Things are definitely heating up in the world of Washington prep sports and teams from both Enumclaw High and White River remain in the mix.
Here’s where things stand through meets, matches and games of the past weekend, with a focus on the days to come.
FOOTBALL
Enumclaw High has earned a spot in the Class 3A state tournament while the White River squad packs away the pads.
That was the end result of two lopsided gridiron decisions that played out Friday, Nov. 8.
Both Plateau programs were involved in the 32-team, play-in round that matched Class 3A teams from all parts of the state (even though only four hailed from east of the Cascades).
Playing on their home turf at the Enumclaw Expo Center, the EHS squad demolished Southridge High 77-0. The Suns, who made the trip from Kennewick, are members of the Mid-Columbia Conference.
White River was paired against the Lakes Lancers of the South Sound League and ran into an absolute buzzsaw. The higher-seeded Lakes crew raced to a 42-0 halftime lead and eventually posted a 52-0 victory.
White River finished the season with a break-even mark of 5-5.
Likely one of WRHS’ roughest game this season, the Hornets lost to the Lancers, booting them from the state tourney. Photo courtesy Stacy Tyler / intensitysportsphotography.com
Enumclaw scores early, often: The trend was set early during Enumclaw’s whitewashing of Southridge High. While the Hornets scored touchdowns on their first four offensive possessions, the Suns were forced to punt the first four times they possessed the ball.
As if the tone hadn’t already been established, a turnaround shortly before halftime told the tale. Southridge put together a nine-play drive that eventually had the Suns just a foot or two from the end zone. The Hornet defense refused to break, however, and on fourth down Cooper Rodarte made a solo tackle that gave Enumclaw possession. Three plays later Louis Chevalier took off on a 97-yard spring down the left sideline that pushed the Hornets’ lead to 35-0.
Thirty-eight second later, following an interception by Marcell Lensegrav-Ober, Drew Francis scooted around the left side for the Hornets’ sixth TD of the half.
Southridge quickly fumbled the ball away and, with the first-half clock winding down, Chevalier bolted through the middle of the line for a 26-yard TD run.
Mercifully, the second half passed quickly thanks to the “running clock” rule.
For Enumclaw’s stout defense, Friday’s outcome marked the seventh shutout of the season.
Up next for Enumclaw: The Hornets are in familiar territory, firmly planted in the postseason. This year’s squad will be looking to make a deep playoff run, something the past two seasons have delivered (in the Class 2A ranks). In both 2022 and 2023, Enumclaw advanced to the state’s Final Four before losing in the semifinals.
This year’s playoff journey for the No. 9 seeded Enumclaw crew begins against the No. 8 squad from Kennewick High. The two will play at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick.
The Hornets enter the game with a 9-1 record that includes a 7-1 mark in 3A NPSL play, good for second place in the final league standings. Saturday’s contest will be the second in a row against an opponent from the Mid-Columbia Conference; Enumclaw crushed Southridge High last week in the Class 3A play-in field of 32 teams.
For the season, Kennewick High is 8-2 overall and went 6-2 in the combined 4A/3A conference.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON White River and Enumclaw High played back-to-back soccer games the evening of Nov. 7 at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood. At stake was a district victory and guaranteed berth into the Class 3A state tournament. Both squads fell in hard-fought games, setting up a Hornet-Hornet, Saturday night showdown for the district’s seventh and final state entry. In this photo, a header by White River’s Jordyn Daigle (22) keep play alive as teammates Riley Soule (14) and Belle Knauss move in.
GIRLS SOCCER
The battle for the district’s seventh and final state allocation came down to a Hornet-Hornet contest, a Nov. 9 game that went the way of Enumclaw High.
Both EHS and White River had dropped two of three West Central District games, setting the stage for Saturday’s contest at Mount Tahoma High School.
In the WCD finale, Enumclaw’s Reese Darby scored in the game’s seventh minute (off an assist by Ruthie Landwehr) and the next 73 minutes went scoreless. Megan Madill earned the shutout in goal for EHS.
Now, the Enumclaw squad heads to the Class 3A state tournament, a 16-team affair that begins this week and wraps up Nov. 23 with a championship match at Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium.
Enumclaw opens tourney play against Bellarmine Prep in one of four play-in games. Winners will join the 12 others in the field and losers will be finished for the season.
