As summer winds die down and the 2014 school year begins, the Panthers and Spartans have kicked off the fall sports season.
GIRLS SOCCER
SUMNER
The Sumner Spartans girls soccer team reached the top of the mountain last year as the South Puget Sound League 2A champions. The team finished the year with 18 wins, two losses and one tie.
This year, the Spartans move to the SPSL 3A.
“Our strength is our defense. We have given up only six goals in two years,” said coach Robi Turley.
Retuning to the field this year are seniors Alyssa Murray, SPSL first team, Brooke Lancaster, midfielder SPSL first team, Jamie Lange, goalkeeper SPSL first team and sophomore Jordan Thompson, defender SPSL first team.
Lange was honored as Goalkeeper of the Year. Murray was awarded with Most Valuable Player on defense.
“She is the anchor to our defense,” Turley said.
The team may be in a different league, but the winning formula will likely be the same.
VOLLEYBALL
BONNEY LAKE
Debbie Beckwith enters her first year as head coach of the Panthers.
Beckwith has been an assistant coach for the past 22 years, all with the Sumner School District.
Beckwith said, “the bulk of (the) team from last year is returning.”
She added that the Panthers also have three players on the team who were on the team two years ago when Bonney Lake made it to the state tournament.
“We need to prepare ourselves to play at a high level every match because all of the teams in our league are competitive,” she said.
This season the Panthers returned seven players after four seniors graduated last year.
Some players to keep an eye on, Beckwith said, are senior middle hitter Vegas Casey, senior middle and outside hitter Miranda Jeter and freshman middle hitter Carly Gibbon.
The Panthers opened their season hosting South Kitsap on Monday after the press deadline.
Bonney Lake hosts Auburn Mountainview at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
SUMNER
The Sumner volleyball team made its second state tournament appearance last year, ending their season with 11 wins and four losses.
This year the team will compete in the SPSL 3A league.
“There will not be any easy matches this year,” said coach Eric Stansbury. “We are working hard in practice, challenging ourselves to play at a higher level.”
Returning are seniors Kelsey Cornett, Taylor Comerford, juniors Heather Thompson, Kiandra Franklin and sophomore Michelle Passmore.
Comerford also participates in Associated Student Body, and Passmore plays in the school band.
Joining the team are seniors Cassidy Kendall, Sam Petersen, Brooke Beddow, junior Hanna Fox and sophomore Georgia Hinds.
GIRLS SWIM
BONNEY LAKE
Jerry Turner will be coaching the girls swim team for Bonney Lake. Turner has been the coach for the boys team at Sumner and has also spent time as an assistant coach for both Bonney Lake and Sumner.
Turner said he expects, “great things from the girls as individuals and (in) relays.”
Turner said he spent the off season “adjusting (his) exceptions of times to better suit the girls.”
Turner has also spent the off season, studying the rule changes that will be in place this year.
He added, assistant coach Jay Paulson has helped him throughout the summer.
Turner said 15 swimmers from last years team are returning minus a few seniors that graduated last year.
Some key swimmers and divers to watch include Kailyn Fleeman, Marion Lebrun, Samantha McCurley and captains Ashley Yandt and Kaylee Fletcher.The Panthers start their season traveling to Enumclaw to face the Hornets at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
SUMNER
The Sumner girls swim team placed second in district competitions and 10th in 2A meet last season. This year, the team will swim in the 3A league.
“With moving up to 3A our girls will have a tougher time qualifying for districts and state this year as the times are faster for 3A than for 2A,” said coach Dana Powers.
Returning to the team is senior Lliana Kaiser, juniors Samy Baxley, Katie Korbuszewski, Madison Thibodeau, Payton Focht, Taylor Riley, Anna Gano. Also back in the blocks are sophomores Kali Barnes, Erin Lynch, Sophie Walker, MichaelAnn Wilson, August Wright, Ellaysia Butler, Stacy Friend, Rachel Montoya and Kristin Rager.
Freshman Mikaela Miele will be joining the team this year.
“Miele should have some strong swims this year as she is a year round competitive swimmer,” said Powers. “I also expect sophomore Wilson, junior team captains Baxley and Korbuszewski and senior Kaiser to have some great swims this year, as well as having Barnes back on the board. I expect all of them to qualify for districts and state this year.”
Foreign exchange students Kennie Chaplet from France and Mireia Pinies from Spain are also joining the team.
The first meet is 3 p.m. Sept. 16 at Sumner High School against Eastonville.
GOLF
BONNEY LAKE
The Panthers boys golf team finished last season ninth in state, second in the league and at districts.
“This was one of the most successful overall seasons as a team,” coach JD Rushton said.
