| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008 2:20 pm |
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 Releasing aggression in style The difference between throwing a shot put and a discus is simple, Kirsten Smith told me last week. Launching the shot put is uncontrolled aggression and unleashing the discus is controlled aggression, said Smith, a senior thrower on the Everett High School track and field team. Sometimes dumping your frustration into a powerful shot heave is especially comforting, she said: "It depends if you're in a bad mood." Smith, who also throws the javelin, is one of the top Class 3A competitors in Washington. She hopes to qualify for the state championships in three events for the second consecutive year. To read more about her click here. One particularly funny thing about Smith: For the most important competitions she uses a special pink disc. She named it Miss Pretty. Smith protects Miss Pretty like a loved one. Said Smith of the beloved disc, "It sleeps on my bed." ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
A humbling experience There was no grin. Not even a hint of a smile. I thought Andrew Watters would surely show some excitement last night after his baseball team won a riveting extra-inning battle at Everett Memorial Stadium. But Watters, who coaches Mountlake Terrace, was pretty stone-faced after his Hawks outlasted Shorewood 5-4 in nine innings. The triumph clinched a Class 4A state tournament berth for Terrace, which will play Marysville-Pilchuck for the District 1 title 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial. Why did Watters seem so serious after the game last night versus Shorewood? Probably because both teams played well enough to win. In the end, Terrace barely had enough to move on. “To be quite honest with you, I don’t think anybody deserved to lose that game,” Watters said, with a look of relief on his face. “I actually feel bad for the Shorewood guys who battled so hard. I’m humbled by a game like that because it’s been so hard to get to the state tournament.” Terrace, ranked No. 10 in the final Washington High School Baseball Class 4A Poll, will try to win the first district championship in program history Saturday, Watters said. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Final baseball rankings of the season Now that the postseason is underway, baseball action is getting more intense. Lem Elway added to the excitement by releasing his final Washington High School Baseball Poll of the year earlier today. In Class 4A, Snohomish and Mountlake Terrace are ranked. If they win tonight they’ll play for the District 1 championship 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium. I’ve seen both teams in the past week. They’re loaded with pitching, defense and talented hitters. Snohomish, the 2007 state runnerup, has a major edge in playoff experience though. In 2A, Lakewood and Cedarcrest of the Cascade Conference made it into the rankings. Here are the complete rankings. Washington High School Baseball Poll Released Tuesday. Compiled by Lem Elway. Class 4A 1. Richland (19-1) 2. Redmond (18-2) 3. University (18-2) 4. Olympia (19-2) 5. Kentlake (16-4) 6. Snohomish (17-4) 7. Battle Ground (15-4) 8. Puyallup (17-4) 9. Tahoma (15-5) 10. Mountlake Terrace (15-6) Class 3A 1. Eastside Catholic (20-1) 2. Kelso (20-1) 3. Ferndale (16-2) 4. Skyline (15-5) 5. Blanchet (18-2) 6. Bonney Lake (15-5) 7. Timberline (15-4) 8. Capital (15-3) 9. Mt. Rainier (18-3) 10. Southridge (11-5) Class 2A 1. Sehome (17-2) 2. Selah (16-2) 3. W.F. West (16-1) 4. Fife (16-2) 5. Mark Morris (16-4) 6. River Ridge (15-3) 7. West Valley, Spokane (15-4) 8. East Valley, Yakima (15-4) 9. Lakewood (17-4) 10. Cedarcrest (16-5) Class 1A 1. Friday Harbor (17-0) 2. Kiona-Benton (17-1) 3. Freeman (16-1) 4. Tenino (13-2) 5. Kalama (15-2) 6. Naches (15-3) 7. Orting (15-4) 8. Rochester (16-3) 9. Brewster (14-6) 10. Lakeside (13-6) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Let's try this again Crummy weather (surprise!) wiped out the start of the district baseball playoffs Saturday. It meant I wasn't able to cover the Class 4A first-round game between South No. 1 seed Mountlake Terrace and North No. 4 seed Stanwood. The 4A games were all bumped to today, which means I'm about to drive to Terrace. Hopefully I'll see some baseball. The weather seems to be cooperating today ... so far. Scheduled to pitch for Terrace is senior Jake Theis, a Washington State University recruit. A year ago I watched Theis get off to an excellent start in a first-round district clash against Lake Stevens. He limited Lake Stevens to one run through six innings and Terrace led 2-1 entering the final half-inning. But Lake Stevens rallied and won 3-2. Can Theis and the Hawks erase that disappointing memory with a win today against Stanwood? ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
The Battle for Everett superiority The annual Everett School District track and field meet, also known as the Everett City Championships, is today. Boys and girls from Cascade, Everett and Jackson will get started at 4 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium. On the line, of course, are city bragging rights. This year a format change makes the meet more meaningful: Coaches agreed to combine the boys and girls team scores of each school to crown a true city champion, Everett boys track coach Doug Hall said. Another unique quirk: The meet’s final event will be a co-ed 4-by-400-meter relay. To me, the most intriguing event will be the boys 400 (4-by-100) relay. Cascade and Everett are both ranked among the top five in the state, according to Athletic.net. Cascade's team - Paul Heer, Derek Sepe, Julian Willis and Lorne Bridgford - is No. 2 with a season-best time of 42.86 seconds. Everett is fifth (43.19). The Seagulls' runners are J Hopkins, Rendel Jones, Nick Thomas and Joe Giesick. Maybe the city rivalry can push the squads to a state-best time. The current leader is Todd Beamer (42.74). ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
The Herald jinx? You’ve probably heard of the so-called Madden curse: NFL players who have appeared on the cover of the well-known “Madden” football video game over the years have an alarming history of getting hurt. Sometimes I wonder if there’s a Herald curse. Every once in a while I write about outstanding local student-athletes and soon after that they suffer a serious injury or a surprising defeat. It’s all just coincidence, of course. But last week I couldn’t help but feel guilty that I somehow jinxed Ivana Krommelova, a star tennis player from Arlington High School. On April 22 I drove to Arlington and watched Krommelova play a match against Jennifer Jansen of Oak Harbor. I was working on a story about Krommelova, an exchange student from Slovakia who hadn’t lost a game all season — she won her first eight matches 6-0, 6-0. But her impressive streak ended the day I showed up to watch her. Obviously, other factors — Jansen’s ability, gusty wind, Krommelova feeling sick that day, etc. — led to the outcome, not my presence. I still felt a little guilty though. … I wonder if John Madden ever does. To learn more about Krommelova, who is undefeated and hopes to win a Class 3A state championship, click here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
New baseball rankings A beautiful, sunny day. Two accurate, focused starting pitchers. A high-stakes game between a pair of top-10 baseball teams. That was the scenario yesterday when I covered the Western Conference North Division clash between Monroe and Snohomish. Fueled by pitcher Derek Jones’ three-hit shutout and a three-run fifth inning outburst, Snohomish won 3-0. To read more about the game click here. The teams play again today, but their seeding for the Class 4A District 1 tournament, which starts Saturday, has already been determined: Snohomish will be the North No. 1 seed, Monroe the North No. 2 seed. Both teams get to host a first-round game. How will Snohomish and Monroe perform in the postseason. We’ll know soon enough. For now, take a look at where the two North Division teams are in the latest state baseball poll. Washington High School Baseball Poll Released Monday. Compiled by Lem Elway. Records through last week. Class 4A 1. Richland (13-1) 2. Redmond (16-2) 3. University (15-2) 4. Olympia (17-2) 5. Puyallup (16-3) 6. Snohomish (15-3) 7. Kentlake (15-3) 8. Monroe (15-3) 9. Battle Ground (15-6) 10. Mead (15-2) Class 3A 1. Blanchet (17-0) 