Wildcat football grads to get some national air-time

Central Washington University announced today their league football opener, scheduled for Sept. 10 down at Humboldt State, has been moved up two days to Thursday, Sept. 8, in order for the game to be broadcast on national TV.

The game has been picked up by the CBS Sports Network (formerly known as CBS College Sports) as part of a national package of NCAA D-II football contests, and will kick off in Arcata, CA, at 5:00 p.m on that Thursday night, Sept. 8.

The matchup is expected to feature at least two Mount Si grads, CWU lineman Michael Nelson and HSU tight end Alex Hiebert. Both of them will be juniors this fall (although Nelson will be listed as a sophomore because he redshirted as a freshman). There is also the outside possibilty of a couple of additional ex-Cats, those being HSU freshmen-to-be Taylor Mitchell and Jarrett Adams.

For CWU, this will be their second national broadcast in three years; they had a 2009 road game at Minnesota-Duluth also televised by the network.

SVSJ commentary: A heartstopping season, a heartstopping championship finish for Wildcat baseball

The 2011 baseball season for the Mount Si Wildcats had its share of many great thrills. All the big hits. Plenty of excitement on the basepaths.  Many huge individual performances. The dramatic walk-off wins. The great pitching. The long blasts from names such as Breshears, Proudfoot and Brown.

Saturday’s state title game followed this blueprint to a “T”. This team did not quit one bit this spring. Mount Si stayed strong in every game right until the final pitch, and that made for an exciting brand of baseball which attracted more and more fans with every success. In fact, it appears this community showed up in a big way on Saturday to support these kids, with one observer suggesting to us the Valley contingent supporting scarlet and gray was double, maybe triple, the size of the fan group representing Shorewood. Students, parents, and just regular people who support Mount Si and local youth sports made the long trek down, or listened in live on the web. And these fans left Saturday’s game or turned off the broadcast with memories they will remember forever.

Because it’s not often that Mount Si teams are on this stage. Before Saturday, the last time Mount Si won a sports title was 2009’s boys golf crown, and the last time before that where the Wildcats even had a sniff of a title was in 2004, when girls’ softball fell in a heartbreaking loss in the 3A title game that year. So it is not often that Mount Si makes it this far in a state tournament, and it is even rarer that the Valley wins it all. So it is fair to say this is a moment which will be remembered in this community for years to come, and hopefully will once again help put local youth baseball on the map, something which a few of these kids were part of with their Little League success as 12-year olds back in 2005.

This is a group of kids which has been successful at the high school level, but weren’t, until now, able to get it over the hump. So, this group had to work through a coaching change this past offseason, and Elliott Cribby’s coaching turned this team into gold, implementing a strong, aggressive brand of baseball which brought out the best in all of these players and captivated fans far and wide. This was only Cribby’s first year as a high school varsity coach, and he’s already wearing a ring. Here’s hoping for more great success from this coach, and that it all will be in this community.

These playoffs were nothing short of dramatic for the Wildcats. Winning the Kingco title in walk-off fashion in extra innings. Rallying late to win their opening round game May 21 at regionals, then easily dispatching their second opponent. A play at the plate in last Friday’s semifinals which went our boys’ way and gave them this shot at the crown. Then the finish Saturday, which came as it very much appeared that the Wildcats were down and out and not going to be in a position to win.

If you’re older than 35 or so or have seen the highlight of it since, you know the famous quote from the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team’s great upset over the Soviets at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, the one that broadcaster Al Michaels made at the end of that game. He asked this question, “Do you believe in miracles?,” then he shouted as the buzzer sounded, “Yes!” Well, for an entire Valley baseball community, those words rang true so vividly on Saturday, and these boys of spring have a state trophy to show for it.

