Annual E-Prizes go to the best

Prep sports fans had plenty of reasons to smile during 2010-11.

We saw plenty of inspiring performances, some of which resulted in the highest reward of all: a state championship. The sting of the lows were lessened because of the character and grace shown by athletes and coaches during trying times.

This year saw major changes for the four schools in the Edmonds School District as coaches departed, athletes graduated and schools found themselves in new leagues.

We also weren't immune to changes as last April The Enterprise changed its name to The Weekly Herald and refocused its attention on its core readership in Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.

Tradition, however, is a pretty big deal for The Weekly Herald's sports department and we're glad to announce that the annual review of the year in prep sports, also known as the prestigious E-prizes, continues. We're proud of our “Enterprise” heritage.

So without further delay, here are the E-prizes presented by the Weekly Herald's sports department.

Male Athletes of the Year: Edmonds-Woodway's Ryan DeWeese and Alec Fellows. You'd be hard-pressed to find two more soft-spoken athletes than DeWeese and Fellows. But don't let their seemingly quiet demeanor fool you. The two Warriors are truly warriors when it comes to the field of athletic competition. The two seniors came into the season as favorites in their respective sports and performed superbly under incredible pressure. DeWeese took first place in the 130-pound division at the Class 4A state wrestling championships. Fellows, arguably the most talented track and field athlete in Edmonds-Woodway High School history, said that in order to be a good decathlete you don't necessarily have to be great at any one particular event because you can compensate in nine other events. Well, Fellows just happens to be pretty good at the 110-meter high hurdles and he demonstrated his skill by finishing first at the Class 4A state track and field championships. Fellows finished more than a half second ahead of his closest rival, an almost unheard of margin of victory in a sprint event. Fellows came into the meet with the fastest time in the state but stumbled out of the blocks in the preliminaries. He recovered to qualify for the finals and then blew away the field. Look for big things from Fellows as he competes in the decathlon at the University of Oregon.

Female Athlete of the Year: Edmonds-Woodway's Amia Nash. She was a triple threat, the likes of which the Warriors may not see again for a long, long time. Though she is headed to Santa Clara University in California on a track and field scholarship, Nash showed that she is more than just a runner. During her senior year, Nash advanced to state in all three of her sports: cross country, basketball and track and field. Girls basketball coach Duane Hodges described Nash as one of the fastest, if not the fastest, player in the league. Nash made her biggest impression in track and field with a three-medal performance at last spring's state championships. She finished fourth in the 400-meter race, eighth in the 200 and helped the Warriors take fifth place in the 800 relay. What a way to wrap up your high school athletic career.

Teams of the Year: Jackson volleyball. The Weekly Herald discontinued its coverage of Mill Creek's Jackson High School earlier this spring, but this fall we saw senior Leigh-Ann Haataja lead the Timberwolves to their first-ever volleyball championship at the Class 4A state tournament. Haataja, who earned Most Valuable Player honors, helped Jackson past defending champion Mead in the semifinals and then powered her team to a stunning three-set victory over Issaquah in the title contest. First-year Wolfpack coach Amy Allen declared that Haataja was “probably the best volleyball player to come through Jackson High School.”

Runners-up: Edmonds-Woodway girls basketball, Jackson baseball. Archbishop Murphy football. The Warriors came into the season as one of the favorites in Class 4A girls basketball. It's not hard to see why since Edmonds-Woodway returned five starters from a team that placed fifth in 2010. But after dropping a first-round district playoff game, the Warriors had a mountain to climb to advance to state this year. Edmonds-Woodway had to win six straight loser-out games in order to make it to the Tacoma Dome, and that's exactly what they did. Perhaps all those pressure-packed contests took their toll on the players because Edmonds-Woodway went two-and-out at the Class 4A tournament. Sometimes it's the journey that matters the most, though. Edmonds-Woodway coach Duane Hodges definitely felt that way after wrapping up a 49-9 run the last two years. “All the girls that I had a chance to work with, not just the seniors, were just marvelous,” Hodges said. “They had a great attitude. I really enjoy coaching at Edmonds-Woodway. I told them one of the best parts of my day is to walk into the gym for practice.”

Ever since the Timberwolves won the school's first baseball title in 2006, fans were waiting for a follow-up run. They got it this season as Jackson advanced to the Class 4A title game only to fall a run short in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Bothell. The Wolfpack led 1-0 going into the top of the seventh but gave up three runs. Then in the bottom of the inning, Jackson rallied for one run and had the tying run on second base before the Cougars finally recorded the third out. If there was ever a coach who would be able to help his players get over such a devastating loss it was Jackson's Kirk Nicholson. “I think we are a great team and I think we played great,” Nicholson said after the game. “I've got no problem with my kids and how we played. I think we did a great job and we played a great team; they beat us and they beat us legitimately, so I got no problem. It's just baseball, just another day at the yard, that's the way it's supposed to be.”

