CHS boys’ hoops falls to Shorecrest, and other news on a Tuesday…..

Good Tuesday morning. Basketball is on the agenda to lead things off this morning.

This has been a special season for Cedarcrest High School’s boys’ basketball team. For the team, though, to realize its ultimate goal, they have to experience adversity and recognize the challenges which lie ahead. So last night’s game against Shorecrest perhaps served as that wake-up call for the Red Wolves, to make them realize the games will not get any easier the closer they get to that ultimate prize, a state title.

Shorecrest’s Scots handed Cedarcrest by far their worst loss of the season, beating the Red Wolves at home in Shoreline by almost 30 points, 85-57. Jack LeBlanc had 18 points for CHS, while Murphy Vliem added 16 points and six boards. But Shorecrest is a solid team in 3A, with that win moving them to 9-6 overall on the season.

The Red Wolves will look to rebound tomorrow when they host Snohomish. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Cedarcrest’s gymnasium, 29000 NE 150th St. in Duvall.

College note:

Montana State men win at home: It was a Monday night of action across the Big Sky Conference of NCAA Division I as Montana State University’s men posted a 77-70 home win in Bozeman, MT, last night over visiting Idaho State University.

Junior Tyler Patterson, from Snoqualmie and a 2020 Mount Si HS grad, hit a pair of three’s and finished with six points and three rebounds in almost 40 minutes of action for the Bobcats, who hit the road for the next two games. Thursday, they’re in Sacramento, CA, to meet Sacramento State, then on Saturday, it’s round one of this year’s series between Patterson’s Bobcats and friend, fellow Mount Si Class of 2020 alum and former Wildcat teammate Hayden Curtiss’ Portland State Vikings. We plan a preview and pick for that game so look for that here on Saturday morning.

Elsewhere:

Lacrosse: Lower Valley club program names new high school head coach
The youth club lacrosse program servicing the lower Valley has named a new coach for its high-school age boys team for this coming spring season.

Cedarcrest Lacrosse, not affiliated with Cedarcrest High School or the Riverview School District, named Nate Holliday as the new high-school boys’ coach yesterday. Holliday is no stranger to either the sport or lower Valley community. Holliday lives in the lower Valley with his wife, and the coach’s younger brothers are Cedarcrest High School students. Holliday, whose wife is an accountant, is himself currently pursuing a degree in accounting. Holliday replaces Owen Corddry, who parted ways with the program before the holiday break in December.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to coach a group of young, talented athletes. It is a great honor, and I am genuinely looking forward to the start of the season. I hope to foster mentee/mentor relationships with each one of you, learning and growing together,” Holliday said in a statement released by the team on Facebook. Holliday is a lacrosse veteran, having played the sport for almost a decade all over the United States, with stops in New York and Las Vegas before settling here in the lower Valley. “We are confident that he will play a crucial role in our continued success and growth,” the program wrote in that statement.

We will look to reach out to him later this week for comment so we will probably have more on this then. The high school spring season will start up in about six weeks. CHS last spring did not have a high-school level program, and it is unclear if they will have the numbers to have one this year. Additionally, the current discussion about league changes for CHS sports will also impact lacrosse, as the state association, the Washington High School Boys’ Lacrosse Association, groups teams by their high school conferences. So a move to Kingco would likely mean a move for Cedarcrest lacrosse into a Kingco division as opposed to the current Wesco division they currently are participating in. Speaking of which, we have an update on the league realignment question as well this morning.

News: Cedarcrest gets potential boost in quest for Kingco membership
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Sunday finalized classification assignments for high school sports for next year and it could be good news for Cedarcrest High School. Snohomish County’s Sultan High School, who we reported about a week ago had been appealing their classification assignment, had that appeal denied and were slotted in as a 2A school for the next four years. This potentially means Sultan, in addition to Cedarcrest, may seek membership in the Kingco Conference.

Cedarcrest, as we told you last week, announced they were going to seek membership in the league, but their chances of getting in are likely predicated on whether Sultan chooses to join CHS’s efforts as a joint bid to enter the conference. Currently, the league has a total of 24 teams and from what we have been told would apparently prefer to keep the numbers even for their tiered scheduling model which they anticipate rolling out this fall. However, another issue also appears to have entered as a potential complication. We were told by a source yesterday the league has what is known as an “exit fee” for schools wishing to leave Kingco at some point. The amount of that fee is not known, but Cedarcrest officials may have to clear this with both Riverview Superintendent Dr. Susan Leach and the Riverview School District’s board before accepting any deal to join Kingco. The issue of an exit fee is out there because that same source is also telling us there’s rumors that one of the league’s 4A schools, not Mount Si High School, may be exploring leaving Kingco themselves.

As we also previously reported, the process for joining Kingco will involve the school making a presentation to league officials followed by a site visit to the school. The process is expected to be complete in the next several weeks.

The Monday news…..

Good Monday morning on this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday today. A reminder and that is Mount Si High School’s boys’ basketball team is playing tonight at ShoWare Center in Kent against Tualatin of Oregon in a holiday tournament there. Game time is 5:00 p.m.

We lead off with some football this morning and news concerning Mount Si High School football alum Clay Millen, as the quarterback has found a new college home.

The former Colorado State University quarterback announced his decision yesterday afternoon to transfer to the University of Florida.

COMMITTED 🐊 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/UT4qwHVutl

— Clay Millen (@ClayMillen) January 14, 2024

Florida, whose campus is located in Gainesville in the northern part of the state, is part of the elite Southeastern Conference of NCAA Division I, so the move may have been somewhat surprising for some observers seeing Millen, who was beat out for the starting QB spot at the Mountain West’s Rams early in the 2023 season, essentially moving up into a much tougher environment at Florida. However, the program’s quarterback depth was very limited, allowing Millen an opportunity to come in and help out. It is expected he will be backing up starter Graham Mertz this fall, so he should see some playing time there.

The junior played in just one game for CSU last fall, going 15-24 for 110 yards, before being replaced as starter by then-backup Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. Millen entered the transfer portal just after Christmas. He is from Snoqualmie and a 2021 Mount Si alum.

Basketball: Heide paces OSU women to blowout win in nearly empty arena
Junior Sela Heide scored 12 points in a solid nearly 14 minutes of action off the bench for Oregon State University’s women’s basketball team, and the efforts of the Valley athlete paced the Beavers’ 92-55 blowout win at home in Corvallis, OR, over visiting Arizona State University yesterday.

