Good Monday morning. We lead it off this morning with something that we have never as long as we can remember covered here in this blog. Yesterday was a big day over in Spokane as the city hosted thousands of runners, over 50 of them from the Valley, for the annual Lilac Bloomsday road race. While there was an elite division for the top international marathon runners, this event over its long history, nearly 50 years, has been more about the regular folks, like you, who run recreationally and travel from far and wide to compete in what many of them probably view as their big “Super Bowl”-style run. And that was certainly evident in the makeup of the Valley delegation, which was across the board – young and old, husbands and wives, even some entire families from our community all competed in this event. So for them, it’s all about seeing if they have what it takes to make it for the full almost seven and a half mile course traversing the streets of the Lilac City.
Entrants represented all of the Valley communities, with most of them coming from North Bend. The top overall finisher of the group was Duvall’s Curtis Pitts, who finished the course in 57 minutes, 22 seconds, and was the only Valley runner to finish the run in better than an hour. Fall City’s Sue Heaps was the top Valley female overall, and she finished her run in just over an hour.
From other Valley communities, the results were mixed, with many of the couples and families opting to stay together or very close to one another. The top runners from North Bend were Eric Keenan, who clocked 1:02:09, and Caitlyn Hughes, who came across in 1:10:37. Snoqualmie’s top finishers were Tim Eklund in a time of 1:29:44 and Kenda Rosenshine in a time of 1:36:15, while the top Carnation finishers were Joel Pittenger with a time of 1:14:44 and Jessica Pitts in a time of 1:10:38. Duvall’s top female finisher was Nicole Pitts, who came across in 1:06:47, while the top Fall City male finisher was tied between two brothers, Mason and Grady Johnson, both of whom ran 1:03:02. The Johnson’s were among several local youngsters who ran the race, so the future for Mount Si High School’s distance track program looks solid for sure.
A total of 54 entrants came from our community and of those, 49 finished the race, which for many of them saw them traverse a lot of challenging terrain. The course consisted of streets around and to the west and northwest of Spokane’s downtown, and included a crossing of the Spokane River and two big hill climbs, headlined by the famously known “Doomsday Hill” which is the second of the two hills and is a very lengthy, and very steep, climb up from the Spokane River crossing onto the final stretch of the race before they came back into downtown and the finish line, which was just before the Monroe Street Bridge crossing the river back into downtown.
Good stuff and we offer all of our local competitors congratulations on their efforts. All of the finishers received a T-shirt commemorating the occasion, and some of them might have even found their way onto TV during the race, as it was being regionally televised in Spokane on KHQ, the NBC affiliate television station, and their digital sports network SWX. Good stuff for sure, and a clear sign that recreational running is strong in our community.
Time now for the rest of our weekend wrap.
Baseball: Local teams play friendly battle in front of friends, family
Yesterday at Sirius Sports Complex in North Bend saw a great battle among a lot of boys striving to be future members of Mount Si High School’s baseball team, all dreaming about what may be possible for them down the road.
The Wildcat Baseball Club travel program’s 9U Red and Gray teams squared off, with the Red winning 16-6 aided by a two-hit effort from Gavin Greenhaw in which he scored twice and drove in four more runs. The two teams feature a lot of kids from our community, all striving for that opportunity when they get older to be part of the local high school program, and perhaps go even farther than that. That all said, this game was also an opportunity for kids to play one another and get to know each other better, and also apply the skills they have learned in game situations.
WBC has teams in most youth age levels; consult their website for more information. The 12U team also played at Sirius yesterday and beat Rock Creek from Maple Valley 10-6. Eli Wilmot led the way with a double headlining a two-hit effort; he scored twice and drove in two more runs. Kaden Elganmal also had two hits. Good stuff there. The teams will continue their seasons through the spring and summer and we’ll have news here for you.
College action now:
Tacoma 14, Pierce 4 (game one, doubleheader): The Titans blasted the Raiders in the first of two in Tacoma. Freshman Ryan Gerlitz, from Snoqualmie, was 0-2 with a walk and run scored for Pierce in the game.
Gonzaga 3, St. Mary’s 0: The Zags blanked the Gaels to take the final game of their weekend set on Bloomsday over in Spokane. Senior Mason Marenco, from North Bend and a 2017 Mount Si HS grad, was 0-3 in the game for GU.
Shoreline 5, Edmonds 4 (game two, doubleheader): The Dolphins won it in a walk-off over the Tritons to spoil a solid outing for Edmonds pitcher Sheldon Egger. The freshman, a 2022 Cedarcrest HS grad from Duvall, went six innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits, striking out one. There was no report for the first game of the doubleheader.
Tacoma 5, Pierce 4 (game two, doubleheader): Snoqualmie’s Jack Berg picked up his first college pitching win for the Titans as they held off the Raiders to sweep their twinbill. Berg worked the ninth inning and allowed a walk but struck out two. Gerlitz went 2-5 with an RBI for Pierce but did not face his friend and fellow 2022 Mount Si alum in the game.
Softball: Local team falls short in furious comeback bid
Down 10-3 into the last inning, the Snoqualmie-based Wildcat Fastpitch Club mounted a big comeback, scoring six runs in that final frame, but fell just short, dropping a 10-9 decision at home yesterday to the visiting SFC Spartans from Sammamish in a 12U game at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie. Ella Sanin and Konner Hamilton led the way for WFC, each with two hits; Sanin also drove in two runs. Ariana West also had a double in the game. Other players on the team include Evie Bryant, Kate Duxbury, Katelyn Stobie, Kristine Sherman, Lyla Taylor, Lacy Johnson, Lilly Smith, Maggie Cleveland, Ryann Bottemiller and Sofia Hutt. They will also continue play through the remainder of the spring and summer softball season.
Lacrosse: Season ends for Colorado Mesa women in conference tourney final loss
Colorado Mesa University’s women’s lacrosse season ended yesterday afternoon as they fell to Regis University 12-4 at Regis’s home field in Denver in the championship of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (NCAA Division II) tournament. The Mavericks finish the year 11-6.
Sophomore Emme Rezoski, from Duvall, won seven faceoffs in the game for Mesa, but had no goals scored. She is a 2021 Cedarcrest HS grad. Regis won the conference’s automatic bid and were the lone team from the conference selected to compete in the NCAA Division II women’s national tournament; the selections were made last night following the game. The Mavericks did not receive an at-large bid.
Soccer: North Bend’s Stanton becomes part of history for local pro women’s soccer team
In National Women’s Soccer League action late Saturday night at Lumen Field in Seattle, the Seattle-based OL Reign scored a 2-0 win over the visiting Houston Dash, in the process winning their 100th regular season game as a member of the league. North Bend’s Nikki Stanton was part of it too; the Reign midfielder, a 2008 MSHS grad, played for OL in the final 15 minutes of the game after subbing in for team – and United States national women’s soccer legend – Meghan Rapinoe. Stanton had no stats of note recorded as the Reign moved into top spot overall in the league standings with four wins, one loss and one tie.
OL Reign heads to Raleigh, NC, for their next game, on Saturday against the North Carolina Courage. The game is at noon our time and is available for streaming on Paramount+.
Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal 