The winter athletic season is in the rear view mirror, and a stacked lineup of spring sports have just begun.
Here’s what to expect from the Plateau’s runners, pitchers, kickers and other athletes as the school year draws to a close from the coaches themselves.
ENUMCLAW HIGH: BASEBALL
Veteran skipper Eric Fiedler will be handing over an impressive lineup card when his Enumclaw High Hornets take the field this spring.
Heading the Hornet list is senior Dylan Watts, a catcher/pitcher who shared league Most Valuable Player honors last season.
Pitching is crucial to success and EHS has a pair of successful, veteran hurlers to call upon. Taking the mound will be Drake Anderson and Ethan Thomas, both seniors and both coming off first team, all-South Puget Sound League 2A campaigns. When not on the mound last year, Thomas was also earning first team honors for his play at first base.
Also singled out by Fiedler as key returnees are junior infielder Noah Seabrands, who was a second team all-league pick last year as a utility player/designated hitter, and sophomore infielder Karson Holt. Both are expected to hold down full-time roles this season, Fiedler said.
The roster also includes Emmit Otero, a second team selection last year, and fellow junior Jeb English who garnered all-league honorable mention. And the coach also is high on infielder/pitcher Cooper Markham, the only freshman to make the varsity squad.
The rest of the Hornet varsity includes seniors Kevin Ibarra, John Malpass and Scott Wolgamot; juniors Casey Megargle and Davis Molen; and sophomores Landon Brauer, Garrett Chavis, Tanner Nichols and Will Scharf.
Enumclaw began the 2022 season last Saturday with a 2-0 home-field victory over North Thurston and kicked off the SPSL 2A campaign yesterday (Tuesday) with a road trip to Franklin Pierce. Today, the schedule calls for Part 2 of the two-game series against Franklin Pierce with a 7 p.m. start at Enumclaw’s Osborne Field.
This year’s edition of the Hornets “returns a lot of experience despite some hits from graduation last year,” Fiedler said. “The Hornets have plenty of talented arms,” he added, “and are dependent on replacing some key defensive players last year to defend their league title from 2021.”
ENUMCLAW HIGH: SOFTBALL
A handful of proven players are gracing the diamond this spring under the direction of coach Linda Hubber.
Weather is always a factor for March sports, but the squad was able to kick off the season last Saturday with jamboree play at Tahoma High; the day brought a 4-3 victory over the host Bears and a 3-3 tie against Sequim. The South Puget Sound League 2A campaign was to begin yesterday (Tuesday) with a road game at Franklin Pierce. Friday brings a home contest against the Steilacoom Sentinels beginning at 7 p.m., under the lights at the Boise Creek Sixplex.
Hubber has 10 returnees in the ranks and four moving up to varsity. The pitcher-catcher combo will be staffed by junior Emilie Crimmins and senior Rosie Penke, respectively. Handling outfield chores will be seniors Brookelyn Jewett, Taylor Ober and Allison Dofelmier, along with junior Madison Higginbotham. The infield will be filled by the combined efforts of Haley Chavis, Jenna Fahsholtz, Hannah Penke, Sydney Bentley, Caitlin Dahlgren, Emily Fairburn and Mariah Garcia. Cracking the varsity roster as freshmen were Alyssa Neal and Kaylee Henry.
Among the returnees who garnered all-league honors a season ago are Higginbotham, who earned first team, all-league recognition; Crimmins and Ober were second team picks and earning all-league honorable mention were Penke, Jewett and Fahsholtz.
ENUMCLAW HIGH: TRACK & FIELD
The highlight of the earliest part of the season, according to coach Jenelle Stussy, is a return to “some level of normalcy.”
With uncertainty about meets and opponents seemingly in the rear-view mirror, she is ready for a full slate of competition. The 2022 campaign is set to begin tomorrow (Thursday) when the EHS Hornets host league foe Fife High. Two days later, Enumclaw makes the short trip to Orting for the Cardinal Relays.
Stussy has a healthy list of returning track and field athletes expected to contribute to the team’s success. On the girls’ side of the program are seniors Anna Bogh, Rubie DiBella, Ellie DeGroot, Sophia DeMarco and Marissa Espinosa; juniors Melanie Martinez and Saiya Flaherty; and sophomore Natalie DeMarco.
On the boys side of the ledger, the coaching staff is looking for contributions from the likes of seniors Sayer Dodd, Trevor Storm, Dawson Harding, Dane Johnson, Jack Morse, Joe Cleveland, Sean Phillips, Josh Schampera and Mata Tagaloa; junior Dean Paulson; and sophomores McCoy Brooks, Evan Cheney, Jeremy Dumler, Wyatt Neu, Gunnar Montgomery, Josh Phillips and Michael Poleski.