Heide, a 2020 Mount Si HS grad from Snoqualmie, was 5-8 from the floor and also had six rebounds in the contest, which was played in front of a very small crowd of media and parents of players on the two teams. The school closed off the game to the general public due to the dangerous weather and road conditions around the OSU campus.

The win moved OSU to 14-2 on the season.

Road conditions around Eugene, OR, yesterday, as seen here, factored into the cancellation of a major regional club volleyball tournament involving several Valley girls’ volleyball players. (Facebook/Nikki Warden)

Volleyball: Local players, teams brave early exit from Oregon due to tourney cancellation
A number of Valley girls’ volleyball players and their families made the challenging trek home yesterday from Eugene, OR, following the cancellation of a major regional club tournament.

The Matt Hartner Invitational tournament went off on Saturday in the first day of what was scheduled to be a weekend-long tournament but there were a number of delays related to the snow and ice that hit Eugene with the same winter storm which wreaked havoc on Corvallis as noted above in our blurb on the basketball game. However, those issues became too much for tournament organizers and they made the announcement yesterday as folks were waking up down there to cancel the remaining games.

It is not known if organizers will be issuing refunds to teams for the missed out play.

NWJ tournament rolls on: With the weather conditions much better in western Washington, the Northwest Juniors Volleyball MLK weekend tournament continued yesterday.

The two local-tied entries both had their challenges yesterday. Bellevue-based Northwest’s 15U Navy, with Cedarcrest HS’s Lola Fryc, went winless yesterday after a 3-0 start Saturday, derailing hopes of a title this weekend. They will seek a moderate-level placing finish today in playoff action. Mercer Island’s Island Thunder U13’s will have their head coach and assistant (Bonnie and Isabelle Foote) both likely on the bench today after they went 1-2 yesterday. The Foote’s were in Eugene at the Hartner event and had a second assistant running things both yesterday and Saturday. With the event cancellation, though, in Oregon, this freed up the retired Mount Si HS coach and her daughter to do their coaching duties today with ITVC.

Softball: Vegas tournament continues with solid Valley performances
The USA Preps weekend tournament down in Las Vegas continued yesterday with some excellent efforts by Valley athletes.

Mount Si High School’s Addison Craig and Tori Travers both delivered, each with hits and runs scored, pacing their select team, the Northwest Grapettes 18U McGee, to a 10-4 win last night over the California Thunder. The Bellevue-based NWG is coached by Mount Si head coach Mike McGee. Wildcat sophomore Bella Scappini also had a solid night, going 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, pacing her Grapettes 16U Yarwood squad to a 15-2 blowout of the New Mexico Sundancers. Scappini also pitched in the game allowing a run on one hit in 2 2/3 innings, walking three, striking out one and getting the win. And Fall City’s KB Fastpitch Riley 14U’s handled Titans Fastpitch from Nevada 12-5. That team is coached by Mount Si alumnus Chris Riley and has several players from the Valley.

The event wraps up today.

Louella Joy Ayers (center) is comforted by her parents, Lauren (left) and Jamie (right) Ayers, shortly after her birth yesterday afternoon in Virginia. Lauren (Smith) Ayers is a Mount Si High School grad and former two-sport athlete for the Wildcats whose family lives in Snoqualmie. (Facebook photo/Lauren and Jamie Ayers)

Flame Balzer done in Arizona: The 18U team based in Bellevue but which is coached by Mount Si softball parent Pat Balzer fell 13-3 to the Arizona Scrappers yesterday to close out play at the USSSA weekend tournament in Phoenix. Mount Si’s Maggie Potoshnik was 1-1 with a run scored, but Wildcat teammates Aspen Balzer and Zoe Crawford both went hitless all for the Flame.

WLH 10U’s dominate in Centralia: The Washington Ladyhawks 10U Riley remained unbeaten in play at the weekend tournament in Centralia with two more wins yesterday. They beat teams from Seattle and Woodinville outscoring those squads 16-3 in the two games. The squad has Cedarcrest HS alum – and current pro – Kailyn Campbell on their coaching staff. Good stuff there.

News: Mount Si girls’ sports alum now a proud mom
We have some wonderful news to report this morning from southern Virginia, where a Mount Si girls’ sports alumnus and her husband are now proud parents to a baby girl.

Louella Joy Ayers came into this world yesterday afternoon a little after 1:00 our time back in Lynchburg, VA, welcomed in by her parents, Jamie and Lauren Ayers. Louella came in at seven pounds, nine ounces and measuring 20.5 inches. She was born several days ahead of her due date but is doing well this morning. Lauren (Smith) Ayers is a Mount Si High School alumnus from about 10 years ago now who played volleyball and softball for the Wildcats before moving on to college to play softball at Lynchburg University in Virginia. The family lives near Lynchburg. Lauren is the daughter of Shannon and the late Mike Smith of Snoqualmie and has two siblings – brother Tyler and sister Kami.

We want to offer the Ayers and Smith families our congratulations on this remarkable news.

Friday news nuggets…..

Good Friday morning. With football out of the way for this morning, here’s our other news.

First, we have news from soccer. Cedarcrest High School’s girls’ soccer team faced a difficult challenge from Anacortes last night in the opener of the Northwest 2A District Tournament at Cedarcrest’s stadium in Duvall.

In what was a very tight defensive affair that didn’t net many scoring opportunities for either team, the two squads had to go to overtime scoreless, before Cedarcrest was able to strike for the game-winner in extra time to take the game 1-0. Sadie Schaefer appeared to have that opportunity first, but Anacortes’ goalie made a huge save to keep her team in it. As it turned out, that was short-lived as Laine McKenzie found Schaefer, who was more than happy to get a take two, and this time she finished the job, ripping it home from close range for the overtime winner.

The Red Wolves advance to meet Bellingham in the district semifinals tomorrow at 2:00 up at Civic Stadium in Bellingham. Coach Alex Hickox tells us he does not expect the game to be streamed so if you want to go support the team, you will need to make the drive north and attend the game in person up there.

Also this morning:

Softball: Second helpings…..
It was just a couple of weeks ago that Mount Si High School softball junior Ally Hetzel made her college decision, deciding to stay home and play for the hometown University of Washington. Well, one of her Wildcat teammates will be joining her on Montlake.

Senior outfielder Addison Craig announced late yesterday her decision to verbally commit to the Huskies. The announcement was made by her club team, the Bellevue-based Northwest Grapettes, which are coached by Mount Si head coach Mike McGee.

