The Memorial Day weekend traditionally provides a well-deserved curtain call for the Evergreen State’s top athletes and this year was no exception.
Championships – both the team and individual variety – were decided in a healthy handful of sports and the Plateau was represented nearly across the board.
The impressive list of state participants was capped by the Enumclaw High lacrosse team, which captured a state 1A/2A championship. Unlike other sports at Enumclaw High and White River, lacrosse operates at the club level, since it is not sanctioned as a varsity sport by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
Here’s a look at how things went during the final week of the spring season, with state events spanning May 23 – 27.
ENUMCLAW LACROSSE
A stellar regular season was capped by two convincing playoff victories and, in the end, a midfield celebration.
The Enumclaw Hornets were the ones in a joyous dogpile Saturday afternoon at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. The emotion was fully justified, as the Hornets had just defeated Orting 20-9 to claim the 1A/2A state championship.
Enumclaw showed itself to be the superior team from the outset, scoring just 34 seconds into the game. Additional goals came in rapid succession and Enumclaw was on top 5-0 by the time the contest was eight minutes old. The Hornet advantage soon moved into double figures, reaching 13-4 by halftime and 18-6 after three quarters of play.
The victory was highlighted by Kole Carnino’s five-goal performance. Wyatt Neu and RJ Struthers added three goals each while Kobe Kahne, Gunnar Trachte and Aidan Voorhees had two apiece. Rounding out the scoring were single tallies by Wylie Craighead, Anthony Mills and Jack Popke.
In all, the Hornets won 15 of their 16 games during their championship season.
WHITE RIVER GOLF
The White River High girls provided one of the highlights of the Class 2A state golf championships. Playing over the course of two days last week, the Hornet girls placed second in the final team standings, trailing only the Sehome Mariners.
Leading the way for White River was sophomore Lexie Mahler, who opened the state tourney May 23 with a round of 73 and came back with a 77 the following day. Her two-day scorecard of 150 landed her in third place in a field that originated with 80 golfers.
Also contributing to the WRHS girls’ team success were juniors Abby Rose (86-94-180, tied for 21st place) and Sophie Ross (95-87-182, placing her 23rd in the field). Junior Alle Klemkow had qualified for the state tourney but, due to injury, did not participate.
On the boys’ side of the tournament, White River junior Kaden Ausen was high on the leaderboard after two days of play. He opened with a 73, which left him tied for eighth place after the initial 18 holes; he improved and carded a round of 70 on Day 2, finishing at 143 and claiming fourth place.
The boys played at Liberty Lake Golf Course and the girls were close by at MeadowWood. Both are in the community of Liberty Lake, east of Spokane.
Submitted photo The White River High girls’ golf team captured second place honors at the Class 2A state championships. Making the trip to the MeadowWood Golf Course, just east of Spokane, were (from left): Alle Klemkow (injured, did not play), Lexie Mahler, coach Anna Rose, Sophie Ross and Abby Rose.
ENUMCLAW GOLF
The Enumclaw High girls claimed sixth-place honors during last week’s Class 2A state golf championships.
Three of the four Hornets qualifying for the state tourney made the cut following the initial 18 holes of play and advanced to Day 2. The 2A tourney was staged May 23-24 at the MeadowWood course at Liberty Lake, just east of Spokane.
Leading the way for EHS was junior Emily Alicea, who placed 16th in a field that began with 79 golfers. She carded a round of 89 on Day 1 and came back with an 84, leaving her at 173.
Also figuring in the team scoring were junior Kate Hartman (96-89-185, tied for 27th place) and senior Raegan Chevalier (92-102-194, good for 40th place). Also qualifying for the state tourney was junior Danika Korpe, who shot a round of 100 on Day 1 and did not advance.
In the boys’ Class 2A tournament, Enumclaw High was represented by a trio of golfers.
All were in the initial field of 80 but none survived the Day 1 cut.
Tackling the Liberty Lake course were junior Tanner Nichols, who shot a round of 83; freshman Travis Leonard, 88; and sophomore Dylan McMahan, 92.
