Some teams and individuals were eliminated, others have advanced and the stakes get higher with each passing round. That’s the nature of postseason sports.
On the Plateau, a healthy handful of athletes are still competing, all on the hunt for end-of-the-year glory. Here’s how things stack up for the Hornets – both the Enumclaw and White River kind – as district, regional and state competition draws near.
BASEBALL
The Plateau is well represented on the state scene, as both Enumclaw and White River have advanced to the Class 2A championships.
The 16 teams still in the hunt begin play with opening round and quarterfinal games on May 18; all those are of the “loser out” variety. The 2A semifinals are set for May 24 and the finals will be played on the 25th. The last two rounds are scheduled for Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham.
Enumclaw enters the state tourney as the top-seeded team in the state. The Hornets’ opening round contest will be against No. 16 seed Kingston at 10 a.m. this Saturday at Auburn High School. If the Hornets win, they will play that afternoon, again at Auburn High, against the Tumwater/Pullman winner.
White River enters state play as the No. 15 seed and opens against No. 2 Columbia River. The contest is set for Saturday but, as of press time, a time and place had not been posted on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association website.
Enumclaw entered last week’s District 2/3 tournament as the top-ranked team in the state’s 2A ranks. The Hornets certainly didn’t disappoint, winning three straight games to take the district title. EHS posted a victory over Olympic High in the opening round, defeated Port Angeles in the semifinals and finished with an 8-5 triumph over North Kitsap in the district finale.
White River entered district play as the No. 10 seed and also posted three consecutive victories to land a state berth. In Saturday’s winner-to-state, loser-out contest the Buckley crew knocked off No. 3 Sammamish in a 1-0 thriller. To get to that point, White River had defeated North Mason and Franklin Pierce.
FASTPITCH
As of press time, the bracket for the District 2/3 fastpitch tournament had not been set (it was expected Tuesday evening). The 16-team affair will be contested May 17-18 at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.
The tournament will send six teams to the May 24-25 Class 2A state tourney at Carlon Park in Selah.
Enumclaw finished the SPSL 2A season with a record of 11-5, good for third place. White River wound up fourth with a league mark of 10-6.
LACROSSE
The Enumclaw High crew – last year’s 2A/1A state champion – opened its title defense in fine fashion.
After going undefeated in league play, the Hornets made their 2024 playoff debut Saturday afternoon and crushed visiting Anacortes 18-3. The contest was staged at the Hornets’ home turf at the Enumclaw Expo Center.
Next up for the Enumclaw squad is a May 18 tussle with Sedro-Woolley. The Hornets will again play host at the Expo Center with a 4 p.m. start time.
SOCCER
The Class 2A state tournament, a 16-team affair, will lack Plateau representation. Both White River and Enumclaw participated in last week’s District 2/3 tourney but each fell short of gaining a state berth.
White River had the better run, winning a pair of district games before being eliminated. The Hornets entered as the district’s No. 9 seed and opened with a 2-0 victory over No. 16 North Mason. That was followed by a 1-0 win against the No. 8 Washington Patriots. In a Saturday winner-to-state, loser-out contest against No. 5 Evergreen of Seattle, White River emerged on the short end of a 3-1 decision.
Enumclaw’s district appearance was limited to 40 minutes. In a loser-out tournament opener, EHS was blanked 3-0 by Renton High.
TRACK & FIELD
Hornets from both Enumclaw and White River advanced to the May 17-18 district meet, scheduled for North Mason High School. That meet will serve as the final paring down process, with elite athletes then heading to the May 23-25 state championships at Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High.
White River hosted the South Puget Sound League 2A meet on May 10, where the top six finishers in each event (boys and girls) qualified for district competition.
At the league meet, White River’s girls placed first in the team standings and Enumclaw was No. 2. On the boys side, White River was second and Enumclaw was third (both trailed Franklin Pierce).
The following athletes qualified for the district meet.
White River boys: Tyce Donovan 100 meters and long jump; Michael Marlow 400 meters, 800 meters and 1,600 meters; Braden Eames 400 meters; Levi Northam 300-meter hurdles; 4×100 relay (Tate Bowen, Donovan, Kouri Lewis, Hunter Maris); 4×400 relay (Maris, Eames, Marlow, Cannon Ross); Dainton Neff shot put, javelin and discus; Jordan Goethals high jump; Marcus Marlow pole vault; Lewis long jump; Coltyn Breeden long jump.
Enumclaw boys: Cole Olson 100 meters and 200 meters; McCoy Brooks 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters; Evan Cheney 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters; Amos Hall 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles; Jeremy Dumler 110-meter hurdles; 4×100 relay (Michael Poleski, Clifford Cummings, Jack Heise, Olson); 4×400 relay (Poleski, Cummings, Heise, Olson); Kyle Webb pole vault.
White River girls: Charlee Sproed 400 meters; Vivian Kingston 400 meters, 800 meters and 1,600 meters; Emma Tomlinson 800 meters, 1,600 meters, 3,200 meters and high jump; Nativity Leddy 800 meters and 1,600 meters; Paeton Poelman 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters; Trista Turgeon 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles; 4×400 relay (Kingston, Turgeon, Sproed, Leddy); Mackenzie Cabrera shot put and discus; Grace Galaviz discus and pole vault; Belle Knauss pole vault.
Enumclaw girls: Ashli Gowin 100 meters and shot put; Lillian Haas 800 meters and 1,600 meters; Ava Sawyer 3,200 meters; Isabella Pohlman 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles; Senna Burt 300-meter hurdles and high jump; 4×100 relay (Gowin, Avery Marecle, Natalie DeMarco, Lauren Boger); 4×200 relay (Gowin, Marecle, DeMarco, Boger); 4×400 relay (Burt, Marecle, DeMarco, Mali Radamacher); Natalie Young discus; DeMarco javelin; Zoey Roth javelin; Brynne Stafford pole vault.
TENNIS
Six members of the Enumclaw High girls tennis program survived last week’s league tournament and qualified for the upcoming Bi-District championships.
The May 17-18 tourney, to be contested at the Kitsap Tennis Club in Bremerton, is the final stop before the state Class 2A tournament. The state finale will take place May 24-25 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.
Advancing from the league tourney were singles entries Jasmine Dumontet (who placed second) and Caitlin Triplett (sixth). Also moving along will be a pair of EHS doubles entries: the tandem of Bella Firnkoess and Josie Schampera captured the league tourney title and the duo of Millie Poulin and Gabby Santana placed fourth. The EHS entry of Haley Dumontet and Audrey Firnkoess finished seventh and will serve as an alternate to the Bi-District tourney.
White River’s postseason tennis experience was highlighted by the championship performance of No. 1 singles entry Cydnee Chapin. The WR freshman advances as the top entry from the league tourney.
Teammates who also participated in the league tourney included Alexandra Dinger who placed eighth in singles. In doubles, the team of Ella Stone and Adalyn Sykes lost in the third round; Ella Klemkow and Kadence Gilner dropped their pigtail match; and the duo of Amy Grasley and Emma Swensrud also fell in the pigtail round.
