the Houston area 4-1. Today’s loss came after a win yesterday over a Salt Lake City-area team which gave them the #3 seed out of their first round pool.
The Ladysharks resume play tomorrow needing to keep winning to stay alive in the tournament.
Ladyhawks fall twice to California teams at PGF nationals
It was a tough night last night for a Wildcat softball player, senior-to-be Maura Murphy, and her Washington Ladyhawks Miller teammates, as they suffered two big defeats at the PGF nationals in Huntington Beach, CA.
In the first game, the Ladyhawks were blown out 13-2 in four innings by the San Jose, CA, Sting. Murphy did not start the game but got a pinch-hitting appearance late in the game and went 0-1. The Sting scored runs in every inning, and were aided considerably by defensive miscues from the ‘Hawks; WLH committed five errors, three by one player alone.
The nightcap was not much better, as the Ladyhawks were shut out 7-0 by the Lady Magic out of suburban Sacramento. Murphy started the game at second base and went 0-2 at the plate. WLH bats as a whole struggled to get much going, only getting two hits off of Lady Magic P Ally Carda, a 2011 high school graduate from Elk Grove, CA, who will be pitching at UCLA next spring. Carda struck out eight WLH hitters.
The Ladyhawks continue play today at the PGF tournament.
