Now that calendars have been flipped, a new year has dawned and the winter athletic season is well under way, it’s an opportune time to consider how the Plateau high schools are meeting the challenge of a still-new sporting home.

Thinking back to August, fans of the local high schools had plenty of questions and concerns, all centered around the leap to a new league and the challenges brought by larger-school opponents.

At the time, it was easy to wonder how both swarms of Hornets would fare in the 3A North Puget Sound League. For several years, the schools had competed at the smaller, Class 2A level in the South Puget Sound League.

Now, with winter sports in full swing and the fall season fading into memory, it’s clear that the move was met – not across the board, but in most cases – with unqualified success. Consider the following storylines, looking at a couple of current, winter sports and four from the fall season.

BOYS BASKETBALL: On the boys side there’s no doubt the White River and Enumclaw teams have more than held their own. White River headed into winter break with a 5-0 record and, overall, was undefeated in eight contests. Enumclaw had won three of five 3A NPSL games and sat at 6-2 overall.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Take a look at the standings as of Christmas day: White River and Enumclaw were sitting atop the pack, both undefeated in league play. That impressive showing will change a bit on January 8, when the league-leaders square off in the White River gymnasium.

FOOTBALL: This year’s Enumclaw High football program continued its run of success by placing second in the 3A North Puget Sound League before blasting a postseason opponent and making its way into the state tournament. The team hovered around the Top 10 in the statewide RPI rankings, which included 71 squads.

Across the bridge, White River continued to improve under second-year coach Wyatt Evenson despite the new league and (in theory) tougher opposition. Lining up against eight 3A NPSL foes, the Buckley crew posted five victories and registered its first winning season since 2018 (regular season).

VOLLEYBALL: When the 3A NPSL season concluded it was the newcomers leading the way. White River finished the campaign with a perfect 16-0 record and Enumclaw placed second with a 13-3 record. The closest of the traditional NPSL teams was three games behind in the standings.

White River advanced to the 3A state tournament and delivered a sixth-place trophy to the school’s display case.

GIRLS SOCCER: Enumclaw and White River played their way to the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, respectively, in the 3A NPSL standings. Against their league opponents, EHS went 12-1-3 and White River wound up 11-3-2.

BOYS & GIRLS GOLF: A positive indicator of how the local teams stacked up against their new league opponents came at the North Puget Sound League tournament. All four programs – the boys and girls teams from both Enumclaw and White River – landed a Top 4 placing and advanced to the district tourney that will be staged in the spring.

The Enumclaw boys captured the tourney title and the White River boys were just a step behind, finishing in a second-place tie.

On the girls side, White River placed second and the EHS girls secured a district berth by finishing fourth.

Pictured is Conner Henry (yellow headgear) during a Dec. 18 match against Decatur High; he eventually won with a pin in the third period.