Craig hit .506 this past season for the Wildcats with three triples and eight stolen bases, scoring 31 runs and driving in 14 more for Mount Si as they finished 7-16 on the season advancing to the Kingco playoffs. Craig, as you know, also is a top cross country runner in the fall for Mount Si, but this scholarship only covers softball. It is not known if she will have an opportunity to participate with UW’s cross country team as part of her college athletic experience.

With the two commitments, attention now turns to another top Wildcat junior and where she will end up. Infielder Anna Braukus remains uncommitted, but has the numbers and skill set to earn her a similar opportunity with the UW. We are checking on her situation now and will update. McGee tells us he thinks she will end up at another school, but we will of course have to see. Braukus and Hetzel are expected to travel to Huntington Beach, CA, today with their club teams to compete in a tournament there this weekend.

Volleyball: Cedarcrest ladies close regular season with loss
Cedarcrest High School’s ladies were expected to have a tough go with Wesco 2A/3A leader – and undefeated – Lynnwood last night on Senior Night, and they did, falling to the Royals 25-10, 25-17, 25-15. Risha Shaikh, in her final home game as a senior with the Red Wolves, led the way with a kill, 10 assists and six digs.

Cait Hawkins had two kills, three blocks and a dig pacing CHS, while Teigan Robertson had seven digs rounding out the top performances from the Red Wolve seniors. Paige Gessey led Lynnwood with 11 kills, six aces and nine digs, while Sammy Holmer added 11 kills, two aces and seven digs.

Cedarcrest ended up with the eighth seed into the Northwest District 2A playoffs. They will play Squalicum in a loser-out game tomorrow at 3:00 at Lynden High School. If CHS wins, they advance to the double-elmination portion of the tournament and will meet the top seed Lions right afterward, at around 4:45.

Mount Si volleyball falls in barnburner: The Wildcats gave Kingco 4A’s top team, North Creek, all they could handle but fell in five sets last night. Score and stats were not available prior to posting time; if we get some later we’ll update you. The loss dropped the Wildcats into a second-place tie in the Crest Division with Eastlake. As the head-to-head series was split, it is likely a coin flip will be needed to decide seeding into the Kingco Tournament and this is important because they will be playing tomorrow morning in the tournament opener at a location to be determined. The two seedings are at separate locations. Formal announcements are expected later today and if we get word, we’ll let you know.

Baseball: Valley youth baseball players, get ready for 2024 with instruction in your community
Your local parks district in the upper Valley is once again providing youth baseball players in our community an opportunity to get prepared the right way for the coming baseball season next spring and summer.

Another edition of the “Pro Baseball Clinics and Camps” series will be held at Si View Park this fall and winter. Camps are on the following days: November 11, November 25, December 18-21 and 26-29. For more information or to sign up, go to the Si View Park website here or call the park district at (425) 831-1900.

These camps and clinics will be instructed by Steve Goucher. Goucher, who is based in Bellevue, is a former scout for Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and has worked with Si View the past several years to offer this instruction to Little League and other youth baseball players in our community. Goucher also has high school and college coaching experience locally. Players will be given instruction in fundamental elements of baseball that will help them not only prepare for next season, but higher levels of the sport as they get older.

The camps will be held at Si View Park’s baseball facility in North Bend, 400 SE Orchard Street, behind the Si View Pool.

Lacrosse: Cedarcrest program announces boys’ high school coaching change
The locally-based club lacrosse program that services the lower Valley late yesterday announced a coaching change. The Cedarcrest Lacrosse program and their longtime head high school coach, Owen Corddry, have parted ways.

In a statement on Facebook, the program thanked Corddry, who helped start the high school boys’ program several years ago, for his efforts. “We wish to express our sincere appreciation for the years of dedicated service Coach Owen has provided to Cedarcrest Lacrosse. His commitment and contributions have been instrumental in helping us build the strong program we have today. His coaching expertise, leadership, and mentorship have left an indelible mark on our players and the entire community,” the program wrote.

There was no immediate word on a replacement for the longtime coach. The high school season will not take place until next spring. High school lacrosse in Washington is not considered a sanctioned WIAA sport; instead, the sport is run by an organization called Washington High School Boys’ Lacrosse Association. Additionally, due to that lack of sanctioning, the program is not an official part of the high school or Riverview School District; instead, Cedarcrest Lacrosse runs as a private non-profit organization.

Friday news

Good Friday morning. We lead it off with some baseball. The Snoqualmie Valley’s Wildcats Baseball Club 12U’s are representing both their community and state this weekend at the Slumpbuster club baseball tournament in Omaha, NE. The team opened with a split of their opening games yesterday, winning one in a blowout but losing the other in similar fashion.

The ‘Cats opened with a 12-2 loss to the Crescent City Royals out of New Orleans. WBC was held to only one hit in the game – from Dominic Scappini Simon. Five others – Landon Defenbaugh, Cooper Frederick, Eli Wilmot, Jacoby Abrahamson and Hudson Roberts – all reached on walks, but the boys were just warming up.

The Valley kids took their frustrations from the opening loss out on the Minnesota Oxen in their nightcap yesterday, beating the Minneapolis-area team 17-4. And this was a thorough, balanced effort in which almost everyone chipped in. Defenbaugh was 2-2 with a walk and three runs scored. Wilmot was 2-3 with a walk and three runs scored. Abrahamson was 3-3 with a walk, two runs scored and three RBI’s. Frederick doubled to headline a two-hit effort, driving in three runs. Scappini Simon was 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBI’s. Cobe Carbary had two hits and drove in two runs. Kaden Elganmal was 1-3 with an RBI. Hudson Roberts had a hit, walked twice and scored a run. Hank Huber had a double to headline a two-hit effort, scoring twice and driving in another run. And last but not least, Grady McCahon was 3-3 with a triple, three runs scored and three RBI’s. Also playing in yesterday’s games was Jameson Lanman, and he was hitless in the contest. All of the kids are Snoqualmie Valley School District students.

The tournament continues today and wraps up on Sunday.

The rest of the youth action from last night, from our friends at GameChanger and TeamManager.

North Seattle Rainiers 5, Kirkland Merchants 16U 3: At Lee Johnson Field in Kirkland, the home team Merchants fell to the visitors from Seattle. Mount Si’s Evan Rourke was 0-1 with a walk in this one for KM.

Boys of Summer 18U Blue 7, City Showcase 5: Bellevue-based BoS took one on home turf at Bellevue High School over the Seattle-based opponents. Wildcat Brody Palmer was 1-4 in this one for BoS.

