Community roundup: Sox announce tentative schedule for 2023

The Everett AquaSox have a tentative schedule for the 2023 season.

The Sox, who are the Seattle Mariners’ affiliate in the High-A Northwest League, will begin their 132-game season at home at Funko Field on April 7 against the Eugene Emeralds. The season concludes at home on Sept. 10, again against Eugene.

Everett is coming off a season in which it finished 59-72, which put the Sox in fifth place overall in the six-team Northwest League.

The Sox are currently accepting season ticket renewals, with a limited time to lock in 2022 prices. For more information, call the ticket office at 425-256-3673 or email ticketing@aquasox.com.

Three Tips return from NHL camps

Three of the six Everett Silvertips players who attended NHL rookie camps have returned to the team and should be available for Saturday’s season opener.

Winger Jackson Berezowski (Carolina), winger Austin Roest (Colorado) and goaltender Braden Holt (Nashville), who were all at camps on a tryout basis, are back in Everett and preparing for Saturday’s opener, which is against the Vancouver Giants at Angel of the Winds Arena.

Defenseman Olen Zellweger (Anaheim) and center Ryan Hofer (Washington), who are draft picks of their respective organizations, have advanced to main camp. The status of winger Ben Hemmerling (Vegas), who’s also a draft pick, remains undetermined.

Five more champs crowned at Evergreen Speedway

Evergreen Speedway crowned five more points champions during its Championship Night No. 2 on Saturday at the Monroe racetrack.

Ryan Hausenfluck won the title in Hornets, Ricky Dietz won in Outlaw Figure 8s, Branden Lindberg won in Stinger 8s, Quenton Borreson won in Super Stock Figure 8s, and Randy DuBois won in Super Sprints.

Arlington’s Gray added to XFL draft pool

Arlington High School graduate Max Gray, who’s spent the past four seasons playing professional football for the Calanda Broncos in Switzerland, has accepted an invitation to be part of the XFL draft pool as the U.S.-based league restarts operations.

Gray, who won two championships with Calanda and recently helped Calanda finish as runner-up in Switzerland’s top division, will be in the pool as a receiver, the position he played in college when he was an NAIA All-American at Rocky Mountain College. Gray primarily played linebacker for Calanda.

The XFL draft is scheduled for November on a date yet to be determined. The league, which had a reboot in 2020 only to be quickly shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to have eight teams and begin its 2023 season on Feb. 18.

EvCC men’s soccer achieves national ranking

The Everett Community College men’s soccer team has risen to national prominence as the Trojans came in at No. 8 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division II top-20 poll.

The Trojans, who are comprised almost completely by former Wesco players, started the season 6-0 and have outscored their opponents 30-7. Everett is the highest-ranked team among the four from the Northwest Athletic Conference in the top 20.

Hansen earns NWAC weekly honor

Glacier Peak High School graduate Kate Hansen, now a sophomore libero on the Bellevue College volleyball team, was named the Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 5-11.

Hansen totalled 85 digs and added nine aces as the Bulldogs went a perfect 4-0 at the Edmonds Tournament. This season Bellevue is 14-5 and ranked No. 4 in the most recent NWAC coaches poll.

Friendship Walk & 5K Run canceled

The 15th annual Friendship Walk & 5K Run, which was scheduled to take place Saturday in Arlington, has been canceled because of lower-than-anticipated registration numbers. Any pre-registered individuals who still want to complete the course are invited to come to Legion Memorial Park from 9-11 a.m. and will receive a finisher’s medal.

If you have an item for the community sports roundup, email Nick Patterson at npatterson@heraldnet.com.