Enumclaw’s opening game was played last night (Tuesday) on Bellarmine Prep’s Tacoma campus. The winner advances to play Roosevelt High on Friday in a loser-out game. A complete bracket can be found by visiting wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php
Enumclaw’s district journey: After a second-place finish in the 3A North Puget Sound League standings, the Hornets opened district play with a tough loss to Mountain View High, a game that ended in a shootout. That was followed by a 1-0 victory over Tacoma’s Silas High on Nov. 5; remaining scoreless for 78 minutes, Enumclaw won when Darby scored off an assist by Sydney VanHoof.
Two nights later, Enumclaw defeated Central Kitsap in a contest that went to penalty kicks, setting the stage for the district finale against White River.
White River’s district journey: The third-place team from the 3A NPSL, White River opened district play Nov. 2 by falling to the Peninsula Seahawks. That set up a loser-out contest against Kentlake, which the Hornets won in convincing 4-1 fashion.
A 1-0 loss to the Lakes Lancers on Nov. 7 set the stage for White River’s winner-to-state, loser-out showdown against Enumclaw.
White River finished the season with an overall mark of 12-6-3.
CROSS COUNTRY
Runners from throughout Washington converged upon Sun Willows Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 9, for the state cross country championships.
Included were 11 athletes from the Plateau – nine from White River and two from Enumclaw High. The girls from Buckley were the only runners to qualify a full team for state competition.
Here’s how the local cross country athletes fared in Pasco.
White River girls: The only local group to qualify for team competition at state, the Hornets placed 13th in a field of 20 teams from the Class 3A ranks.
The team’s top finisher on the 5K course was Paeton Poelman, who placed 29th. The team also included Victoria Blakley, 54th; Vivian Kingston, 74th; Nativity Leddy, 130th; Paityn Kaydus, 172nd; Lily Rodarte, 174th; and Naomi Carthum, 191st.
White River boys: The program sent two runners to the 3A boys race, Michael Marlow and Cannon Ross. Marlow placed 57th and Ross was 142nd.
Enumclaw boys: Elliott Cheney, who placed 140th, was the lone entry in the 3A boys race.
Enumclaw girls: The only EHS entry in the race was Lillian Haas, who placed 86th.
VOLLEYBALL
The successful teams from both Plateau high schools will begin play Nov. 15 in the District 3/4 volleyball tournament. Seven squads from the field of 16 will qualify for the Nov. 22-23 Class 3A state tourney at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Enumclaw High’s first district contest is set for 3 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 15, at Foss High School in Tacoma. The Hornets are paired against the Lakes Lancers.
White River opens district play against Heritage High of Vancouver. The match is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mount Tahoma High School.
Win or lose, the Plateau teams will play a second match on Friday.
By the end of Friday play, four teams from the original 16 will be eliminated. The rest advance to Saturday competition in the double-elimination tourney.
GIRLS SWIM AND DIVE
Nine athletes from the Plateau schools – seven from Enumclaw High and two from White River – will be competing this week at the Class 3A state swim and dive championships.
All earned their state berths during the Nov. 1-2 West Central District meet. Now, they are headed to the Nov. 14-16 state competition at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Advancing from the district meet were the top five finishers in each event, plus anyone who met a previously-established state-qualifying time.
Tara Robinson, who heads the Enumclaw/White River programs, was hopeful her crew could receive additional, last-minute wild-card entries. Any news on that front came too late to be included here.
At state, the busiest of the local swimmers will be Enumclaw High’s Alexandra Levesh who will participate in two individual events and swim a leg in two Hornet relays. The junior qualified for state by winning the 100-yard butterfly and placing fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Also competing for EHS in Federal Way will be: the 200-yard medley relay team of Jay Massey, Audrie Roddy, Levesh and Addisyn Sawyer; the 200-yard freestyle relay crew of Massey, Scarlet Connelly, Sawyer and Levesh; and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Connelly, Lillian Pederson, Molly Michael and Roddy. Among the relay participants, Massey and Connelly are seniors; Sawyer, Pederson and Michael are juniors and Roddy is a sophomore.
White River’s top WCD performance was turned in by Trista Turgeon who handily won the one-meter diving competition. She will be joined at state by teammate Haley Weisheyer, who placed third in the 50-meter freestyle. Both are juniors.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON Pictured is a key play in Enumclaw’s Friday night whitewashing of the visiting Southridge Suns. The only time the Suns moved close to the end zone, the Hornets’ Cooper Rodarte wrapped up the legs of the Southridge ballcarrier on fourth down, giving EHS the ball.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON In their game against the Suns, EHS quarterback Gavin Trachte rolls to his right before tossing a short pass that turned into a touchdown reception by Rodarte in the first quarter.
