Warriors named academic state champs Edmonds-Woodway girls posted a near-perfect 3.98 combined GPA
Published 1:20 pm Tuesday, November 2, 2010
In between all their practices, games and other team commitments, dozens of local student-athletes are getting the job done in the classroom. A whopping six area high school teams have been named Fall 2009 Academic State Champions by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
The list includes the following squads:
*Edmonds-Woodway girls cross country (Class 4A, 3.98 combined grade-point average), coached by Joel Hamilton.
*North Sound Christian volleyball (1B, 3.84), coached by Marla Tappero.
*Shorewood girls soccer (4A, 3.777), coached by Nathan Davis.
*Cedarcrest boys cross country (2A, 3.725), coached by Bruce McDowell.
*Archbishop Murphy girls swimming (2A, 3.718), coached by Mike McCloskey.
* King’s football (1A, 3.364), coached by Jim Shapiro.
All of the champions’ GPAs are impressive, but take another look at the Edmonds-Woodway girls cross country team. The Warriors compiled a near-perfect GPA of 3.98. The team members are Megan Alfi, Amy Fair, Lily Harrison, Betsie Hopper, Aubrey LaPlante, Amia Nash, Ashleen O’Brien and Caitlin Walde. None of them are seniors, so the squad could win an academic state title again next fall.
Hamilton, E-W’s second-year coach, joked with the girls about coming up short of a 4.0. “Fittingly, I said, ‘Who’s bringing us down?’” Hamilton said with a laugh.
“It’s amazing,” he added. “Anything over a 3.5 is incredible.”
Hopper, a junior, placed eighth last weekend at the 4A Northwest District Championships. She will represent E-W on Saturday at the state cross country meet in Pasco.
Everett School District scholar-athletes
Here are more well-rounded local competitors. They won Everett Public Schools High School Scholar-Athlete Awards for this fall.
Cascade High School:
*Katie Michaelson, girls swimming: She has a 3.533 GPA, scored 1400 on the SAT and is a member of the National Honor Society. She has helped with the Cascade High blood drive and food drive, and also is a board member on the Snohomish County Children’s Commission.
*Garrett Johnson, boys tennis: He has a 3.24 GPA and is enrolled in three advanced-placement classes. He is a team captain and has earned three varsity letters. Johnson, who also plays basketball, has helped with the Cascade High food drive.
Everett High School:
*Kylie Beeson, girls soccer: The two-year team co-captain is “too valuable to take off the field,” according to Everett coach Kosta Pitharoulis. Beeson (3.97 GPA) is a member of Torch Honor Society and Advanced Leadership, and is the senior class vice president.
*Craig Plendl, boys tennis: Plendl (4.0 cumulative GPA) qualified for the divisional doubles tournament and is a two-year letter winner. He is a National Merit Commended Scholar.
Jackson High School:
*Juliette Becker, girls cross country: A cross country and track participant since her freshman year, Becker (4.0 GPA) has been a captain for both teams. She is a member of National Honor Society, Leaders of the Pack and the Hi-Q team. Becker plans to attend either the California Institute of Technology or Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She wants to work for NASA and be an astronaut.
*Andy Gay, football: A four-year letterwinner in football, Gay (3.63 GPA) is a quarterback who earned All-Wesco South first-team honors in 2008 and could repeat the feat this year. He also has lettered in basketball and baseball. Gay participates in Young Life and school-leadership activities.
Frost breaks Lake Stevens’ single-game rushing record
Despite playing with an injured knee, senior running back Brennan Frost broke the Lake Stevens football team’s single-game rushing record on Friday against Snohomish, Vikings coach Tom Tri said. Frost, who has a partially torn knee ligament, rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, topping the old record (248 yards by Isaac Molstre in 2006). A first-year starter on offense, Frost now has 1,111 yards rushing and 11 TDs on 115 carries (9.7 yard average) this season for Lake Stevens (5-4), which plays Bethel (8-1) in a 4A quad-district playoff game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Crate Field in Spanaway.
Edmonds-Woodway volleyball standout commits
Edmonds-Woodway setter Leigh Fishback has verbally committed to play volleyball for Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. Fishback was an All-Wesco South first-team pick last year. To see an updated list of local athletes’ verbal commitments, go to Heraldnet.com/doubleteam and search “Class of 2010”. The NCAA National Letter of Intent early signing period for several sports (including basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball) begins Nov. 11.