Washington A’s 18U Showcase 2, Redmond Dudes 1: The Sammamish-based A’s held off the Redmond rivals last night at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue. Mount Si grad Owen Theis started on the hill for the A’s and worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits, striking out two with no decision. Fellow Wildcat 2023’er Kam Korrell was 0-2, as was MSHS underclassman Caleb Geib, for the A’s.

VeloTech 15U 1, GritCity 0: Mount Si’s Jimmy Pratapas did most of the damage for Sammamish-based Velo in their win last night over the south Sound team in Auburn. He went 2-2 scoring the game’s lone run, and also pitched an inning allowing one hit while striking out two. Teammates and fellow Wildcats Eddie Coons and Preston Przyzbylski were both hitless in the game for Velo.

Dragons Elite 16U 2, Washington A’s 16U 1: The game was at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie last night so the Mount Si players on the two teams made it their own exhibition of sorts. Jones Kasperson led the Dragon Wildcat delegation, going 2-3 and pitching three very good innings of relief allowing only three hits and weathering four walks to get the win. Fellow Mount Si’er Taylor Davis was 1-4 and pitched the last inning getting the save for the Bellevue team allowing one hit while striking out one. Other ‘Cats, too, shined. For the Dragons, Will Gregory was 1-4 with a run, Tanner Swanson was 2-3 with a run, Tucker Koval was 0-2 with a walk, Drew Hossfeld was 0-1, and for the A’s, Matt Talbot went 2-3. Good stuff and nice to see scarlet and gray represent on their home field last night.

Washington A’s 18U Premier 6, Spokane Expos 2: We head east over Snoqualmie Pass and into Colfax, where the Palouse Summer Series last night opened for the Sammamish-based A’s as they handled the Spokane team. Mount Si 2023’er Tristan Aasland pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing a run on three hits, walking two and striking out three with no decision for the A’s. Fellow Wildcat ‘23ers Gavin Yost and Alex Chamberlain both went 0-1 for the A’s, but “Chambo” got a walk. All three of these guys will be playing at the community college level this fall, Aasland and Yost at Bellevue and Chamberlain at Columbia Basin in the Tri-Cities.

Elevate 15U Premier 1, Spokane Expos 16’s 0: From Colfax, it’s up the 195 to Spokane and the Gonzaga team camp tournament where we find Woodinville-based Elevate posting a win over the Spokane team. Cedarcrest’s Carter Smith was 0-1 with a walk.

College summer baseball
Bells post win: In West Coast League college summer action last night, Cedarcrest HS grad Sheldon Egger saw work on the hill for Bellingham as the Bells posted a 4-1 win north of the border over the Kelowna Falcons in British Columbia, Canada. Egger, who pitched this spring for Edmonds Community College and graduated in 2022 from CHS, pitched a clean eighth inning with no decision. Bellingham is home today hosting Victoria.

Mount Si High School’s boys’ lacrosse team is seen here at Ohio Stadium on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, OH. The team participated in a camp and tournament hosted by the university’s men’s lacrosse program this week. (Facebook photo, Mount Si Lacrosse)

Lacrosse
State champion Wildcat boys compete in major tournament: Mount Si High School’s boys’ lacrosse program, fresh off their first Washington state high school championship, participated in the Buckeye Battle team camp and tournament this week hosted by Ohio State University at their campus in Columbus, OH. The team competed against top national competition and did so with one of the games being played at the famous Ohio Stadium, known as the “Horseshoe,” the 100,000 seat stadium which houses the university’s national powerhouse football team.

The team, in addition to that, got to see the school’s lacrosse facilities, and received instruction from some of the Buckeye players on the finer points of the game, things that will help them excel at the higher levels of the sport the boys all dream of attaining.

27 players including six members of the class of 2023 attended this tournament and the team won two games, lost one and tied a fourth. The players played in front of 32 different college representatives so a lot of opportunity there for guys to get noticed for college recruitment.

Good stuff and a congrats to the guys on their efforts in Columbus this week.

Mount Si boys’ lacrosse wins state title, plus other news on a Sunday……

The rest of the news now. Mount Si High School’s boys lacrosse program last night won its first ever state title, ekeing out a 10-9 win over Kingco 4A rival Skyline in the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association’s title game at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila. Henry Ross and Aidan Landgraf each had four goals for the Wildcats, who pocketed the crown closing out what was a historic 16-1-0 season, their best ever in the history of the program, a program which was started over a decade ago now by then-Valley educator Woody Kiser, and grew into what it is today – as the flagship for a growing youth lacrosse operation in the upper Valley which also now includes a very robust offering for girls. Much of that work was spearheaded by the late Mike Smith, who was a very visionary leader for the lacrosse program for years prior to his 2020 passing.

A congratulations to the boys and their coaching staff, led by head coach Jack Breeden, on this tremendous accomplishment.

Also on this Sunday morning:

State high school track and field meet wraps up
The final day of the Washington high school 2A and 4A track and field meets in Tacoma saw fantastic results for Mount Si and Cedarcrest High School competitors.

On the girls’ side, Mount Si’s Hailey Weir took fourth in the 4A 200m dash, clocking 25.95 seconds, then grabbed third in the 400m with a time of 57.29. The Wildcat 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relays all competed, with the 4×200 doing the best, finishing third in a time of 1:42.81. The 4×400 took sixth clocking 4:02.88, then the 4×100’s were eighth with a time of 49.48. Sophia Kono, Scooby Reid, Gio Hansen and Hailey Weir made up the 4×200 Wildcat unit, with Weir, Hansen, Rachel Arnold and Emily Rodriguez doing the 4×400 race and Hansen, Reid, Kono and Bailey Hall handling the 4×100 duty.

Cedarcrest’s lone girl competitor yesterday was Addy Jenkins, and the freshman took fourth in the 2A 300m hurdles clocking 46.93 seconds. The Mount Si girls finished 11th in the 4A team competition while the Red Wolves, on the strength of Jenkins’ performance, got five points and finished 33rd overall in the 2A standings.

Jake Hall ran a pair of 4A boys’ sprints for Mount Si, taking fourth in both the 100m and 200m in times of 11.09 and 21.93 seconds respectively. Tanner Nelson finished 13th for the Wildcats in the 4A boys’ long jump with a clear of just over 20 feet. Cedarcrest had Ethan Swenson take sixth in the 2A 400m clocking 50.76 seconds and London Haley rounded it out with a 10th place finish in the 2A 3200m in a time of 9:35.23. The Mount Si boys finished 21st as a team in the 4A competition with 10 points while the Red Wolve boys finished 40th with three points.

