Sports fans experienced a wide range of emotions in 2006.
From incredible comebacks to heartbreaking losses to surprise finishes, many memorable moments graced the high school sports scene.
Here is a look back at some of the top athletes and teams from this past year.
Edmonds-Woodway falls in 4A state semis
The disappointment was etched on their faces.
It was evident in the heartfelt hugs between players as they tried to console each other.
Edmonds-Woodway’s season was over.
But nothing could diminish the pride the Warriors felt even following a 28-14 loss to Bothell in a Class 4A state semifinal football game Nov. 25 at the Tacoma Dome.
All the players had to do was recall what they accomplished this year.
An undefeated regular season.
A third straight Western Conference South Division championship.
And most notably, the first two state playoff victories in school history.
These achievements helped ease the pain of Edmonds-Woodway’s first and only loss of the year.
“It’s the most successful season we’ve ever had as a school,” junior quarterback/defensive back Kyle McCartney said. “We have to be disappointed because the season didn’t end how we think it should have. But we had some great accomplishments.”
The on-the-field successes were numerous, but head coach John Gradwohl has fond memories of what the Warriors did off the field as well.
The loss in the state semifinals in no way diminished a year Gradwohl and his players will cherish for a long, long time.
“I don’t believe you have to win the state championship to have a successful season,” Gradwohl said. “We had a lot of successes in a lot of different ways. A lot of them were on the football field, but we had successes off the football field — kids getting better grades, etc.
“Sure, winning is better than losing, but I’m going to remember the kids and their commitment and the fun we had together.”
No Edmonds-Woodway, Edmonds or Woodway high school football team advanced as far as the Warriors did in the postseason this year. Edmonds-Woodway was coming off back-to-back losses in the first round of the state playoffs in 2004 and 2005.
Gradwohl told his players they have set a new standard for future teams to aspire towards.
“Every team that comes through Edmonds-Woodway is going to look to us because we set the bar,” senior tight end/defensive lineman Casey Hamlett said. “It’s the farthest any team from Edmonds or Woodway or Edmonds-Woodway has ever got. That’s something to be proud of. I wish we would have won but still how far we got, it’s a lot to be proud of.
“I’m upset right now, but when I look back on it, I’ll realize that we accomplished a big thing for our school.”
The backbone of the team was a talented senior class that was a great role model for their teammates, Gradwohl said.
“They meant everything,” McCartney added. “They were the heart of this team. They kept everyone going.”
The friendships forged among his teammates is what Hamlett took away from his football career at Edmonds-Woodway.
The players didn’t just spend Friday nights together. The rest of the week was filled with practices, team dinners and just hanging out. The players also spent considerable time conditioning together during the offseason.
“You’re with these guys five or six days a week,” Hamlett said. “I’ll just remember the most being with these guys that I love and just having the time of my life because this has been the greatest experience of my life.”
Edmonds-Woodway (12-1), the No. 1 ranked team in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 team in the Washingtonpreps.com poll coming into the semifinals, might have extended its postseason run by a week were it not for some first-half struggles against a Bothell team that was coming off a national-record-tying nine- overtime victory over Pasco in the quarterfinals.
The Cougars jumped on the Warriors early, scoring on their first two offensive possessions to take a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Bothell defense kept Edmonds-Woodway’s offense in check for much of the first half.
Addressing his players following the loss, Gradwohl said this season is an experience they will never forget and that 30 years from now they will look back fondly on the time spent with their teammates.
“It just means so much,” Hamlett said. “It’s been such a wild ride. … we played great this year. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We left it all out on the field.”
This year’s senior class went undefeated as freshmen and sophomores and were major contributors to last year’s playoff team.
Hamlett was glad to have wrapped up his career in the state semifinals.
“It’s been a great run,” he said. “It just says a lot about the character of the guys, that we’re a group of winners and we work hard and we dedicate ourselves to getting the job done. I couldn’t say enough great things about my classmates and the guys on the team.”
Warriors stage
wild comeback
The Edmonds-Woodway Warriors never stopped believing.
Not when they trailed 17-0 late in the first half.
Not when Curtis seized a 38-33 lead with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the game.
Not even when the Vikings took over possession of the ball at midfield with the lead and were set to run out the clock with about a minute to go.
Edmonds-Woodway’s faith was rewarded when senior defensive lineman Casey Hamlett stripped the ball from Curtis running back Josh Walker. Sophomore linebacker Tony Heard then pounced on the ball at the 50 in a stunning reversal of fortunes.
