Editor’s note: Due to the vast amount of sports preview coverage, we had to cut several team previews from this print edition. Head to courierherald.com to read the full article.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Longtime coach Jeff Jacobson has been around the cross country scene long enough to know what it takes to be successful. He mentored last year’s squad to a league title and, following the season, was named the South Puget Sound League 2A Coach of the Year.
So, what does he think about his 2022 team that features and handful of returnees and welcomes a few newcomers?
“I feel we can do well this year,” Jacobson said. “However, it is a competitive league.”
The secret to success doesn’t sit with his top performers, the coach explained. Rather, victories will depend upon runners claiming those third through seventh spots in the EHS varsity lineup.
“This is a team sport,” Jacobson said. “One runner alone can’t win it all for the team.”
Leading the way for the 2022 Hornets will be a pair of juniors, McCoy Brooks and Evan Cheney. Brooks was a first team all-league selection a season ago and Cheney was a second team pick.
Also returning to the varsity squad are Liam Leonard, Will Scharf, Michael Poleski and Jeremy Dumler. “We’re excited to be adding some new members to the team,” the coach said, mentioning Cody Kohl, Spencer Ballard, Elliis Behrens and Caleb Grantham.
A highlight for this year’s boys’ team is the travel schedule which includes the Woodbridge Invitational in California, the Nike Invitational in Portland, the Fall Classic in Tacoma and the Leavenworth Invitational.
Before that, the Hornet boys will run today (Sept. 7) at the Timberline 2-Mile Jamboree. Then, on Sept. 14, the squad will head to Fort Steilacoom Park for a multi-team meet.
GIRLS SOCCER
The Enumclaw High girls’ soccer program, headed by veteran coach Shawn Tobius, returns a handful of players who garnered honors at the completion of the 2021 campaign.
Among the top returnees, according to the coach, are senior Grace McCain, who was a first team, all-league defender last year; Lauren Boger, a junior and a second-team midfielder in 2021; senior midfielder Heidi Sholseth, all-league honorable mention; and junior Bella Baird.
Serving as team captains are Sholseth and McCain.
Also returning to the varsity lineup are two Hornets who received honorable mention when coaches picked all-league teams last year: senior forward Sofia Smits and sophomore goalkeeper Megan Madill.
Tobius lists freshman Claire Largent as the top newcomer to the EHS program.
The rest of this year’s roster includes seniors Charlee Torgison, Gabi Martel and Kate Garland; juniors Josie Schampera and Raegan Eilers; sophomores Ally Mavin, Emma Henshaw, Ruthie Landewehr, Sydney VanHoof and Reese Darby; and freshman Sutton Kelsey.
Last year’s program went 11-2-1 in league play, advanced through the district tournament and was one of just 16 Class 2A teams advancing to the state championships.
As for this year, Tobius said, “our team goals would be to challenge Fife and White River for a league title, give our maximum effort 100 percent of the time and to limit our mistakes.”
The team played its season opener Sept. 6 at Franklin Pierce and now has back-to-back contests to close out the week. The Hornets travel to Foss High Thursday and head for Tahoma High on Friday.
BOYS TENNIS
Taking to the tennis court for Enumclaw High will be “a mix of young and older players,” according to coach Will Stuenkel.
The squad will have to come together quickly if they hope to match the success found by last year’s squad. That team went 13-1 in SPSL 2A play, captured the league title and propelled Stuenkel to Coach of the Year honors.
While admitting that graduation depleted his ranks, the coach highlights the return of seniors like Carter Williams, Greysun Harris, Kyle Koehn and Nathan Leonard. “They have strong leadership and experience that will hopefully prove successful,” Stuenkel said.
Aside from that foursome, the coach is looking at “new and upcoming players who are looking for varsity spots.”
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
“I am really looking forward to seeing how this season plays out,” said John Freeburg, coach of the Enumclaw High girls’ cross country program.
Showing confidence in the athletes returning to the roster, along with other additions, he’s counting on big things for the Hornets. “Planning to have a strong season and qualifying as a team for the state meet in Pasco,” Freeburg added.
The top of the 2022 roster begins with a trio of juniors – Lindsey Essex, Ava Sawyer and Jasmine Dumontet – who earned berths in last season’s state meet. “Adding to that, we have a greatly improved Anali Johnson and strong freshman newcomer Lili Haas,” the coach reported.