The track season has now concluded for both schools.

Baseball: Valley’s Marenco to compete for national title
A Mount Si High School grad and his college team will be competing for a national championship.

South Dakota’s Augustana University swept a doubleheader from Minnesota State University yesterday to sweep the best of three series two games to none. Augustana rallied from a 3-0 hole to win the first game 8-3 then made short work of their league rivals from Minnesota 16-2 in the second game to punch the national berth. The games were at home in Sioux Falls, SD.

Junior Spencer Marenco, from North Bend and a 2019 Mount Si HS alum, played in both games for the Vikings. He was 0-2 in the opener and was 0-3 with a sacrifice RBI in the nightcap. He is in his first year with the team after transferring from Yakima Valley College last summer.

Augustana advances to the NCAA Division II College baseball World Series, and this will be next weekend in Cary, NC.

Also:

Friends, former Mount Si teammates square off: Friends and fellow Mount Si High School 2022 grads Jack Berg and Aidan Dougherty faced one another this past Friday during a game at the Northwest Athletic Conference’s postseason baseball tournament for local community college teams. Berg was pitching for Tacoma and faced Linn-Benton’s Dougherty in the ninth inning of the tournament game between the two teams. Berg struck out his fellow Wildcat alumnus and proceeded to get the win on the mound for Tacoma in the 4-2 victory that pushed Linn-Benton, from Albany, OR, into loser-out play; they were eliminated yesterday with a 3-2 loss to Lane CC from Eugene. Dougherty went 1-4 in the game yesterday but was 2-5 with a run scored and RBI in the game against Tacoma on Friday. Both players are from Snoqualmie. Tacoma advanced into the conference title series and that is today at Lower Columbia College in Longview, which is hosting the tournament.

Soccer: North Bend’s Stanton gives the locals something to cheer about at OL Reign game
2009 Mount Si alum Nikki Stanton gave her friends, family and about 7,600 others, some of whom we’re sure were fellow Valleyites, something to celebrate yesterday, as she picked up an assist on a goal for OL Reign as the Seattle team scored a 4-1 home win at Lumen Field in Seattle in National Women’s Soccer League play over West Coast rival Angel City FC from Los Angeles. Stanton, from North Bend, came into the game in the 77th minute to finish out the contest for OL, and five minutes later, served up a ball to teammate Quinn, who finished it for the final goal of the contest for the Reign.

The Reign with the win maintained a share of first place in the league standings with Portland, San Diego and Gotham FC from New York/New Jersey, a team Stanton played for previously when they were known as Sky Blue FC. She is in her second season with the Reign after the team acquired her from the Chicago Red Stars prior to last season.

The Reign host Portland for a 5:00 kickoff Saturday night and that will be nationally televised on the CBS Sports Network, which is available locally in the Valley.

The Lower Valley can call itself home to a state champion, along with news from lacrosse and baseball on a Thursday….

Good Thursday morning. We start with golf and history for Cedarcrest High School as the Duvall school has its first ever individual state high school golf champion this morning.

Senior Charlotte Giffin fired a second straight round of 69 to finish with a six-under par score of 138 and won the Washington 2A high school girls’ individual golf title over at MeadowWood Golf Course outside of Spokane yesterday afternoon. Giffin cruised to the win, taking it by seven shots over runner-up Melia Cerenzia, from West Valley over in Spokane. The tournament proved to be a fitting coronation for a golfer that was the best that CHS has had come through their halls since boys’ golfer Derek Berg had tremendous success for the Red Wolves in the late 1990’s. Giffin will be competing this fall for the golf team at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, and we wish her luck down there.

Teammate Hadley McDonough fired a 92 and finished 33rd overall with a two-day score of 187, 13-over on the par-72 MeadowWood layout. On the strength of Giffin’s fantastic performance, CHS finished fourth as a team in the tournament, with Northwest 2A District rival Sehome winning the team title.

Meanwhile, about 20 minutes west of that course at Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane, Mount Si’s Emma Sheeks faced a little tougher challenge in yesterday’s final round of the 4A girls’ event, firing a 93 and finishing tied for 28th in the tournament with a 30-over par 174 on the par-72 layout. Sheeks was the lone Wildcat of five who competed in the state tournaments this week that made it to the final round yesterday.

The golfers should all be back today from eastern Washington.

Also this morning:

Lacrosse: Mount Si boys to play for first state title Saturday
Cade Kirwin is more known for his assists, but last night, it was his night to shine on the scoresheet, as he was one of two players to record a hat trick of three goals for Mount Si High School’s boys’ lacrosse team, as the Wildcats punched a ticket to their first ever Washington state high school boys lacrosse title game this weekend, beating Eastlake 12-7 in the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association semifinals last night at home in Snoqualmie.

Kirwin also had an assist in the game, and Kendall Saldivar also had a hat trick along with a helper in this one as Mount Si will meet Skyline in the title game. Aidan Landgraf, Henry Ross and Jack Wutherich all had two goals and an assist in this one for the Wildcats, and Henry Ehrnman also had an assist. Ben Magnus stopped nine of 16 shots faced in goal for Mount Si.

The Wildcats and Spartans will meet Saturday night at 7:30 at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila for all the marbles.

Baseball: Valley’s Baunsgard etches his name in history books
Mount Si High School alumnus Troy Baunsgard is now officially part of the Tennessee Tech University baseball record books, as he reached safely in both games Tech played yesterday at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Golden Eagles beat Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville 4-0 then took care of the University of Tennessee-Martin 7-3, both in loser-out games, to advance to the winner’s bracket portion of the NCAA Division I league’s tournament in Marion, IL, today.

Baunsgard’s streak was very much in jeopardy in the first game against Edwardsville, but he was able to reach base on a fielder’s choice in the seventh inning, a play which helped drive in a key run that was part of a three-run frame that helped the Golden Eagles break open that one a bit. The junior, from North Bend and who graduated from Mount Si in 2020, then made his presence felt in the nightcap against Martin, hitting his ninth homer as Tech, despite its sixth overall seed in the tournament, made it into the double-elimination portion of proceedings today giving the Valleyite a shot to break the all-time school record of 50 straight games reaching base safely, which he tied with the two aforementioned at-bats yesterday and now can break the record if he reaches base today in their game. Tech plays the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and that will take place at 1:00 this afternoon.

Also:

G’s season debut: Mount Si High School alumnus Gavin Gorrell had a strong 2023 debut for the Boise Hawks last night as the independent professional baseball team walked it off against their in-state league rivals.

