Sports Briefs

Jackson’s Brown selected by Kansas City in baseball draft

Jackson’s Geoff Brown was selected in the 23rd round (696th pick) by the Kansas City Royals on the second day of major league baseball’s annual first-year player draft.

Brown has signed a letter of intent with the University of Washington. The left-hander, who helped lead Jackson to the 2006 Class 4A state championship, was 6-1 this season with a 1.11 ERA. He struck out 75 batters in 38 innings.

On June 9, the Jackson senior struck out five batters in three innings of work to help his team (team A) to a 7-4 win over Team B in the all-state baseball series at Yakima Valley Community College’s Parker Field.

Brown allowed one run in each of the first two innings but then recorded six straight outs, including four consecutive strikeouts.

Edmonds Community College’s outfielder David Marks, a Lake Washington graduate, was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 19th round (594th).

Meadowdale graduate Brandon McKerney, a junior pitcher at the University of Washington, was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 14th round (435th).

McKerney, a 6-foot-4, 190-pounder, spent three seasons as a reliever on the UW pitching staff. As a junior in 2007, he went 3-1 with a 6.23 earned run average. He made a name for himself last summer when he pitched for the Newport (R.I.) Gulls in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. For the Gulls, he posted a 0.31 ERA and held opponents to a .106 average.

Timberwolves recognized at Walsh-Platt Banquet

Four Jackson seniors were honored at the annual Walsh-Platt Athletic Scholarship Banquet June 6 at Cascade High School.

Jackson’s Morgan Frost, Laice Valera, Jordan Lance and Michael Manning were among the 12 student-athletes from the Everett School District recognized. To be considered, individuals must earn at least two varsity letters in a sport, earn a varsity letter in at least one other sport, display exceptional school citizenship and participate in community service projects.

Girls basketball coach Jeannie Thompson was named Jackson’s coach of the year and Jim and Rosy Addington were honored as Mom and Pop of the year.

Jackson players participate in all-star softball contest

Jackson’s Taryn Pearce, Jenna Mohrweis, Nena Slocum and Lauren Reid were among the players who participated in the 2007 Senior All-Star Challenge June 6 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

The fifth annual challenge features four teams made up of elite high school softball players from Western Washington. The Western Conference also included players from Shorewood, Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Monroe and Kamiak.

The Wesco team lost 12-0 to South Puget Sound and 7-0 to the Narrows Bay and Bridge/Seamount/Pierce/Pac 9 squad.

Neeley selected to play in junior meet

Jackson’s Jeffrey Neeley is one of 78 players scheduled to play in the seventh annual Pacific Northwest International Junior tournament June 18-21 at Trophy Lake Golf and Casting in Port Orchard.

The field includes 11 juniors from across Washington state. Also scheduled to play is Shorecrest’s Jens Bracht, who finished second in the Class 3A state tournament.

Hanson earns Pac-10 academic honors

University of Washington senior Jacki Hansen was named to the 2007 Pacific-10 Conference Softball All-Academic first team.

Hansen, a Jackson High School graduate, was Washington’s starting center fielder this season and boasted a team-best 3.72 grade-point average in economics and political science.

To be eligible for the academic team, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and be either a starter or a significant contributor to the team.

College signings

The Enterprise will be publishing a list of high school seniors who will be continuing their athletic careers in college.

Some signings were already reported on but not all. To be added to the list, e-mail the athlete’s name, sport and college to: entsports@heraldnet.com or write to: Sports editor, The Enterprise, 4303 198th St. SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036.

Youth anglers score big at fishing derby

About 40 anglers participated in a youth fishing derby hosted by the city of Edmonds, Wal-Mart, West Marine and Willow Creek Fish Hatchery on June 9.

Each participant caught at least three fish and many went home with their limit of four. The two winners in the casting contest were Kyle Carpenter (ages 5-7) and Jacob O’Connell (8-10). Other age group winners were Samantha Toikka (5), Dylan Assaker (6), Brianna Irons (7, co winner biggest fish award), Nat McCarthy (8), Jacob O’Connell (9, co-winner biggest fish award) and Jasmine Lee (10).