Both Dumontet and Sawyer were, at the close of last season, second team all-league selections.
The season’s first competition comes Sept. 10 when the EHS squad heads to Tacoma for the Bellarmine Invitational.
VOLLEYBALL
Veteran coach Jackie Carel realizes how much she lost to graduation, but is pinning this year’s hopes on a core group of returning players, some solid additions making the leap from junior varsity and some welcome additions to the program.
Back for another year of varsity play are seniors Macy Furtwangler (first team all-league, outside hitter), Lexie DeGroot, Brooke Osborne, Kennedy Pond and Samantha Darby (signed to play collegiately at Western Oregon University). Also returning to the varsity roster is junior Bella Firnkoess.
“We have some solid players coming up from JV, and we’re hoping they can fill the shoes of last year’s strong group of senior graduates,” Carel reported. New to the varsity squad are Taiya Stafford, Raea Middleton and Ailiannna Redbird-Quaempts. They join a group of defenders that includes Olivia McKeighen, Haley Osborne and Natalie DeMarco.
Carel and Co. opened their season Sept. 6 with a home match against league foe Orting. Next come a pair of road trips, Sept. 9 at Clover Park and Sept. 12 at Fife.
BOYS GOLF
The Enumclaw High boys’ golf team is quickly jumping into South Puget Sound League 2A play. The team’s first match of the year was contested yesterday (Tuesday) when the Hornets hosted the Fife Trojans.
This year’s edition, again under the guidance of coach Ryan Picinich, has a couple of major holes to fill. Lost to graduation were Ben Laurnen, last season’s SPSL 2A Golfer of the Year and a state tournament qualifier, and Jack Craighead, a second team all-league selection.
Their place atop the EHS leader board appears to be taken by two Hornets: senior Jake Bort, a team captain, two-year letter winner and a state qualifier a season ago; and junior Tanner Nichols, also a two-time letter winner who advanced to last year’s district tournament. At the conclusion of the 2021 regular season Nichols was named to the all-league first team and Bort was a second team selection.
Other returning players who should be part of the varsity seven this season, according to Picinich, are juniors Kole Carnino and Alex Long; sophomore Dylan McMahan; and a pair of freshmen, Travis Leonard and Taelon Van Dam.
Also on the roster are senior Carter DeRosier; juniors Landon Breidenbach, Mason DeRosier and Caden Markus; and freshmen Henry Bort, Elliot Collamore and Parker Cook.
GIRLS GOLF
There’s a new coach leading the girls’ program, but he’s certainly no stranger to the world of Hornet golf. Taking the coaching reins is Tyler Salsbury, a former standout for the EHS boys’ squad.
He spent years being recognized as one of the state’s top young players and, after departing EHS in 2012, took his golf game to the University of Washington. In 2014, Salsbury won the Washington State Amateur Championship.
Now, he admits to being “so excited to be a part of the program again and be able to give back to EHS what it gave to me many years ago.”
Salsbury inherits a program that is small in number but “very experienced and tournament tested,” he said.
The team of six golfers is led by the lone senior, team captain Raegan Chevalier. She was a second team selection at the close of last season, when SPSL 2A coaches announced their all-league teams.
The rest of the team consists of juniors Emily Alicea (also a second team pick last year), Danika Korpe, Kate Hartman, Kate Tinney and Gracie Covington.
Salsbury and his crew opened the season Tuesday, hosting Fife High, and return to action next Tuesday, Sept. 13, traveling to High Cedars Golf Club for a match against the Orting Cardinals.
GIRLS SWIM & DIVE
Several athletes return this season to an Enumclaw High swim and dive team that claimed eighth place during last year’s state championships.
The core group on the swimming side includes seniors Kate Perlot, Clara Madewell and Ella Hoyne and sophomore Tori Massey. In diving, EHS will turn to senior Ashley Dickerson and freshman Naomi Prince.
Coach Laini Goodlett also has promising newcomers in Alexandra Levesh and Molly Michael.
“We feel we have a good contingent of returning swimmers and a strong group of incoming freshmen who will be key in developing the team and providing depth,” Goodlett reported.
The team goal, she added, is to see more girls qualify for district and state and to send multiple relay teams to postseason competition.
Competition gets under way Tuesday, Sept. 13, when the Enumclaw/White River teams host Fife High at the Enumclaw Aquatic Center.