Ryan Atkinson. Dustin Breshears. Daniel Besmer. Tim Proudfoot. Max Brown. Derek Welsh.  Robb and Trevor Lane. Reece Karalus. Justin Henak. Trevor Taylor. Hudson Luxich. Nate Sinner. Andrew Dunklee. Shane Dixon. Travis Hilleary. Griffin McLain. Brian Woolley. Justin Blenheim. Matt Bankston.  These boys of spring are true champions. First-time champions in their sport at Mount Si. A distinction that can never be taken away from them.

The SVSJ congratulates the 2011 Mount Si baseball team. WIAA 3A State Baseball Champions.

Athletes of the Week for 6-1

Our final athlete of the week for the school year. Since we started with boys and this is a boys week, we have both boys and girls to close out the school year.

MOUNT SI BOYS – Any number of baseball players could have earned this honor, but we give this final award to Daniel Besmer, for his tremendous throw to the plate which nailed what would have been the game-tying run in their state semifinal game against Kamiakin for the final out of the contest. Besmer’s throw was so strong it reached catcher Robb Lane with plenty of time to spare, forcing Brave Jonny Allen into a collision with Lane, which resulted in the Wildcat senior backstop losing the baseball. However, high school rules don’t allow the type of collision Allen had with Lane, and Allen was not only called out, he was ejected and subsequently suspended for the next Braves game on Saturday, which Kamiakin fell in.

MOUNT SI GIRLS – Track, and this goes to senior Leslie Stevens, who did well at two events this past weekend at the state meet. Stevens has been a superb two-sport athlete the past four years at Mount Si, starring both in track and on the girls’ soocer squad as well. Stevens has a great future ahead of her, we think, and we wish all the best as she embarks on that future this fall in college.

CEDARCREST BOYS – Season is over, so we give the awards based on postseason honors. For boys, it goes to Paul Wilen from the Red Wolve baseball team, who was named the Cascade Conference MVP this spring. The senior will be playing in the 2A All-Star game in Bellingham Saturday.

CEDARCREST GIRLS -Their season ended with a district tournament loss to Lynden, but it was a good year for the Red Wolve softball team. Among their three first-teamers was Dani Kissinger, and her efforts this season in helping the CHS softball team’s success are worthy of this Athlete of the Week. All in all, five softball players received league honors, and their coach, longtime CHS educator and coach Les Collins, took co-coach of the year honors within the Cascade Conference.

Next week, we will have an athlete of the year, so we are taking nominations now. Email to snovalleysports@gmail.com.

Local players do well at ECC volleyball club tourney

                 It was a strong weekend for several area girls’ club volleyball teams at the final big tournament of the season.

                The Island Thunder Volleyball Asics 18s Black, which include Mount Si senior-to-be Krista Galloway, won the U-18 Open division at the Emerald City Classic in Seattle. ITVC, from Mercer Island, beat a team from Oregon to take the title, but to get to that game, they had to beat another team with another Wildcat senior-to-be. ITVC took care of KJ 17’s, which include Wildcat Sarah McDonald, to advance to that final.

                Two other teams also fared well in this division. The WVBA Mizuno 18s, with soon-to-graduate Mount Si’ers Aubrey Larion and Zoe Gogan, took 10^th, despite falling in their final playoff game to a team from Yakima. Larion (PLU) and Gogan (Washington State) both are expected to play college volleyball this fall. Another college-bound Mount Si senior, Catie Fry (CWU), helped her KJ 18s squad finish a solid 17^th overall in the event.

                In the U-14 Open division, the KJ 14’s, coached by Mount Si assistant Dave Bachman, finished fifth after falling in their opening playoff game to a team from Portland.

                In other results, Sudden Impact 15s Typhoon, with Mount Si sophomore-to-be Noelle Stockstad, took 11^th in the U-16 Club division. Two other teams, the ITVC 15s Asics (MSHS so. to-be Ashley Wingsness, 23^rd) and the NWJ 16s Elite Gold (MSHS jr. to-be Lauren Smith, 32^nd) also had decent finishes in the event.

                And in the U-18 Club division, High Velocity 17s, coached by former Cedarcrest assistant Desi Polejewski, and which include Mount Si senior-to-be Danielle Warnke, took 21^st in that division. They had a solid 3-4 performance on the weekend.

