What a way to go out.
Pat Jack, longtime coach of the Archbishop Murphy girls soccer team, said on Monday that the 2006 season will be her last. Under Jack the Wildcats won the Class 2A state championship, the first in program history, on Nov. 18.
“It was a grand finish,” said Jack, whose teams made six consecutive state semifinal appearances.
Murphy placed second in 1998 (when the school was known as Holy Cross), 2003 and 2004 under Jack. She said Murphy athletic director Terry Ennis told her in May that the 2006 season would be her last. The decision was a surprise, Jack said, but she ended on a high note.
“It was really sweet,” Jack said of a season capped by her team’s 1-0 victory over previously undefeated Cedarcrest. The state title is the first in a girls sport in school history.
The Wildcats finished 20-3.
“We were really (fortunate),” Jack said. “We didn’t have any superstars. We had to play as a team and that makes it much more difficult for other teams to stop you.”
Jack started the Holy Cross girls soccer program in the mid-1990s and coached the squad to a runner-up finish in ‘98. She was Holy Cross’ athletic director until 1999, when the school relocated and became Archbishop Murphy.
“It was fun starting from scratch,” Jack said. “The kids got stronger and stronger.”
Ennis, Murphy’s athletic director, said he has not started the search for Jack’s successor. The school is still enjoying the glow of the championship victory, he said: “It’s just great that this year it all came to that conclusion. (Jack) finally got the (championship) she was looking for.”
Jack has been one of the “rocks” of Murphy’s foundation, Ennis said. “It’s just been remarkable over the many years that she’s coached that they’ve had such consistency and success,” Ennis added.
WWU signs Jackson, M-P softball players
The Western Washington University softball team signed seven recruits, including Jenna Mohrweis of Jackson and Miranda Rosebrook of Marysville-Pilchuck.
Mohrweis plays second base for Jackson and has started since her freshman year. “She’s extremely hardworking. She understands the game inside and out,” Jackson coach Mike Moran said of Mohrweis, who had a .305 batting average, hit three triples and scored 17 runs as a junior.
Mohrweis is projected to play outfield at Western. “She’s got an absolutely aggressive approach to the game,” said WWU coach Lonnie Hicks, who praised Mohrweis’ speed and defense.
M-P’s Rosebrook is a versatile player who could help Western in a variety of ways, Hicks said: “She’s a quality ballplayer and brings a lot to the table.”
Third-quarter hex?
Rough third-quarter performances hurt the Monroe girls basketball team as it lost its first two games. The Bearcats were outscored by 16 (21-5) against Meadowdale and by seven (12-5) against Jackson in the third quarter. In its third game, Monroe outscored Everett in every quarter except the third but pulled out a victory, 83-50.
Fiery freshman
Erin Feeney, a freshman guard on the Jackson girls hoops team, made key 3-point baskets late in the game in the Timberwolves’ season-opening victories over Snohomish and Monroe. Jackson coach Jeannie Thompson said the youngster “still has some improvement to make on the defensive end, but on offense she can catch fire.”
Mike Cane, Herald Writer
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