Gorrell, a 2017 MSHS’er from North Bend, pitched three innings out of the bullpen for the Pioneer League’s Hawks, allowing a hit and walk but striking out two without allowing any runs. His efforts set up Boise, who scored the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth to beat the visiting Idaho Falls Chukars 7-6 at home in the Idaho capital to even their season-opening series.

Boise continues its series tonight at home with Idaho Falls. Gorrell is in his second season with the Hawks. He pitched for them last season. The team is managed by his college coach from Boise State University, Gary Van Tol. Those of you who are longtime readers may remember that Gorrell led a player-driven attempt during the COVID lockdowns in 2020 to save the BSU program after the university cut it during the pandemic, an attempt which failed.

The season in the league lasts through September. Teams in this league are located in Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado.

Mason’s college career over: The season – and college career – for Gonzaga University senior Mason Marenco is over after the Bulldogs fell 4-2 last night to Santa Clara University in the West Coast Conference tournament’s first round in Las Vegas. GU’s season ends at a woeful 18-34. Marenco, from North Bend and a 2017 MSHS grad, was 0-4 in his final college game and finished the season hitting .210 on the spring with a homer and six RBI’s in what, until the last about month or so, was relatively limited work. Over his career, he hit .247 with five homers and 59 RBI’s for GU and helped them make a couple of NCAA Tournament appearances along the way. Good stuff there.

Mount Si’s Palmer at work: In his first action since last weekend’s end to the Wildcat season, Mount Si High School’s top hitter to finish the season suited up for his select team, but things did not go well for that squad at all last night in a Seattle Premier League contest.

Brody Palmer was 0-1 but walked twice for Bellevue-based Boys of Summer’s 18U Blue team, as they suffered a blowout 17-2 loss at home in Bellevue to the visitors from Woodinville-based Elevate Northwest, a team featuring a number of guys familiar to both Mount Si and Cedarcrest High School fans. As an example, Talan Zenk, who was one of the top players for Red Wolve Wesco rival Mountlake Terrace this spring, was 0-2, but he walked twice and scored three runs pacing Elevate in this one. Regarding Palmer, he finished the season hitting around .300 as the Wildcats’ top hitter, helping Mount Si to their state regional finish this past weekend against Richland.

BoS will get their season rolling this weekend as one of several teams with either Wildcat or Cedarcrest players competing in the Art Wright Invitational tournament, which marks the unofficial beginning to the summer youth baseball season in our area. Tournament games will be contested at facilities all over the region, including at Sirius Sports Complex in North Bend, so with that in mind, be prepared for potential traffic impacts as a result if you will be out and about around that location on SR 202 between North Bend and Snoqualmie. BoS will not be competing at Sirius.

Talking baseball and lacrosse……

Time now for the news on this Friday morning. Mount Si High School’s baseball team will be hitting the road later today to head over to the Tri-Cities for their state regional high school baseball playoff game tomorrow. The 4A regional game sees the Wildcats once again meet Richland High School, as they did last year, in the contest. The game begins at 1:00. There will be a webstream of some kind of the game; we will be checking with the school on what the plan will be later this morning and we will advise you on our Twitter feed @snovaleysports, so if you will not be able to go but want to see the contest, we will have the information on the streaming there for you.

The school will be holding a formal send-off for the team this morning, then the squad, as was the case last year, will be treated to the police and fire escort that has increasingly become common for Mount Si teams going to state. The Wildcat team bus will be escorted out to I-90 by Snoqualmie Police and Fire Department crews; the scheduled departure for the team will be around 11 this morning, shortly after the end of regular classes at 10:40am on this normal half-day in the Snoqualmie Valley School District, so the kids will not be missing any academic time as a result of the trip.

The team this afternoon will be practicing at an unknown location in the Tri-Cities and will be spending the night over in Richland; the team’s hotel is not known. However, as we mentioned on Tuesday, the Hampton Inn downtown has been used in the past by Mount Si athletics when teams have been over there competing, so it is possible that they are there again this year. We will keep you posted. Preview and our pick tomorrow in the Journal.

For Mount Si fans leaving this morning: If you plan on heading out this morning and want something to do later this afternoon when you get over there, the Northwest Athletic Conference, the local league for community colleges in Washington, is holding a baseball regional playoff over at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, about a 10-minute drive across the Columbia River from Richland. All of the teams competing in this weekend’s event feature Wildcat grads.

The tournament features Skagit Valley College from Mount Vernon, Pierce College from Tacoma and host Columbia Basin. Skagit’s roster includes pitcher Dawson Schneider, a sophomore and 2021 Mount Si alum, while Pierce features outfielder Ryan Gerlitz, a 2022 Wildcat alum who was part of last year’s state tournament run for Mount Si, and Columbia Basin includes infielder Chris Jarocki, like Gerlitz a 2022 Wildcat alum. All three guys are from Snoqualmie.

The tournament starts at noon with Skagit taking on Pierce, and the winner will meet Columbia Basin in the first game of a best-of-three series at 4:30 p.m., and the potential two other games are tomorrow. Games are at the college’s field off I-182 in Pasco. From Richland and your hotel, take exit 12B off the freeway, turn left on 20th Avenue going north toward the airport. You will reach Argent Road. Going straight takes you onto the airport drive, turning left takes you toward the college. Turn left, head west on Argent until you reach Farm Road. This may be hard to spot so pay close attention to the signs. Turn left here and head south. You will see the field and a driveway on your right. Turn right into the driveway as this will access the main field parking on the other side of the field from the road. Admission is expected to be charged so be prepared to pay admission to get in over there.

Marenco’s have a grand old day: The day yesterday was fantastic for the Marenco family from North Bend. Wildcat alums Spencer and Mason both homered, a rare feat for them, in their games yesterday.

Spencer’s homer was first, during Augustana University’s NCAA Division II regional playoff game with Ouachita Baptist University. The junior hit it out in the fourth, and the 2019 Mount Si grad also tripled in the game. Those efforts helped the Vikings win 5-3 and advance in the regional, where they meet host Central Missouri University tonight. The MIAA Network, a streaming network which is available on phones, tablets and set-top devices, will have the game at 4:00 this afternoon.

Mason then homered last night, with the senior, playing for Gonzaga University, hitting his first homer for the Zags since 2021 and his fifth all-time as a collegian. The 2017 Mount Si grad’s efforts proved not to be enough though, as host Santa Clara University stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk off and stun GU 5-4 in the opening game of a three-game series down in northern California that will close the regular season for both teams. Mason finished 1-3 with that run and RBI from the homer and is hitting a season-best .235. Mason for most of this season has seen limited action, but has started the past six games for the Bulldogs as they look to make a late-season push into the postseason.