Four plays later Heard’s older brother, Josh, scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run to lead Edmonds-Woodway to an electrifying 41-38 comeback victory over Curtis in a first-round Class 4A state playoff football game Nov. 10 at Mount Tahoma High School.
“We were confident we were going to win no matter what because that’s just what kind of team we are,” senior running back/linebacker Josh Heard said.
The second half featured a dizzying display of six lead changes, two blocked extra points, two botched extra point attempts, fumbles and interceptions galore, a kickoff returned for a touchdown and 55 points of offense.
“This was definitely the craziest played game I’ve ever been in with all those ups and downs and back and forth touchdowns and points,” Josh Heard said.
Josh Heard finished with 264 yards and scored five touchdowns, including a pair of 66-yard runs.
But even after scoring what turned out to be the winning touchdown, Edmonds-Woodway knew that no lead was safe.
Not in this game.
Following the kickoff, Curtis took over at its own 35 with 18.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Senior defensive back Zach Houvener then intercepted a pass to seal the victory and set off a wild celebration on the Warriors’ sidelines.
Edmonds-Woodway head coach John Gradwohl said that individuals on both Edmonds-Woodway and Curtis made big plays all night in one of the most memorable games of his coaching career.
“Two awesome teams that never gave up and kept fighting back,” Gradwohl said. “I think everybody got their money’s worth. I’m fortunate that the game ended when it did. Another two minutes I might have been on the losing end.”
The prospect of losing for the third straight year in the first round of the state playoffs was on the mind of Hamlett as Curtis took over the ball at its own 49 with about a minute and a half remaining and the Warriors’ season hanging in the balance.
On the first play, Walker busted through the Edmonds-Woodway defensive line for four yards.
“It was down to do or die,” Hamlett said. “We had one timeout left, so if they got that (next) play we’d have to call time out and they would have kneeled it and they would have won.”
Curtis again handed off the ball to Walker, but this time Hamlett was ready for him.
“They ran the exact same play two times in a row,” he said. “They gave it to No. 2 (Walker). He went right through my hands and gained four yards. I knew that they were going to run the same (play) so I just pitched down off that tight end, wrapped him up, got my hand in there and pulled it (the ball) out.
“I was confident even if I didn’t make that play, someone would have made that play.”
Edmonds-Woodway wide receiver Eric Greenwood had a feeling someone would step up.
“We all kept believing the whole time,” Greenwood said. “When they got the ball first-and-10 we knew we had to do something. … That was just team — the definition of team.”
Edmonds-Woodway (11-0) took over at the 50 with 1:09 left and everyone in the stadium knew what was coming next.
Quarterback Kyle McCartney handed off the ball to Josh Heard, who broke free for a 36-yard gain down to the Curtis 4. Two more runs by Josh Heard moved the ball down to the 1 and on third-and-goal, the senior standout scored as Edmonds-Woodway retook a 39-38 lead with 24.7 seconds left in the game.
“We were meant to win this game,” Hamlett said. “I was so confident that we would score with Josh running the way he was running tonight.”
The wild finish by the Warriors was in sharp contrast to a frustrating first half that saw the Vikings jump out to a 17-0 lead.
Edmonds-Woodway’s bus arrived late due to extremely bad traffic conditions. The game started 20 minutes after the scheduled start time of 7:30 p.m.
The delay in getting to the stadium messed with the Warriors’ minds and contributed to the sluggish start in the first half, Josh Heard said.
“We really weren’t focused on the game,” he said. “We were just focused on hurrying up and getting ready and just trying to get out there. We were just really mad.”
Hamlett was proud of the manner in which Edmonds-Woodway regrouped after struggling for most of the first half.
The players were snapping at each other for much of the first half, trying to figure out what was going wrong, Hamlett said.
“At halftime we said ‘Is this what we came down here for — to yell at each other? Or are we going to be a team and step up and have a team effort?’ The rest is history.”
Clobes sets record
for Meadowdale
For four years, David Clobes set his sights on a particular goal — to be the best in the 100-yard butterfly at Meadowdale High School.
In what was his final high school competition, Clobes achieved his goal by swimming a time of 54.49 seconds in the Class 4A state boys swimming preliminaries Feb. 17 at the King County Aquatic Pool.