2. Eastside Catholic (17-1) 3. Kelso (20-0) 4. Mt. Rainier (17-2) 5. Skyline (14-4) 6. Ferndale (14-4) 7. Timberline (13-3) 8. Capital (12-1) 9. Issaquah (10-7) 10. Southridge (11-5) Class 2A 1. Sehome (16-2) 2. River Ridge (13-2) 3. Selah (15-2) 4. W.F. West (15-1) 5. Burlington-Edison (13-4) 6. Fife (13-2) 7. Mark Morris (12-4) 8. W. Valley, Spokane (13-4) 9. East Valley, Yakima (13-4) 10. Eatonville (14-4) Class 1A 1. Friday Harbor (14-0) 2. Kiona-Benton (15-1) 3. Freeman (13-0) 4. Tenino (11-2) 5. Naches (14-2) 6. Rochester (13-4) 7. Lakeside (13-5) 8. Lakewood (15-4) 9. River View (13-5) 10. Brewster (10-5) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Joey Bywater is back It hasn't been an easy senior year for Joey Bywater. The talented distance runner from Lake Stevens High suffered from a foot injury this past fall, which he said affected his performance during cross country season. But after taking some time off and changing his training routine, Bywater appears to be back. Last weekend he won the 3,200-meter race at the Pasco Invitational, which is generally considered a preview of the state championships. Bywater used a late surge to pass Mead's Kelly Lynch and win in 9 minutes, 23.07 seconds. Through last week, it was the second-fastest time in the state this season, according to Washington Track Weekly. It was the first 3,200 of the season for Bywater, who had been running shorter events earlier this season. He said the victory was an important confidence-booster; it assured him that his training routine is working. After dealing with the foot injury, Bywater started running fewer miles and incorporating more low-impact exercises, like using a stationary bike and swimming. Bywater, a University of Washington recruit, said he's excited to see what he can do the rest of the year. He is the defending Class 4A state champion in the 1,600 and the 3,200. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
New baseball rankings Snohomish and Jackson both dropped in this week’s Class 4A Washington High School Baseball Poll. Snohomish slipped from fourth to fifth, and Jackson dropped two spots to No. 7. The only other local team in the rankings is Cedarcrest. The No. 9 Red Wolves rose one spot in the 2A poll. Washington High School Baseball Poll Released Monday. Compiled by Lem Elway. Records through last week. Class 4A 1. Puyallup (15-1) 2. Richland (9-1) 3. Redmond (14-2) 4. Mead (13-1) 5. Snohomish (13-2) 6. University (12-2) 7. Jackson (11-2) 8. Woodinville (11-4) 9. Kentlake (13-2) 10. Olympia (13-2) Class 3A 1. Blanchet (13-0) 2. Eastside Catholic (14-1) 3. Mt. Rainier (15-1) 4. Kelso (15-0) 5. Capital (10-1) 6. Liberty (9-5) 7. West Valley, Yakima (8-3) 8. Skyline (10-4) 9. Ferndale (13-2) 10. Southridge (8-2) Class 2A 1. Ellensburg (13-1) 2. River Ridge (11-1) 3. West Valley, Spokane (11-1) 4. W.F. West (12-1) 5. Sehome (13-2)) 6. Selah (12-3) 7. Cheney (10-3) 8. Lynden (12-4) 9. Cedarcrest (12-5) 10. Eatonville (11-3) Class 1A 1. Friday Harbor (12-0) 2. Kiona-Benton (11-1) 3. Freeman (9-0) 4. Tenino (9-1) 5. Naches (12-2) 6. Warden (12-1) 7. Rochester (7-2) 8. Lakeside (11-3) 9. River View (10-3) 10. Cascade (10-6) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Eason Invite canceled For the first time in its 20-year history, the Eason Invite has been canceled. The cause, of course, was the snowy, cold weather. Meet director Tuck Gionet decided to cancel the meet at about 4:45 a.m. this morning. The invite was expected to include more than 1,100 athletes from about 50 teams competing in 39 events at Snohomish High School. Here is the content of an e-mail Gionet sent to coaches and officials at 5:21 a.m.: Good morning I regret to inform all of you that the 2008 Eason Invitational has been cancelled. There is 2” of snow on the track and 3” of snow in the throwing and warmup areas. The forecast for 10:00 AM is light snow/rain mix. The problems that we face are snow removal as well as conditions in the throwing areas that are not acceptable. There is also no place for athletes to adequately warm up for their events. The forecast throughout the day also is not conducive to having your athletes be out all day for a meet. Thanks for your time and I appreciate your understanding. Tuck Gionet Snohomish HS It's unclear if the Eason Invite will be rescheduled. Gionet said there's a chance he'll move it to May 3. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Thoughts from a hall-of-famer On Wednesday former Snohomish football star (and 1981 NFL first-round draft pick) Curt Marsh was inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame. A few weeks ago I met Marsh for the first time. I interviewed the massive one-time gridiron lineman at his home in Snohomish and wrote a story about his WIAA honor. To read the article click here. Marsh, who works as a motivational speaker, talked about all sorts of topics during our interview. Much of what he said didn't make it into the story but is still stuck in my head. Here are a few nuggets: Three-sport athletes At Snohomish, Marsh competed in football, basketball (his first love) and track. The experiences all helped him in different ways (learning different skills, playing for different coaches, cooperating with different teammates, etc.). It prepared him for life after sports, he said. That's why Marsh said he's so disappointed by the steady decline of three-sport athletes in high school. He completely disagrees with parents who encourage their kids to specialize in a single sport in hopes of earning a college scholarship. Very few of them will become pro athletes so they'd be better off getting as many different experiences as possible in high school. The perfect hit Football was extremely frustrating for Marsh at first, which he talked about for the story. But once he combined his impressive physical gifts with the correct lineman technique, everything changed. He vividly remembers the first time he made a perfect hit. It came in practice against another large teammate. What did it feel like? Marsh compared it to something from an entirely different sport: Laying a huge hit on a football foe felt pure and almost effortless, like connecting with a smooth, powerful swing in baseball. The power of song Marsh talked about many people who had a valuable impact on him, including legendary Snohomish football coach Dick Armstrong. I was surprised when Marsh mentioned his high school choir teacher. But without encouragement from that music mentor, Marsh said he never would have had the confidence to become a public speaker. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
New soccer rankings What a week for Wesco! The new National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas rankings are out and four Western Conference boys soccer teams — Snohomish, Cascade, Marysville-Pilchuck and Monroe — made it into the top five in the regional poll. Here is the Region V NSCAA/adidas poll, followed by the national poll, which includes Snohomish, Cascade and M-P. Region V poll Released today, with records (win-loss-tie) through last week 1. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 5 - 0 - 0 2. Snohomish 7 - 2 - 0 3. Cascade 8 - 2 - 0 4. Marysville-Pilchuck 8 - 2 - 0 5. Monroe 7 - 2 - 1 6. South Kitsap (Port Orchard) 8 - 0 - 2 7. Cheney) 10 - 1 - 0 8. Ferris (Spokane) 8 - 0 - 1 9. Kentwood (Covington) 8 - 1 - 0 Tie-10. Shorewood 8 - 1 - 1 Tie-10. Juneau Douglas (Juneau, Alaska) 3 - 0 - 1 National poll Released today, with records (win-loss-tie) through last week 1. Spring Valley (Columbia, S.C.) 15 - 0 - 0 2. Chattahoochee (Alpharetta, Ga.) 14 - 0 - 1 Tie-3. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 5 - 0 - 0 Tie-3 Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) 9 - 0 - 1 5. Grissom (Huntsville, Ala.) 21 - 1 - 1 6. Millard West (Omaha, Neb.) 11 - 2 - 2 7. North Cobb (Kennesaw, Ga.) 13 - 1 - 1 8. Conway (Conway, Ark.) 12 - 0 - 0 9. Herndon (Herndon, Va.) 6 - 0 - 0 10. Snohomish 7 - 2 - 2 11. Edmond Memorial (Edmond, Okla.) 8 - 0 - 0 12. Cheyenne Central (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 5 - 0 - 0 13. Catholic (Little Rock, Ark.) 12 - 1 - 0 14. Brentwood (Brentwood, Tenn.) 8 - 0 - 0 15. Omaha South (Omaha, Neb.) 11 - 2 - 0 16. Cascade 8 - 2 - 0 Tie-17. Greater Atlanta Christian School (Norcross, Ga.) 14 - 1 - 0 Tie-17. Marysville-Pilchuck 8 - 2 - 0 19. Viewmont (Bountiful, Utah) 7 - 0 - 1 20. Jenks (Jenks, Okla.) 8 - 1 - 0 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