               

Volleyball update

Big weekend for local girls’ club volleyball, with two big tournaments. We have an update for you on the Emerald City Classic.

It has been a huge weekend for Island Thunder 18s Black, who advanced into the U-18 Open championship playoffs this morning after sweeping the weekend matches, going 3-0 both Saturday and yesterday. This team, with Mount Si senior-to-be Krista Galloway, looks to be a favorite today in the championship bracket. It has also been a good weekend for both the WVBA 18s (MSHS’s Aubrey Larion/Zoe Gogan) and KJ 17’s (MSHS sr. to-be Sarah McDonald), as both went a combined 4-2 on Saturday and yesterday’s pool play, and they look to get high finishes today in the playoff round.

KJ’s 18s, with CWU-bound Mount Si sr. Catie Fry, rallied to win all three matches they played yesterday after struggling on Saturday. They also look to do well in playoff action this morning.

Meanwhile, it’s a bit of a mixed bag in the 16 Club and 14 Open divisions, the other two groups which have local names competing. In the 16 Club, both ITVC 15’s Asics (MSHS fr. Ashley Wingsness) and SIVBC 15’s Typhoon (MSHS fr. Noelle Stockstad) held their own in weekend pool play, so both teams look for success today in their playoff rounds. Meanwhile, the NWJ Elite Gold (MSHS so. Lauren Smith) will seek to salvage a win today after going winless on the weekend in pool play. Smith has been pretty busy the last few days, both with this and the state softball tournament she participated in with the Wildcat softball team. In the 14 Open, KJ 14s, coached by Mount Si assistant Dave Bachman, scored a nice 4-2 record on the weekend, and look for a strong finish today in their playoff rounds.

Matches get underway this morning at around 8:30 over at the UW, and we wish all the teams luck.

 

News and notes…

Happy Memorial Day to all. News and notes from the weekend on this Monday for you:

-Western Washington’s varsity eight women’s rowing team won their seventh straight national championship, easily defeating both Humboldt State and Mercyhurst to win the grand final at the NCAA D-II national women’s rowing championships down in Sacramento. WWU, with North Bend junior Katie Woolsey aboard, raced the course in 7:50.72. For Woolsey, this is her third national title aboard the Western boat, as she also helped the Vikings win the title both in her freshman and sophomore years. Woolsey is a 2008 grad of Mount Si High who was a multi-sport star both in soccer and track.

-Women’s semi-pro basketball saw the Florida Knighthawks travel down the coast to Melbourne, FL, Saturday night and post a big win in WBCBL play over the Brevard Flame. Mount Si grad and former Valleyite Rachel Mitchell scored nine points to pace the 90-70 win for the Jacksonville-based team over their rivals from Brevard.

-Also last Saturday, the USL Charlotte Eagles pro men’s soccer team (Gibson Bardsley/Fall City/MSHS/WWU) travel to Dayton, OH, and leave with a 1-1 draw against the Dayton Dutch Lions. Bardsley DNP’ed in the contest.

 

State track and field wrap….

It was an interesting weekend for Valley athletes at the state track and field meet in Tacoma.

Mount Si had several athletes make the finals in their respective events. Many of these were in throwing events. Junior Kolton Auxier finished seventh overall in the boys’ shot put (50’6”), while senior Doc Derwin finished further back (44’.5”). Auxier (131’11”) and senior Zach Storm (131’2”) had middle of the pack finishes in the discus, while both Storm and  sophomore Brad Stevens (160’6”) also had middle of the pack finishes in the javelin event.

Mount Si girls had two athletes in the finals. Senior Leslie Stevens (34’7.75”) had a middle-of-the pack finish in the triple jump, while she finished near the back of the field in the javelin (107’9”).  Junior Lexi Swanson finished tied for 10^th in the pole vault (9’).