The time was good enough to qualify Clobes for the consolation finals the next day, where he finished 14th overall with a time of 54.70.
The old record of 54.86 was set by Greg Brewer in 1980.
“It feels really cool being the fastest butterflyer in the history of Meadowdale,” Clobes said. “It’s kind of been a goal that I’ve had since freshman year and I finally got it, which is awesome.”
Clobes, who came into state with a seed time of 55.00, was confident the record would fall sometime during the weekend.
“I was pretty sure I’d get it,” Clobes said. “I just didn’t know when.”
Meadowdale coach Kati Girard noted that Clobes starts out fast in the event. The key to breaking the record was for Clobes to have a strong finish.
“We were just trying to encourage him to hang on and bring it back hard,” Girard said. “He really said that he felt he needed to do that.”
Clobes clocked in with a 25.06 in the first 50 yards and then closed with a 29.43 for his final 50 in Friday’s preliminaries. In the consolation finals, Clobes was a little slower but clocked in with his second straight sub-55 time, which demonstrated to Girard just how well Clobes was swimming.
“I think (Friday) was his pride and joy,” Girard said.
Royals hoops team makes school history
The Lynnwood Royals have a lot to tuck into their memory banks after the school’s first trip to the state boys basketball tournament in 20 years.
They will remember all the hard work it took to get to the Class 3A tourney.
They will remember the feelings they had the first time they stepped out onto the court at the Tacoma Dome.
They will remember how they overcame an 11-point deficit with two minutes left in the fourth quarter of a first-round game with Franklin Pierce and tied the score, only to see the Cardinals prevail in the final 1.6 seconds.
They will remember how senior guard Jeremy Rudd launched and sank a 3-pointer just a couple of steps past midcourt as time ran out in the first quarter against West Valley (Yakima).
They will remember the disappointment of being eliminated by the Rams during the second day of the tournament and having their season come to an end.
But most of all, the Royals will remember how they dared to dream and saw their dream come true.
Lynnwood coach Landon Porter told his players they should be proud of their accomplishments this year despite having lost both of their games at the Class 3A state tournament.
The last time a Lynnwood boys basketball team advanced to state was in 1986.
“They might not appreciate it right now, but next week, two weeks from now, two years from now, they’re going to know what they did was very special to a lot of people,” Porter said.
The process of building a successful team didn’t start this year. Many of the seniors began playing together in middle school.
The years together have forged a bond that will endure far beyond high school.
“We’ve been through so much together,” said senior guard Amar Prasad. “Since the eighth grade we’ve been a team. The chemistry has been so good. For all of that to come to an end, it hurts so bad.”
Porter praised the senior class for persevering through some difficult times. Lynnwood finished 1-19 two years ago. The Royals improved to 6-17 last season and played two close games in the district playoffs.
“The reality is that they’ve really started something special,” Porter said. “It started a couple of years ago … we worked hard in the offseason and did things right and competed.
“They worked hard to get to this point. I was really, really proud of that. They’ve really lit a fire under our program and our school in general.”
Porter also hopes the Royals remember the lessons of this season for the rest of their lives.
Lynnwood’s T-shirts say “Live the dream.”
“They’ve really done that,” Porter said. “They’ve lived the dream. All of us, we’d love to live for another day or two, but as it was it still was a dream come true for them.”
Meadowdale girls
place eighth at state
The Meadowdale Mavericks never gave up in last week’s Class 4A state girls basketball tournament.
Not when they trailed by 20 points early in the third quarter of their first round game against Kentwood.
Not when starting point guard Eryn Jones went down with an ankle injury late in a close game against arch-rival Jackson.
Meadowdale’s determination to keep battling in the face of adversity was rewarded with an eighth-place trophy as the Mavericks split their four games at the Tacoma Dome.
First-year coach Dan Taylor was more than pleased with the Mavericks’ gutsy performance.
“We’ve got to be content,” he said. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to be that far. They can say they’re one of the best teams in 4A, so they should be proud of themselves. I’m proud of them. I’m encouraged by what they did despite all the adversity and the bumps in the road. They fought through and played well.”
Meadowdale was making its 11th straight appearance at state.
After opening with a heartbreaking 58-56 loss to Kentwood, Meadowdale posted back-to-back victories over Bellarmine Prep (57-39) and Western Conference South Division rival Jackson (60-56) before losing to Mount Tahoma 60-45 in the fifth-eighth place game March 11 at the Tacoma Dome.