Archbishop Murphy came into the Class 2A state football championship game as the favorites but the Wildcats' season ended in disappointment when Tumwater prevailed 34-14. The loss could have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the players, who started the season with 13 straight victories and outscored their opponents 177-70 in the four previous playoff games. But the Wildcats took the loss in stride. “I'm so happy,” Archbishop Murphy senior co-captain Austin VanderWel said. “I'm very, very satisfied with the way this season went and the way we kept our heads up. ... Win or lose, whatever -- we're fine, we're happy. Everybody's going to go home and live another day.” We wish all athletes have that sort of perspective.

Game of the Year: Edmonds-Woodway beats Jackson 52-51 in a Western Conference 4A South Division football clash. The Oct. 1 game featured just about everything you could imagine in a classic high school football game. Edmonds-Woodway's Zack Berg rushed for 211 yards and four touchdowns. The game was delayed for about 20 minutes when an Edmonds-Woodway player was injured on a punt return. With the Warriors seemingly in control with a 45-37 lead with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter, Jackson quarterback Sam Brown threw an 80-yard touchdown to Kyle Olson and Traishawn Patrick's 2-point run tied the score and sent the game into overtime. After Edmonds-Woodway took a 7-point lead in overtime, the Timberwolves responded with a touchdown and then Jackson coach Joel Vincent decided to go for the win with a 2-point run attempt. Patrick was stopped by three Warriors and Edmonds-Woodway emerged with a thrilling victory. In a game that saw 103 points scored, a defensive play was responsible for the margin of victory.

Athletes to Watch: Meadowdale's Anna Keane. Archbishop Murphy's Alec Barnard. Keane, a freshman, made waves at the Class 3A state girls swimming championships with a pair of second place finishes in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles. Keane's bloodlines are pretty impressive as three older siblings – two brothers and a sister – all were state participants. Keane might just be the best swimmer in the family, though. Keane didn't expect to do as well as she did. “I think it was an amazing experience, especially watching my older siblings come here year after year after year and just wanting to be down there with them,” Keane said.

Barnard, a sophomore, had the kind of sophomore season swimmers dream about. The Archbishop Murphy standout went undefeated during the regular season and then came from behind in both of his races to win the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly at the Class 2A state championships. Barnard became the first Wildcat to defend a state title (he won the 200 freestyle as a freshman) and to win two state crowns. We're excited to see what the next two years will bring.

Better Late Than Never: Lynnwood's Nate Schmidt. During the first three years at high school, Schmidt played soccer in the spring. This year he decided to return to a sport he had not participated in since middle school: track and field. The results were spectacular as Schmidt excelled in his chosen event, the 400-meter race. Schmidt recorded the top times in the league and district and advanced to the Class 3A state meet, where he finished fifth overall. Schmidt plans to continue his track career at Western Washington University. “Not bad for a rookie,” joked Lynnwood coach Duane Lewis.

Athlete We'll Miss: Jackson's Brett Kingma. If there's been a better pure shooter than Kingma, we haven't seen him. The Jackson guard almost single-handedly led the Timberwolves to a 70-67 victory over Auburn in a game that clinched a second straight state boys basketball berth for the Wolfpack. In a pressure packed last 30 seconds of the game, Kingma calmly sank five straight free throws. The University of Oregon-bound Kingma also collected two key rebounds in the final seconds to preserve the victory. Despite an off-shooting night, Kingma still scored a team-high 26 points. Kingma did all of this while limping on an ankle he rolled twice in the second half. We're eager to see the Jackson graduate take his game to the next level.

Coach We'll Miss: Meadowdale boys basketball coach Chad McGuire. Though he resigned to spend more time with his family this spring, we expect to see McGuire back coaching on the sidelines at some point in the future. McGuire is simply too good of a coach not to be out there molding young minds. In his nine years as head coach, McGuire led the Mavericks to the state tournament five times and Meadowdale took home trophies in four of those appearances. Prior to his arrival, Meadowdale had qualified for state only once.

High School We'll Miss: These are tough times for newspapers and The Weekly Herald had to make a difficult decision earlier this year to discontinue its Mill Creek edition and as a consequence coverage of Jackson High School. Though theoretically having one less school to cover made the sports department's life a little easier, we definitely miss following the Timberwolves. Jackson High School produced some of the most compelling athletes we've had the privilege to write about throughout the years. The coaches, from top to bottom, also were first-rate individuals. The sports department would like to extend a high-five to all the past and present Jackson High School athletes and coaches.