Stilly Valley Little League wins state softball title
Published 11:16 pm Monday, July 23, 2007
Two titles down, two to go.
The Stilly Valley Little League major softball all-star team won its second championship on Saturday, defeating Redmond West/North 17-2 for the state title in a game played at David Douglas Park in Vancouver.
Also the District 1 champions, Stilly Valley will now compete at a regional tournament for a chance to play at the Little League Softball World Series.
“Our goal is the world series,” Stilly Valley head coach Jim Barrio said. “For the first time in quite a few years we have a realistic shot.”
The West Regional tournament will be held July 28-Aug. 5 in Fort Vancouver. Stilly Valley will compete against state champions from Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Northern and Southern California for a chance to advance to the Little League Softball World Series.
Comprised of 11- and 12-year-old girls from Arlington and Lakewood, Stilly Valley won eight straight games – four at state and four at district – and outscored its opponents 84-13 in winning the two titles.
“We have solid pitching, a strong defense and an explosive offense,” Barrio said. “This post-season has been magical.”
Pitchers Veronica Ladines and Kristina Flick each recorded two compete-game victories at state. Lynsey Amundson is a triple threat: she leads the team in runs batted in and extra base hits, pitches and was the catcher for all four state tourney games – throwing out four baserunners trying to steal second.
The remaining members of the Stilly Valley team are: Arianna Barrio, Anna Whitehouse, Alexis Blakey, Alexa Chase, Kaylee Aune, Kristin Backstrom, Hannah Baird, Machyas Gilbertson, Anna Larson and Allison Hammond.
J.D. Flick and Allen Backstrom were the assistant coaches.
Baseball
South Everett LL places third at state: The 9/10-year-old all-stars team from South Everett Little League finished third in the state tournament at David Douglas Park in Vancouver.
South Everett lost its opener 9-8 to Salmon Creek on July 14, then put together a string of four straight victories in loser-out games.
With a trip to the finals on the line, Eastlake edged South Everett 7-6 on Friday. Eastlake then went on to defeat Larch Mountain 11-1 on Saturday in the championship game.
The 9/10 all-star team from South Everett Little League advanced to the state tournament by winning the District 1 title, going 5-0 in that tournament.
Members of the South Everett team were: Steven Ainsworth, Austin Ponce, Blake Hilde, Cameron McGrath, Carter James, Casey Bergmans, Kaleb Dobson, Matthew Butler, Curtis Ponton, Taylor Cradduck, Cody Vigoren, Andy Atwood, and Jacob Long. The team was coached by Mick Vigoren and Chris Cardinal, and Rick Bergmans was the manager.
North Everett LL juniors edged at state: The juniors all-star team from the North Everett Little League outscored its opponents 37-19 but that wasn’t enough to stay alive in the state tournament held at Branan Park in Auburn.
Most of North Everett’s runs came in its opening game, a 20-0 victory over C/S Whidbey on July 15. North Everett lost its next two games by one run, falling 9-8 on Tuesday to Nisqually Basin and 10-9 on Saturday to C/S Whidbey.
The North Everett team was comprised of Tyler Arnestad, Cameron Arriza, Christian Giron, Lucas Henry, Eric Nagel, Mickey Norton, Brandon Olson, Edmond Overton, Christian Smith, Brendon Soelling, Lucas Sontra, Oscar Terran, Scott Wayland and Dylan Wetmore.
Track and field
Two from Snohomish Track Club advance to national meet: Amy-Eloise Neale and Christopher Rusnak from Snohomish Track Club advanced to the national meet based on their performance at the USA Track and Field (USATF) Region 13 Junior Olympic Track and Field Championship held July 12-13 in Seattle.
Neale, 11, qualified for nationals in three events. She won the 3,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 10 minutes, 50.10 seconds, and finished second in the 800 (2:25.72) and 1,500 (5:02.45).
A first-year competitor in the triple jump, the 15-year-old Rusnak qualified for nationals by finishing third with a leap of 12.58 meters.
The top three in each event qualified for the USATF Junior Olympic National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held July 24-29 on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.
In other results, Briahna Gibson recorded fourth-place finishes in the 800 (2:55.04) and the 1,500 (5:44.08) in the Bantam Girls division, and Marlyn Anderson was fourth in the shot put (14.79) in the Young Mens division.