Rushton said he looks forward to the additional teams in the SPSL 3A.
This season, the Panthers will be short four seniors who graduated last year.
“There might be a few struggles,” he said.
Despite the four players the Panthers lost, four returning lettermen will on the greens.
Curtis Koltermann is the returning league champion. Koltermann also played in the state tournament.
Rushton looks for Koltermann to lead the team along side senior co-captains Taylor Graham and Taylor Dow.
He added four juniors will be competing this season for spots on the varsity team.
There are also nine sophomores on the team.
“I look forward to seeing them improve their games and compete for varsity spots,” Rushton said.
Rushton said this season, “Enumclaw will be the tough team to beat.”
The Panthers start their season at 2:45 p.m. Thursday at High Cedars Golf Course against Auburn.
SUMNER
Girls
The Sumner High School girls golf team jump into the SPSL 3A after finishing strong in the 2A league last year.
Coach Shane Patrick returned this year to coach the girls team.
Seniors Samantha Ward and Hayley Walenceus and juniors Kristen Immel and Claire Selmer will be returning to the varsity team.
Sophomore Hailey McCabe and freshmen Kayla Immel, Natasha Leffel, Abigail Burns and Madison Wolf will be new to the team this year.
Boys
The boys golf team played at the top of the 2A league last year, and expects to be equally as competitive in the SPSL 3A this season.
Seniors Alec Esterbrook, Cole Rommel, Drew Wehmer and juniors Connor Smith and Matthew Stevens are returning to the varsity team.
Junior Brinley Vaughan will be new to the varsity team this year.
“We have a real strong junior varsity team that will compete for varsity spots all year,” said coach Jay Johnston. “This should be a fun and exciting year.”
TENNIS
BONNEY LAKE
Damon DeLapp returns at the helm of the boys tennis team. He has been coaching for 15 years and has been the Bonney Lake boys coach for 10 years since the school opened.
With the change in league, the Panthers will face some different teams it hasn’t played against in the past.
This season, Bonney Lake will face Sumner, Auburn Riverside and Auburn.
Three teams DeLapp credits as being. “real solid teams.”
“I know we are a young team,” he said. “But we work really hard.”
Four seniors on the boys team graduated last year but the Panthers are returning eight players.
DeLapp said Adam Hunt, Jordan Kurtz and Nate Monsrud are players to note this season.
The Panthers started its season at on Tuesday against Auburn after the press deadline.
Bonney Lake will play Auburn Mountainview 4 p.m. at home Thursday.
SUMNER
The Sumner High School boys tennis team was undefeated last year in the SPSL 2A league, and will be bringing its skills to the 3A league this year. “The 3A league is traditionally very tough, but with no recent track record in this brand new league, it will be tough to accurately predict,” said coach Spenser Phelan.
Seniors Zak Landers, Julian Fernandez, Sam Jacobsen, Jake Conklin, junior Elijah Evers and sophomore Zaylan Jacobsen are returning varsity players.
“Zaylan won fourth place at the 2A state tournament last season, and Zak Landers was also a state participant, so expectations are high,” Phelan said.
The Spartans first match was a home game against Auburn Mountainview on Tuesday after the press deadline.
CROSS COUNTRY
BONNEY LAKE
The Panthers sent Laree Graham to the to the state meet last year and both the boys and girls team qualified for districts in 2013.
The 2014 season should be another strong year for the Panther distant runners.
Andy Foster is entering a decade as coach and he expects the Panthers to be right at the top again this season.
“We only graduated two seniors from the boys side and one girl,” Foster wrote in an email. “Our league is going to be very tough. I think it will be one of the tougher leagues and if we can survive, we will have a good shot of taking our team(s) to state.”
There are 40 runners returning and 11 seniors, with only 10 graduating from the program.
Some early highlight runners include, Melissa Arima, Graham Ryan Engledow, Brock Frame, Bennett Hillier, Mykel Fisher, Allen Fletcher, Gavin McElroy, and Eric Volleger.
SUMNER
Last season the Sumner cross country boys and girls teams ran in 2A state meet and the team expects similar results in the SPSL 3A.
“Moving up from 2A to 3A will be tough, but we are up to the challenge,” said coach Karen Weber.
On the boys team, returning students include seniors Jordan Landes, Dillon Smith, junior Nate Weber and sophomore Nicolas Bourgeois. Jordan serves as an ASB officer at Sumner High and Dillon plays in the school band.
On the girls team, junior Bailey Tomsen and sophomore Abby Marcotte will be returning to the team. Freshman Emma Sjolund and junior Petria Russell are new to the team.
Sumner cross country ran the Raven Jamboree on Sept. 6 at Auburn River High School, and their first home meet will be Sept. 20.