Cedarcrest’s Chad Linnerooth failed to make the finals in his lone event, the 2A boys’ 800m race, while O’Dea’s Alex Duffy, from Fall City, took seventh in the 3A boys 800m (1:57.15).

We have Thursday results for you in a separate item here on SVSJ. Click on our Archives at right for that.

 

MOUNT SI DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! Dramatic finish to a heart-stopping season gives Wildcats state baseball title, 5-28-11

If you thought that Mount Si’s season couldn’t get any more dramatic, tonight’s final act of the 2011 Wildcat baseball team certainly put a new meaning to that word.

Mount Si took advantage of three Shorewood msitakes with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally for a 5-4 win and claim their first ever state baseball championship, and the biggest sports title for the school since 1977’s state boys’ basketball crown.

It all started with two outs and a man on base with the Wildcats trailing 4-2 after Dustin Breshears hit into a fielder’s choice which got Daniel Besmer forced out at second base. Robb Lane reached first on a throwing error by Shorewood which allowed Lane and Breshears both to advance a base. Proudfoot then singled to score both runners to tie the game 4-4. Trevor Lane then reached first on another mistake putting Mount Si’s Proudfoot (third base) and Lane (first base) on at the corners. Max Brown then reached first after another Shorewood miscue scoring Proudfoot to give the Wildcats the win.

Leading up to that, it wasn’t looking too good. It all started well enough for the Wildcats, as Brown singled to score Proudfoot and Trevor Lane to put Mount Si up 2-0. Shorewood’s top hitter, Trevor Mitsui, then made noise, twice. First, he walked with the bases loaded in the second, then in the fourth, singled to score a run to tie the game 2-2. The T-birds then took the lead in the fifth, with a two-run home run to left center field by Shorewood third baseman Max Jacobs. Mount Si tried to muster something in the sixth, but Brown was called out on a close play at first which irritated Mount Si fans and coaches; one assistant coach became so irate at the call he was tossed from the game.

Wildcat starter Reece Karalus pitched five innings, giving up all four runs earned, striking out six. He was relieved on the mound by usual #3 starter Trevor Taylor, and he was lights out in the sixth, and despite some minor bumps in the seventh, escaped with no damage. Then the fateful bottom of the seventh started out well, with Besmer walking, followed by a fly out by Ryan Atkinson, then the fielder’s choice, then the series of plays previously mentioned which will go down as the biggest in Wildcat baseball history.

Brown went 2-4 and drove in three runs, while Robb Lane went 3-4 with a run, and Trevor Lane went 2-4 with a run. Breshears also scored a run despite going 0-4.

Jacobs led Shorewood going 2-3 with his two run homer and another run scored; Mitsui went 1-3 with two RBI’s to pace the T-birds from the Wesco 3A Conference and who had been the state’s top team all season backed up by their top player. But their defense proved to be costly in the end, and despite a gutty performance by pitcher Henry McAree, Shorewood failed to close the deal on a state title. McAree went the full distance (6 2/3 innings), giving up all five runs, four of which were earned, striking out three and walking three.

Mount Si finished their dream season at 22-3.

Wildcat softball season over

Mount Si fell to University of Spokane 13-9 last night in loser-out game at state tournament in Lacey, season ends at 15-12 on year.

Wildcats did their best to stay in game, but Greater Spokane League club was able to hold off the strong offensive attack from Mount Si.

Wildcats will return all except three seniors in 2012: LF Kassidy Maddux, C Danielle Massengill and UT Carly Weidenbach. While the leadership of these seniors will be missed, their roles are expected to be filled well next spring, and the team will return their strong freshman group, along with senior-to-be SS Maura Murphy and junior-to-be OF/P Lauren Smith.

Here it is. Who do we think wins it all? Mount Si or the other guys? Previewing and picking today’s state title baseball game

The biggest day in Mount Si baseball history is here. A state title shot, one which Mount Si has never had, and one which may not happen again for years to come.