Royals take third in 1,600 relay at state
The Lynnwood girls track and field team had glimpses of brilliance at the 3A state track and field championships in Pasco May 26-27.
Lynnwood tied for 13th with 17 points in the team standings led by the performance of its 1,600-meter relay squad.
After posting the fastest preliminary time of 4 minutes, .08 seconds, the team of Mariya Golonko, Amanda Overdick, Abriana Hill and Caitlin Bonney finished third in the final behind Issaquah and Liberty with a time of 4:01.08.
The Royals finished seventh in the event last year at state.
“It’s a real confidence booster to have these girls run that fast,” Bonney said.
Bonney placed fourth with a time of 46.01 in her marquee individual event, the 300 hurdles, after finishing second last year. Angela Jensen of Fife won in 44.41.
Bonney had a tough year battling strains in both her hamstrings and as one of the top returnees in the state had a target on her back all year.
“I thought I came out good,” she said of the final race. “The speed and quickness isn’t there. My legs, they’re just tired. It’s been a long season.”
Golonko medaled in the 400 meters, finishing fourth in a time of 59.03.
Golonko also competed in the triple jump and finished 12th with a leap of 34 feet, 7.5 inches.
Overdick, a freshman, pulled a pleasant surprise in the high jump. She earned an eighth-place medal by clearing 5 feet.
“I didn’t know that I was even going to make it to state,” said Overdick, adding her goal was simply to “run hard and jump high.”
Several other Edmonds District athletes also earned medals.
Edmonds-Woodway junior Kate Southcote-Want placed sixth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:05.59 to earn her first state track medal.
Meadowdale’s Latrina Woods battled some nervousness while making her first state appearance and took home a seventh-place medal in the 100 meters with a time of 12.59 seconds.
“I take three deep breaths and get ready to run,” Woods said. “First time ever doing track. I’m proud of myself.”
On the boys side, Mountlake Terrace sophomore Matt Beeninga placed eighth in the 4A 800 meters with a time of 2:00.49.
E-W junior standout soars in postseason
Edmonds-Woodway’s Yonatan Yilma wrapped up a breakthrough season with an 11th place finish at the Class 4A state cross country championships on Nov. 4
The junior standout, who a week earlier took first place at the district meet, finished the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, five seconds.
“On that day, on that course he ran the best race he could,” Edmonds-Woodway head coach Regina Joyce said. “He had a tremendous season. When you consider he’s been running for less than two years he’s made incredible strides. In another year he’ll be that much stronger and experienced.
“He’s definitely capable of winning a state title.”
Two of the runners Yilma defeated at district finished in the top three. Lake Stevens’ Joey Bywater and Mariner’s Dak Riek placed second and third, respectively.
Yilma’s strength is his determination and follow through on goals, Joyce said. She noted that during the district race, one of Yilma’s shoelaces became untied.
“When he makes up his mind to do something he doesn’t let anything get in the way,” Joyce said. “Nothing will distract him.”
Senior takes third
in the 100 butterfly
Meadowdale’s Lisa Keane went out on a high note at the Class 3A state swimming championships.
The Mavericks senior, who was making her fourth and final appearance at state, finished third in the 100-yard butterfly and 13th in the 100 breaststroke Nov. 11 at the King County Aquatic Center.
“My fly I wanted top three,” Keane said. “So that was a really good accomplishment.”
Keane clocked in with a time of 59.06 seconds in the 100 butterfly finals, slightly slower than her preliminary time of 58.69. Her time in the 100 backstroke finals was 1:10.61.
“I had an awesome swim in the (100 butterfly) prelims. I was really, really happy with that,” Keane said. “In the breaststroke I was just trying to improve my place from last year, which I did. I got 13th and improved my time. I was really pleased about that. It was a good meet overall.”
As she reflected on her high school career, Keane noted that she’s put in countless hours of practice and swam millions of yards in the last decade.
“It’s an amazing sport and it can eat you alive,” Keane said. “It’s one of those sports that is just really tough. You have to be really tough to get to a high level of competition. I’m pleased with what I’ve accomplished. I’m happy with what I’ve done and I’m ready to move on.”
For Keane, that means continuing her swimming career in college. She hasn’t decided where she will be going, but swimming is in her future.
“I’ll definitely keep swimming,” Keane said. “I’m definitely going to swim in college. I can’t imagine life without swimming. … I definitely want to stay in the sport.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.