Local volleyball players sing winning tune

Published 11:56 pm Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Some teams hit all the right notes on and off the court.

That’s exactly what the Puget Sound Region High Performance Volleyball Team did last month against top-notch competition in Salt Lake City.

The 10-player Puget Sound squad featured six players from local high schools, including four from Kamiak High School in Mukilteo. The team posted a 7-0 record during the Global Challenge youth division tournament held July 24-27 at Westminster College, defeating Utah-based Intermountain Youth Blue in the championship 25-14, 22-25, 25-22 and 25-16.

The Puget Sound players had never practiced together until one day before the tourney, but they quickly jelled and blasted their opponents.

“We took it upon ourselves (to do well) and we decided we were there to win. We wanted to show everyone how good (players from the Puget Sound are),” said Devin Larson, a senior-to-be at Kamiak High School who was named the tournament’s best setter.

Larson, who had 260 assists in the seven matches, also helped Puget Sound win a non-sports title. She and her teammates beat the other teams in a karaoke contest, and Larson placed first in the solo singing competition.

Larson was one of four Kamiak players on the triumphant Puget Sound team. The others were outside hitter Julia Church, middle blocker Jordan Keller and middle blocker Bailey Jones, who tallied 18 blocks and was named the event’s best blocker.

The team’s other local players were libero Mandy Powell (Darrington High) and Mill Creek resident Kailey Trautmann, an outside hitter from King’s High in Shoreline.

The Puget Sound coaches were Dragan Karadzic, Carolyn Papineau, Jessica Papell and Chris Larson.

The Global Challenge included all-star teams loaded with some of the top players ages 15-17 who qualified by performing well at regional tryouts. They came from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Iowa.

Event director Scooter Keister was impressed by the Puget Sound team, which defeated his Intermountain Blue players in the championship.

“They were solid in every position,” Keister said, “and we weren’t, and that was our downfall. (Puget Sound had) a great group of kids and great coaches.”

International rules were used for the Global Challenge, which featured about 120 players from 12 teams in three age divisions. Many rules differed from what the Puget Sound players are used to, said Larson, the setter from Kamiak. Teams were allowed to substitute only half as often and each game – or each set, in this case – included two officials’ timeouts in addition to the customary two available to each team.

The overall vibe of the Global Challenge was much more professional and formal than other events, Larson said. As team captain, she was required to sign official score sheets before and after each game, and opposing players shook hands after every match.

“It did make it a lot more fun. I liked it a lot better,” Larson said.

Everett hurdler sixth at Junior Olympics: J Hopkins, a senior-to-be from Everett High School, ran the 400-meter hurdles in 54.72 seconds last month to place sixth in the young men’s division at the USA Track &Field Junior Olympics. The event was held July 24-29 in Walnut, Calif. Before competing in the finals, Hopkins finished third in his preliminary heat with a time of 54.32. In May, Hopkins won the Class 3A state title in the 300 hurdles.

Everett’s Rendel Jones, also a senior-to-be, competed in the young men’s triple jump at the Junior Olympics. His best effort was 45 feet, 7 inches, which placed him 21st in a 39-person competition.

New Wesco girls soccer coaches: Here’s a quick look at two coaching changes for Western Conference girls soccer teams.

* Steve Barker took over at Oak Harbor High School for Gretchen Hanson, who resigned after the 2006 season to take care of her new baby. Barker also coaches the Oak Harbor boys team. Hanson, a 1995 Oak Harbor graduate, was an all-league first-team defender in high school and later played at Central Washington University.

* Michelle Marklund is the new head coach at Mariner, which was previously coached by Vince DeSimone. DeSimone, who coaches the Mariner boys, said he resigned so he can spend more time watching his son, Nick DeSimone, play college soccer. Nick played for Edmonds Community College last season.

Marklund, 36, is a 1989 Shorecrest grad who played at Washington State University and started coaching at age 19. She previously was head coach at Edmonds CC (women), Kamiak (girls) and Mariner (boys). Marklund currently coaches for the Snohomish United Youth Soccer Club.

Ex-Cascade player ready for season No. 2 at King’s: Nicole Gabelein wasn’t quite sure what to expect last year when she decided to coach high school soccer players for the first time.

But things turned out great for Gabelein, who in 2006 guided the King’s High School girls to third place in the 1B/2B/1A state tournament in the program’s inaugural season. Gabelein, a 1992 King’s grad who played prep soccer for Cascade because King’s didn’t have a team, is excited to begin her second season coaching King’s, which is expected to be among the best teams in the Cascade Conference in 2007. The Knights return six girls who started as freshmen.

“It has been so much fun (coaching King’s),” Gabelein said. “I actually couldn’t have imagined how much I would enjoy it. The kids have been great.”