GU’s series continues tonight.

Lacrosse: Mount Si boys host playoff opener tomorrow
Mount Si High School’s boys’ lacrosse team will be playing in its playoff opener tomorrow. The team, which is top-seeded in the Washington High School Boys’ Lacrosse Association’s playoffs, hosts Puyallup for the quarterfinal round game. It begins at 2:30 p.m. at Mount Si High School’s stadium in Snoqualmie. Playoffs in the league are loser out, so if Mount Si wins, they will advance to the semifinals next Wednesday night, likely at home, against the winner of a game tonight between Eastlake and Glacier Peak. The state title game is next weekend at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

We’ll have coverage of this for you on Sunday here in the Journal.

Large contingent of Valley men and women take on the challenge of running at Bloomsday, plus the rest of the weekend wrap!

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+.

News for your Saturday……

Good Saturday morning. Our package of news items this morning begins with some lacrosse.

Mount Si High School’s boys’ lacrosse team is cruising into postseason on the right note. The Wildcats pounded Bothell 16-1 last night at home inside Mount Si’s stadium in Snoqualmie in their regular season finale anchored by five goals and an assist from Aidan Landgraf. Jack Wutherich added four more tallies along with a helper, and Cade Kirwin had eight assists in addition to a goal of his own. Henry Ehrnman had three goals and goals were also scored by Henry Ross, Reeves Godley and Gabe Henry. Goalie Ben Magnus made nine saves on 10 shots faced.

The Wildcats finish the regular season with a 10-0 league record, 16-1 overall, and will advance into the playoffs next week. Information about that is to be announced. We’ll keep you posted.

Also, Mount Si’s girls finished out the regular season Thursday night with a 19-7 win at home in Snoqualmie over Holy Names to end a three-game losing streak and finish the regular season at .500, 5-5-2. Alexa Coughran had seven goals and two assists in the game and moved into the team lead on the season in goals with 38, a fantastic season for that young lady. Campbell Vincent had five goals and Alex Kremer added four more to provide the lion share of the Wildcat offense in this one. Goals were also scored by Julia Stanley, Isabel Phalen and Sophia Recchi, with Stanley and Coughran both adding two assists each and Regan Walters pitching in three.

Mount Si finished in a tie for third in the Snoqualmie Conference of the Washington Schoolgirls’ Lacrosse Association and should be in the playoffs. Schedule for that will be announced later but it is likely the Wildcats will be on the road for their first playoff game. We’ll also keep you posted.

College note:

Colorado Mesa women win playoff opener, advance to title game: The NCAA Division II Mavericks beat the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs 14-6 in Denver last night to advance to tomorrow’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title game against host school Regis. The winner of the game would earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II national women’s lacrosse tournament. Sophomore Emme Rezoski, of Duvall, saw action in the game, and did very well on defense. She won seven faceoffs and forced one turnover for Mesa in the game. Tomorrow’s clash with the host Rangers is at 11am our time and should be available for streaming on the RMAC’s digital app.

Also this morning:

Track: Mount Si, Cedarcrest distance runners compete against one another at Liberty Twilight
The best high school distance runners from the Valley competed against each other – and a quality field from around the Puget Sound area – last night at Liberty High School in Renton in their annual Liberty Twilight meet.

Valley high schools were represented in all four races that were contested as part of the event – boys and girls’ 1600m and 3200m races. Most were in the 1600m. On the boys’ side, Cedarcrest’s London Haley led the local delegation, taking 15th in that race, clocking four minutes, 27.19 seconds. Andrew Krejci led the Mount Si group, finishing 24th with a time of 4:33.78. Red Wolves Nate Bergman and Brooks Sammarco along with Wildcats Rowan Stannard and Neal Veduapalli were among the runners from our community competing in that race.

The girls’ 1600m saw Mount Si’s Hailey Cossey finish seventh leading the local group in that race. She clocked 5:05.45 and was the best-placing Valley high school runner in any of the races. Cedarcrest was led by Lydia Swenson, who finished 25th in a time of 5:32.16. Also competing in the races for local schools included Red Wolves Avery Zlateff, Sierra Swart, Cassidy Moon and Elise Luoto, along with Wildcats Aleeya Cossey, Zoe Hendricks and Molly Cooney.

In the 3200m, the three Valley boys’ entrants stayed close together in this one. Cedarcrest’s Caleb Tobing and Mount Si’s Dallen Jensen finished an eyelash apart in the race, Tobing clocking 11:00.06 to take 33rd, and Jensen six-tenths of a second behind in 34th. Right behind them was Mount Si’s Nate Dillon, who clocked 11:10.62 and finished 37th. The lone Valley rep in the girls’ 3200m, Wildcat Brooke McBride, fared well, finishing 13th in a time of 12:37.29.

Postseason meets for both schools are next week.

Softball: Mount Si locked into final playoff spot after blowout loss in regular season finale
Mount Si High School’s softball ladies will be going to the Kingco Tournament as the eighth and final seed into the event, after the Wildcats finished the regular season on a very down note last night, being blasted by Skyline 22-4 at Skyline High School in a run-rule result after five innings. Finley Caringer, Nazli Chavez and Kaelani Randle were a three-girl wrecking crew in this one for the Spartans, with the trio combining to go 8-11 with three doubles, five runs scored and 10 RBI’s as Skyline finished the season 14-4 in league, 17-4 overall and in second place. Anna Braukus homered for Mount Si, who finishes its regular season 6-12, 7-14 respectively.

Mount Si will meet the fifth seed, either Inglemoor or Woodinville, to open the playoffs next Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Inglemoor High School in Kenmore.

In other Kingco 4A action to close out the regular season, courtesy of our friends at GameChanger and their TeamManager app:

Eastlake 22, Newport 1: Audrey Borup and Mia Atkins homered for Eastlake as they locked up third in league with the win over the last-place Knights. Atkins tripled as well, all part of a strong 4-5 afternoon which saw her score three runs and drive in five more Wolves. Pitcher Lindsay Ferguson fired a one-hitter striking out nine for Eastlake, who finished 11-7 in league, 11-9 overall. Newport’s season ends at 3-15, 5-15 respectively.

