Athletes who made an impact on and off thefield

As another school year winds down, it’s time to recognize another batch of talented teens who made an impressive impact in sports and in the classroom.

The Everett School District has announced its Spring 2006-2007 Scholar-Athletes. The honor was created in 2005. Winners must have a minimum 3.2 grade-point average and compete on a varsity team.

Here are the six winners – a girl and a boy from each district high school.

l Cascade: Madison Everett (girls tennis, 3.88 GPA) and Derek Weigelt (boys soccer, 3.76 GPA).

l Everett: Claire Welly (fastpitch softball, 3.9 GPA) and Brian Barhanovich (boys golf, 3.8 GPA).

l Jackson: Rachel Bhak (girls tennis, 3.99 GPA) and Ryan Young (boys golf, 3.86 GPA).

A few details on Cascade’s winners: Everett placed second in singles at the Wesco North championships and competed in the Class 4A Northwest District tournament. The Bruins’ team captain is a member of National Honor Society and Senior Class Cabinet. Her community service work includes helping at Cascade’s food and blood drives, and volunteering for a diabetes fundraiser.

Weigelt, a goalkeeper, tallied 14 shutouts, a school record, for a Cascade team that surprised many by advancing to the 4A state semifinals and placing third. He also accumulated more than 300 hours of community service, including time he spent caring for the mentally ill.

Walsh-Platt event nears

Speaking of outstanding student-athletes, the 46th annual Walsh-Platt Athletic Scholarship Banquet is back. This year the event is 7 p.m. June 6 at the Cascade High cafeteria. The public is welcome. Tickets can be purchased for $3 at the door and include dessert. The guest speaker is Central Washington University head football coach Beau Baldwin. Previously Eastern Washington University’s offensive coordinator, Baldwin is a graduate of Curtis High in Tacoma.

Back on track

Another track and field season is history. Here are a few more tidbits from the 3A and 4A state meets.

l Wesco North dominance: Athletes from the division combined to win seven individual championships, including two each by juniors Joey Bywater of Lake Stevens (4A 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs) and Kjirsten Jensen of Arlington (3A shot put and discus). Everett won the 3A boys team crown, its first boys track title since 1947, according to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association records.

l Lynnwood thrower has bright future: Dylan Burnett-Lewis, a Lynnwood sophomore, placed third in the 3A javelin. His top throw (182 feet, 2 inches), which was his final attempt, is No. 2 in school history and is the best in the state this year by a sophomore. The champion (Renton’s Jason Harris) and the runner-up (Everett’s Andrew Stiger) are both seniors, so Burnett-Lewis will be considered a contender to win in 2008.

l Everett’s Smith pretty (good) in pink: Kirsten Smith, an Everett junior, had a colorful experience at state. Using a new pink disc for the first time in competition, Smith placed fourth in the 3A discus after being seeded ninth based on her state-qualifying effort. Smith said pink isn’t her favorite color but the eye-catching disc helped her make a statement. Said Smith, “Girls can throw, too, you know.”

College bound

Several other local student-athletes have determined where they’ll play sports after high school. Paxton Paynter of Lake Stevens will play football for Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. And Stanwood basketball teammates Tyler Monroe and Derek Anderson, who combined to score more than 30 points per game this past season, will play for Whatcom Community College (Bellingham) and Skagit Valley College (Mount Vernon), respectively, former Stanwood coach Brian Hunter said.

Gatorade baseball award

Greg Peavey, a senior from Hudson’s Bay High of Vancouver, is Gatorade’s 2006-07 Washington Baseball Player of the Year. The 6-foot, 2-inch pitcher/infielder had a 4-2 record and a 1.83 earned-run average in 421/3 innings on the mound. Peavey, a right-hander, is an Oregon State University recruit who is ranked the nation’s 111th-best by Baseball America magazine.