Four of the nation’s best
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 25, 2006
Looking for something to do this weekend?
In the mood for fresh air and spirited competition?
Then don’t miss a rare chance to see three nationally ranked high school sports teams from Snohomish County continue their quests for state titles.
Mill Creek’s unbeaten Henry M. Jackson High School baseball team, 25-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country by Baseball America magazine, hopes to continue its remarkable run tonight. The team is led by senior slugger Travis Snider, Gatorade’s 2006 Washington State Baseball Player of the Year, who has blasted a school-record 11 home runs. The loaded Timberwolves play the Tahoma Bears (22-3) of Covington in a 7 p.m. Class 4A state semifinal at Safeco Field in Seattle.
If Jackson wins, it advances to the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Safeco against either Kentwood (19-8) or Auburn (23-3). Jackson, which graduated just one player from last year’s third-place squad and has outscored opponents 282-41 this season, seeks its first state title. The Timberwolves boast two University of Washington recruits (pitcher Cam Nobles and first baseman Joey Lind) and two of the best juniors in the region (pitcher and outfielder Geoff Brown and catcher, pitcher and outfielder Kawika Emsley-Pai).
The Jackson players took a guided tour of Safeco Field on Thursday. Don’t be surprised if someday a few of them return to the park as professionals, especially Snider, signed by Arizona State University and likely to be selected in the first two rounds of next month’s Major League Baseball draft.
About 35 miles south of Seattle, two more nationally celebrated prep teams aim to bring a state crown back to Snohomish County.
The Snohomish High School and Lake Stevens High School boys soccer teams play in separate Class 4A state semifinals tonight at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner. Snohomish (18-1), which earlier this season was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America-Adidas poll, takes on Mead (16-3) at 8 p.m.
Brandon Kelley (24 goals, eight assists) and Brandon Crutchfield (17 assists, 12 goals) fuel Snohomish, which won a state title in 2000 and is currently ranked No. 6 in the country.
Resilient Lake Stevens (18-2) lost its leading goal scorer, Wes Vanhooser, to a season-ending knee injury one day before the state playoffs began. But the determined Vikings, ranked No. 9 in the country, won a first-round game 2-0 and upset then-No. 5 Auburn on Saturday, 2-1. Lake Stevens, the only team to defeat Snohomish this season, makes its first-ever semifinal appearance at 6 p.m. today against South Kitsap (17-2).
Landing a spot in the national rankings is no easy feat. According to a National Federation of High Schools survey conducted during the 2004-05 school year, there were 15,000 baseball teams and 10,000 boys soccer teams in the country.
Snohomish boys soccer coach Dan Pingrey said the national notoriety is a testament to the time and effort put in by the members of the three teams.
“I think it’s a great reflection on coaches, players (and) the (non-high school season) clubs that are out there for soccer and baseball,” Pingrey said of the area’s dynamic trio of teams.
A potential all-Snohomish County state soccer final would raise the bar even higher, Pingrey said: “If, say, the two of us (Snohomish and Lake Stevens) ended up in there, that’s an even bigger deal.”
Of course, national rankings bring high expectations, but Pingrey and his players have a formula for keeping focused.
“Our approach this week,” he said, “has been … that we will think and act like champions, but we will play like underdogs.”
Reporter Mike Cane: 425-339-3471 or mcane@heraldnet.com.