ENUMCLAW FASTPITCH
Two victories to open the Class 2A state fastpitch championships pushed the Enumclaw girls into the tourney semifinals. But two losses put an end to the Hornets’ season.
Enumclaw High had joined 15 other 2A programs May 26 for the state festivities, all congregating at Carlon Park in Selah.
The Hornets found nothing but success on Day 1, shutting out Selah 4-0 before registering an 8-6 quarterfinal victory over Olympic High. Saturday was a different ball game, however: Enumclaw was blasted 10-0 by eventual state champion North Kitsap and was then eliminated with a 5-2 loss to Othello.
The EHS squad finished the spring season with an overall record of 19-8. That included a 14-2 run through the South Puget Sound League 2A (good for second place) and winning two of three games at the district tournament.
Photo by Kevin Hanson Natalie DeMarco’s personal-best effort in the javelin was good for second place at the Class 2A state track and field championships.
ENUMCLAW TRACK AND FIELD
Natalie DeMarco unleashed a personal-best throw of 117 feet, 8 inches to place second in the Class 2A state track and field championships. The EHS junior was coming off a district title, which she won with a then-personal record of 114-09.
DeMarco led the way as 11 Hornets participated in the state meet, staged May 25-27 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma. Other EHS athletes who had qualified for the culminating meet were:
McCoy Brooks: 1,600 meters, 10th place, 4:24.78; and 3,200 meters, seventh place, 9:23.45.
Evan Cheney: 3,200 meters, 19th place, 10:26.92.
Dean Paulson: pole vault, 15th place, 10-6.
Tyler Merz: shot put, 14th place, 43-08.75.
Lillian Haas: 800 meters, 15th place, 2:32.31; 1,600 meters, 16th, 5:36.41.
Saiya Flaherty: high jump, fifth place, 4-10.
Natalie Young: discus, 12th, 99-11.
4×400 relay: the team of Melanie Martinez, DeMarco, Ashli Gowin and Taiya Stafford was 13th in prelims, 4:21.57, did not advance to finals.
WHITE RIVER TRACK AND FIELD
The class 2A state meet, staged Thursday through Saturday at Mount Tahoma High in Tacoma, included nine athletes from White River.
Setting the pace was Emma Tomlinson, who had qualified for state in three events. She placed fourth in both distance events (with times of 5:09.86 in the 1,600 meters and 11:24.47 in the 3,200, both personal records) and was ninth in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 8 inches.
Other White River athletes who had qualified for the state meet were:
Lyle Dolojan: 200 meters, 11th place, 23.07; 100 meters, false start.
Michael Marlow: 1,600 meters, 13th, 4:29.22.
Trista Turgeon: 100-meter hurdles, disqualified.
Nativity Leddy: 800 meters, 16th place, 2:35.15.
Soleil Bianchi: 3,200 meters, 15th place, 12:32.02 (personal record).
Boys 4×100 relay: The foursome of Brendon Holliday, Kouri Lewis, Jacob Becher and Dolojan received the “did not finish” tag after committing a lane violation.
ENUMCLAW GIRLS’ TENNIS
A pair of Enumclaw High doubles teams proved very tough during the regular season. That success continued during the district tournament, where the tandems of Macy Furtwangler/Ashley Dickerson and Josie Schampera/Bella Firnkoess battled their way into the Class 2A state tourney.
But state is a different matter; the competition ramps up and the EHS duos saw their success come to an end.
Playing May 26 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, the Enumclaw entries joined 14 other doubles teams in search of 2A glory. And, for the Hornets, that success didn’t come.
Both EHS teams fell 2-0 in the opening round and slipped into the afternoon’s consolation bracket where losing teams were eliminated from further play. That was the eventual fate for Schampera and Firnkoess, who lost 2-1 to a Sammamish duo, and Furtwangler and Dickerson, who fell 2-0 to a pair of Ephrata Tigers.