MOUNT SI WILDCATS BASEBALL
WIAA 3A STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
MOUNT SI WILDCATS VS. SHOREWOOD (SHORELINE) THUNDERBIRDS
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011 – CHENEY STADIUM – TACOMA – 4:00 FIRST PITCH

Mount Si advanced to today’s title game after a dramatic finish yesterday, a finish which will forever be ingrained in the history of this program. Remember the play. Bottom seven, one out, runner Jonny Allen from Kamiakin on third with the potential game-tying run. Count is three balls and one strike. Braves hitter Joey Jansen hits a fly ball to mid-left field, caught by Wildcat LF Daniel Besmer. Looks like a sac fly and the run will score, but wait. Besmer had other plans. He fired a strike, an absolute cannon of a strike, right to home and waiting there to receive it was C Robb Lane.

The throw got there so fast it beat Allen, forcing a collision at the plate. Lane tagged Allen for the out despite dropping the ball. The umpires called Allen out for not sliding in to the plate and causing Lane to drop the ball. This play was by far the play of the year, and local photographer Sandy Horvath caught the moment very well on his camera. The images of this play from Horvath’s camera left your editor with chills, they were that awesome. Moments that players, coaches, parents and fans will remember forever.

So what awaits? Shorewood, and the top hitter in the state this spring, Trevor Mitsui. Mitsui is hitting over .700 and has 13 HR’s. His two-RBI hit got the T-birds into the finals yesterday with a win over Camas. But, if you look at their overall numbers, there appears to be a big dropoff behind Mitsui. Their next best hitter of their regulars is only hitting .455, and most of their other regular players are hitting below .300. If you take Mitsui’s numbers off the board, it appears Mount Si as a team would be winning in most of the offensive categories, and it should be noted that outside of Mitsui, the Papermakers shut down Shorewood’s bats. So pitcher Reece Karalus will want to stay away from Mitsui as much as possible and work to shut down the rest of the crew.

Again, just like yesterday, Mount Si holds a huge lead in stolen bases as a team, 93 to somewhere in the low 20’s for Shorewood, with the T-birds catchers going 5-16 in caught stealing attempts. So as we noted yesterday, coach Elliott Cribby will want to keep the kids moving on the basepaths today and put pressure on the Shorewood catchers.

Expected to pitch for the T-birds today is junior Henry McAree. McAree’s numbers look good, 10-1 with a 1.30 earned run average, but if you go inside the numbers, they don’t have the same kind of shine. Of McAree’s 24 runs he’s given up this spring, most on the team, only 10 were earned. If all of the runs were earned, he’s running an ERA of over three. Hitters are hitting .250 off him, and he’s only struck out 48 this spring, compared to their ace, Blake Snell, who pitched yesterday, and has over 100 K’s. For Mount Si to be successful, they must put the ball in play as often as possible and keep pressure on Shorewood’s defense, which is excellent (around a .950 FP) but, as McAree’s numbers indicate, has been problematic behind him this season.

A team like Mount Si which knows how to hit for average and work the basepaths well should have good success off a pitcher like McAree. And after yesterday, expect anything today.

And the depth of the bench as well will be a big factor, and one which in our view heavily favors Mount Si.

Today’s title game is the first one a Mount Si team has been in since 2004, when the softball team fell in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Yelm which was decided on one error and one play at the plate. The last time Mount Si won a sports state title was two years ago, when the boys’ golf team won going away over in the Tri-Cities. If the Wildcats win, it will be their biggest sports title since 1977, when boys basketball won it all.

So we leave you with this. This playoff run has been historic in so many ways. This season itself has been a dream run for this program, and one which they can carry for years to come. The program celebrated last night in style; tonight, the celebration will be even grander. A historic season comes to a historic conclusion. A state title awaits for this group of kids, who have worked long and hard and endured a coaching change to get there. The magic carpet ride has one final stop, and that is at the trophy stage. The Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal predicts the Mount Si Wildcats will win the 2011 3A state baseball title.

MOUNT SI 6, SHOREWOOD 1