The Emotion of it All
You know my favorite part of prep sports? The emotion. True joy, ultimate sadness; pure, unadulterated emotion. I shoot a ton of sports, none so much as preps, and although the play is normally not a fast and the players not as skilled as their college and professional counterparts, the high school game has feeling. In pro sports, you see emotion, but normally not until the title game. Those guys and gals play for money and most of the joy they had for the game is long gone, replaced by something that resembles work. They have the skills to make the game look amazing, but most lack the emotion that photographers crave. College comes close to the emotional level of high school sports, but those players are still kind of playing for money (they just call it scholarships). ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! New baseball rankings A non-division loss knocked Snohomish out of the top spot in the Class 4A baseball rankings. In this week's 4A poll, the Panthers are No. 4. Snohomish (11-1 overall) was No. 1 last week but it lost 4-3 Wednesday against Mariner (2-9) in Everett. Here are the complete new rankings, released today and compiled by Lem Elway. Records are through last week. Washington High School Baseball Poll Class 4A 1. Richland (8-1) 2. Puyallup (12-1) 3. Redmond (12-1) 4. Snohomish (11-1) 5. Jackson (10-1) 6. Kentlake (11-1) 7. Mead (10-1) 8. Prairie (10-1) 9. Olympia (10-2) 10. University (9-2) Class 3A 1. Blanchet (10-0) 2. Eastside Catholic (11-1) 3. Mt. Rainier (10-1) 4. Skyline (9-2) 5. Kelso (10-0) 6. Southridge (7-1) 7. Capital (8-1) 8. Liberty (8-3) 9. West Valley, Yakima (8-3) 10. Mercer Island (8-4) Class 2A 1. Ellensburg (11-1) 2. River Ridge (7-1) 3. West Valley, Spokane (8-1) 4. Burlington-Edison (6-1) 5. W.F. West (8-1) 6. Selah (10-3) 7. Lynden (9-2) 8. Cheney (7-1) 9. Mark Morris (8-4) 10.Cedarcrest (12-3) Class 1A 1. Kiona-Benton (10-0) 2. Friday Harbor (11-0) 3. Freeman (8-0) 4. Rochester (8-1) 5. Tenino (6-1) 6. Orting (8-2) 7. Okanogan (6-2) 8. Naches (8-2) 9. River View (7-3) 10. Blaine (6-4) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Track stars warming up I was at Edmonds Stadium yesterday, where the sun and fairly warm weather (it’s all relative right now) made for an enjoyable afternoon. I’m sure it was even more fun for the athletes, who have been dealing with cold, wet conditions all spring. The top performance of the day, at least from what I saw, was generated by Cascade’s boys 400-meter relay team. The all-senior squad demolished the competition, zooming to a winning time of 43.12 seconds. That’s a season-best mark for the team of Paul Heer, Derek Sepe, Julian Willis and Lorne Bridgford. It’s also the fastest time in the state this season, according to Athletic.net. After the race, I heard opposing coaches and athletes buzzing about Cascade’s sizzling effort. An outstanding effort from yesterday that I didn’t see: Everett’s J Hopkins won the boys 300 hurdles race in 38.58 seconds in Oak Harbor. It puts him atop the state leaderboard. Hopkins, the 2007 Class 3A state champ in the 300 hurdles, also won the 110 hurdles. His time (14.8) was slightly slower - one hundredth, to be exact - than the one run earlier this season by state leader Stephone Jordan of Garfield. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
To be continued I’ve seen some weird things as a sportswriter — unlikely comebacks, a basketball player who was accidentally poked in the eye by an official, a hair-pulling incident, etc. — but I had an equally odd experience last night. I covered a 10-inning baseball game that had no winner and no loser. The Archbishop Murphy versus Cedarcrest contest in Carnation was suspended because of darkness. After more than 3-1/2 hours, the teams were tied 5-5 and forced to go home. They’ll resume the game 3 p.m. Friday at Tolt Middle School before playing the final contest in a pivotal three-game Cascade Conference series. To read about yesterday’s oddity, click here. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in high school sports? Send me your thoughts by clicking the “Comment” link below. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! |
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