Bothell 12, Woodinville 2: Brooke Baker hit two homers for the Cougars as they finished the regular season undefeated at 18-0 league, 20-0 overall with their win over the Falcons. Maya Bell also homered for the Cougars, who open their playoff push on Monday night potentially against this same Woodinville crew, who took a share of fourth overall in the conference with a 10-8 league record, 11-9 overall. Taryn Bennett allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits in the circle for Bothell in a strong complete-game effort. She struck out 16.

North Creek 12, Redmond 11: The Jaguars were cruising before Redmond mounted a furious comeback in the seventh inning in their game last night up in Snohomish County, scoring seven runs in the frame but falling just short as North Creek threw a monkey wrench into the Mustangs’ playoff plans with the result. Emma Gochenour homered for the Jaguars, whose season finishes at 5-13 in league and overall, while Natalia Farago doubled, walked three times, scored a run and drove in two more for Redmond, who now has to wait out today’s Issaquah-Inglemoor game to determine their playoff fate. They’re in, with a 7-11 league and 8-12 overall mark, but their seeding will be influenced by the other game’s result. If the Eagles win, they and the Mustangs will likely have to coin flip for the seeding as both teams would finish tied for sixth in league. An Inglemoor win would tie them with Woodinville for fourth and a coin flip would also likely have to occur in that scenario.

Baseball: North Bend’s Baunsgard chips in for college team win
North Bend’s Troy Baunsgard went 1-4 with a walk and scored two runs as Tennessee Tech University’s baseball squad pounded out a 14-9 win last night at home in Cookeville, TN, over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Baunsgard, a 2020 Mount Si HS grad, is in his first year with Tech and is a junior this spring. The Golden Eagles will play two today to close out their series, as they are trying to beat forecasted inclement weather tomorrow.

Also:

GU falls at home: The Bulldogs dropped a 12-3 decision at home in Spokane last night to St. Mary’s College of California. Senior Mason Marenco, from North Bend and a 2017 Mount Si HS grad, was 1-1 with a run. Their series continues tonight over in the Lilac City.

A Mount Si football mini-reunion with a little lacrosse flavor…..

Longtime Mount Si High School football defensive coordinator Wayne Lewis (left) and Wildcat program alum Hank Van Liew (right) enjoy some lunch together yesterday at a restaurant in the Minneapolis area. Lewis was in town to watch his daughter Tessa play with the Southwestern University (TX) women’s lacrosse team, and Van Liew, a 2011 MSHS alum, now lives in Minnesota. (Courtesy photo)

Time to talk a little college lacrosse on this Sunday and wrap up this past week for local athletes.

We, however, start with a little football flavor to the segment. There was a Mount Si High School football reunion of sorts this weekend back in the Twin Cities, and lacrosse is tied into it. Longtime Wildcat defensive coordinator Wayne Lewis and 2011 alum Hank Van Liew, a star linebacker for Mount Si in his high school days under Lewis and former head coach Charlie Kinnune, met up for lunch yesterday in Minneapolis and talked old times we’re sure. Lewis was in town to watch his daughter, Tessa, compete for Southwestern University of Texas’s women’s lacrosse squad in a game against Augsburg College. More on that in a moment.

Van Liew, following his Mount Si days, played collegiately for Concordia University in Moorhead, MN, and his success over four years with that school helped form a pipeline which still exists to this day of Mount Si alums going there to play ball. Currently, lineman Collin Fleisch and defensive back Stuart DeMerit make up the Wildcat alum representation on the Cobbers, which are an NCAA Division III school.

Good stuff for sure. Now, about how Tessa did yesterday…..

Southwestern (TX) women 20, Augsburg 4: The Pirates closed out the regular season in Minneapolis rolling over the host Augsburg side. Tessa Lewis, who is a Mount Si grad, started in goal and picked up her 10th win of the season, allowing goals on all three shots she faced, but that proved to be not an issue as the Bucs scored 10 goals of their own in the first quarter to put this one away. The Lewis’s live in Snoqualmie.

Elsewhere:

Limestone men 18, Coker 7: Snoqualmie’s Chris Haycock pocketed his second goal of the season for the Saints as the third-ranked team in NCAA Division II rolled to an easy home win in Gaffney, SC, yesterday. Haycock’s goal came in the third quarter, and follows the goal he scored March 30 against Mars Hill. Limestone is now 13-1 on the season. He is a Mount Si HS grad.

North Central (IL) 9, Elmhurst men 8: NCC’s Nick Rubino scored with under five minutes in regulation lifting the hosts to the home win over the visiting Blue Jays outside of Chicago yesterday. Elmhurst was without top scorer Ben Luke. Luke, from North Bend, was out for reasons unknown for the Blue Jays in the contest.

Linfield women 18, Pacific(OR) 7: This is shaping up to be a special weekend for the Rezoski family from Duvall. On the eve of her final home match as a collegian today, Linfield’s Maia Rezoski scored five goals and added three assists pacing the Wildcats to a road win over the Boxers yesterday in Forest Grove, OR. Maia’s special day comes up at 1:00 this afternoon and Linfield hosts Willamette in the contest, which you can see on Linfield’s sports app and webstream channel, which is available on phones, tablets and Roku.

Colorado Mesa women 12, Colorado College 5 (Fri., exhibition): Mesa rolled into Colorado Springs on Friday and blasted CC’s ladies with the help of Maia Rezoski’s sister Emme. Emme had an assist for the Mavericks as they won their fifth straight. The game replaced one with Adams State University that was scheduled for yesterday, but canceled after Adams forfeited the match following that university’s sudden decision to terminate their program this past week.

Wingate 15, Mount Olive (NC) women 3 (Fri.): The Trojans fell on the road on Friday to their conference rivals. Senior Chaija Olsson, from Snoqualmie and a Mount Si HS grad, started on defense for UMO in this one and recorded a couple of ground balls and two forced turnovers among her stats defensively in the contest.

Wisconsin-River Falls 19, Southwestern (TX) women 7 (Fri): The Pirates opened their Twin Cities trip late Friday with a road loss to the River Falls ladies in Wisconsin. Lewis started in goal for Southwestern in this one and allowed eight goals on 11 shots faced in the opening quarter, and took the loss.

Colorado Mesa women 17, Fort Lewis (CO) 10 (Thu.): The Mavericks traveled down Highway 550 to Durango, CO, and left with a conference win this past Thursday over host FLC. Emme Rezoski played in the game for CMU with two shots recorded; neither of which resulted in goals for the former Mount Si lacrosse player (CHS has no girls’ lacrosse team, so she was allowed to play with Mount Si’s team as a high school player).