Monroe’s loss is Snohomish’s gain

Published 11:33 pm Monday, October 1, 2007

Sam Ottow, a two-time placer at the Class 4A state wrestling championships, moved from Monroe to Snohomish in June and now attends Snohomish High School.

Ottow left Monroe because of a coaching change at the school, his mother, Bonney Ottow, said.

Justin Springer was Monroe’s wrestling coach the past two seasons, but his contract was not renewed in the spring. Monroe athletic director Brett Wille said the district had “every intention of rehiring” Springer but that Springer had new non-coaching work commitments that created issues that couldn’t be resolved.

“Justin was an amazing coach. He did a great job for us,” Wille said.

Springer could not be reached for comment Monday.

The district hired Jeff Boyle, who wrestled at Monroe and teaches at the school, to replace Springer. The change meant Springer’s assistant coaches — including Jordan Ottow, Sam’s older brother — had to reapply for a spot in the program.

Poor communication between the district and former assistant coaches along with the handling of Springer’s departure frustrated the Ottows, Bonney Ottow said.

The result is that Sam Ottow, the 2007 4A runner-up at 119 pounds, will compete for Snohomish. The junior joins a Panthers program that placed 14th at state last season and returns state-placers Brad Perry and Richard Reed.

The Ottows don’t advocate moving for sports-related reasons, Bonney Ottow said, but they felt that leaving Monroe was the best option. Jordan Ottow plans to be a volunteer assistant coach at Snohomish, Bonney Ottow said.

Monroe, meanwhile, will move forward without its most prominent competitor.

“You never want to lose talented kids to a rival school,” Wille said. “But we are focused on the kids who want to be here.”

Loud and proud

Hard rock singers are known for abusing their vocal cords. A local girls soccer goalkeeper can do the same thing directing her teammates during games.

Snohomish keeper Madison Goverde could be heard clearly from halfway across the field Sept. 18 in a key division contest against Everett. Before the ball came anywhere near her net, the senior barked instructions to the Panthers to prevent Everett from getting a good shot. Her screaming seemed to work: Snohomish beat Everett 2-0 and Goverde earned the shutout.

“My voice gets really sore,” Goverde said in a gravelly tone after the victory. “This is the game I yelled in the most because it was the most tense one we’ve had all season.”

They call her Flipper

The home crowd gasped and cheered, and opponents looked a bit stunned. The reason: Archbishop Murphy’s Brittany Allen pulled off an unusual play Sept. 11 late in the second half of the Wildcats’ girls soccer win over King’s. After King’s kicked the ball out of bounds, Allen, a junior midfielder, did a rare flip throw to get the ball back onto the field.

It wasn’t the first time Allen did that in a game, Murphy teammate Aleigh Mansfield recalled: “I remember one time she almost fell. That kind of scared her.”

But against King’s, Allen’s flip throw was smooth, even if it didn’t lead directly to a goal.

“It’s great. It catches everyone off guard,” Mansfield said.

For examples of soccer flip throws, go to www.youtube.com, type “soccer flip throw” into the search bar and click “Search.”