ENUMCLAW HIGH: GIRLS TENNIS
There’s a new coach guiding the program, but plenty of veteran talent returning the court. Those are the early-season highlights for the Enumclaw High girls’ tennis team.
Will Stuenkel has taken the reins as coach, replacing retired head man Rick Carel. He’s a familiar face on the EHS tennis scene, already heading the boys’ team during the fall season.
Stuenkel inherited a program deep in varsity experience, with six players returning from last season’s varsity eight.
Most notable among those is junior Macy Furtwangler, who concluded her sophomore campaign by being voted the SPSL 2A’s Most Valuable Player. She returns to her role in the No. 1 singles slot.
Providing leadership, the coach said, are senior captains Sydney Scribner and Moriah Rogel. Scribner earned all-league honorable mention a season ago, as did Jazmine Dumontet, now a sophomore.
Weather permitting, the Hornets were slated to kick of the 2022 season yesterday (Tuesday) with a trip to Clover Park High to take on the Warriors. Also this week, the schedule calls for a Thursday appearance at Franklin Pierce High School.
ENUMCLAW HIGH: GIRLS WATER POLO
There’s a new face at the top of the girls’ water polo program, as Scott Usborne has taken the reins. He’s no stranger to the game, though, with several years worth of experience coaching boys’ teams.
The past couple of seasons have been tough, Usborne said, with one season lost completely and another abbreviated. But he has some experience on this season’s roster, along with a hope that his crew can grow throughout the campaign and remain competitive with the rest of the pack.
The 2022 roster includes seniors Ella Hoyne, Abbie Roddy, Lizzy Tolbert and Leanna Walski; juniors Alex Harrington, Clara Madewell, Sam Sapp and Katelyn Seratt; and freshmen Scarlet Connelly and Tori Massey.
ENUMCLAW HIGH: BOYS SOCCER
With a weekend jamboree as a tune-up, the Enumclaw High boys’ soccer team has already launched its South Puget Sound League 2A season. The Hornets traveled for a road game against the Franklin Pierce Cardinals last night (Tuesday), with results coming too late to include here. The jamboree included a 2-0 loss to Federal Way and a scoreless tie against Sumner.
With veteran coach Shawn Tobius leading the way, the Hornets next play this Friday, March 18, challenging the Foss High Falcons. The league game begins at 7 p.m. on the campus of Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High. The team’s first home game is Tuesday, March 22, against the Washington Patriots. The SPSL 2A contest kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Enumclaw Expo Center stadium.
This year’s roster features five players who have returned from a squad that finished second in the SPSL 2A standings a season ago. That list includes an honored senior as the team’s last line of defense. Following last season, Dylan James was voted the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year. This year’s varsity roster also includes senior midfielders Devon Anagli, Carson Baker, Eluhar Gutierrez and Cooper Lundeen; senior forwards Jose Pelayo and Sergio Diaz; senior defender Christian Martinez; junior midfielders Carter Williams and Rishi Burt; junior defenders Matthew Blakemore, Kyle Koehn, Giulio Porcaro and Henry Tripp; and junior forward Tristan Vieren. Freshmen making the varsity roster are defender Sam Blair, forward Landon Breidenbach and midfielder Brian Silva.
Tobius is counting on James and Baker to serve as team leaders and notes that top newcomers will include Silva, Breidenbach and Vieren.
ENUMCLAW HIGH: BOYS LACROSSE
There’s a new coach in charge of the EHS lacrosse program and he enters the season with a great deal of confidence.
“It’s looking to be a great year for Enumclaw lacrosse and we feel we have a very serious shot at the state title game,” Dawson Cutright wrote about his team’s expectations for 2022.
The squad shows a healthy balance of returning players (11) and rookies (nine). Among those back for another season are five starters – two defenders, one midfield and two on attack. The coach also has two players back in the fold (Wylie Craighead and Wyatt Nue) who sat out last season due to a pandemic-induced sporting conflict: because of shuffled schedules, basketball competed with lacrosse for talent.
The Enumclaw squad was to open their season with three straight home games, all at 7 p.m. at the Enumclaw Expo Center stadium. The first came Monday night when EHS took on Liberty High and, tonight, EHS hosts Tacoma’s Stadium High. Friday brings a lacrosse version of the Battle of the Bridge, when Enumclaw hosts White River.
WHITE RIVER: FASTPITCH
Veteran coach Brandon Walker admits he’s excited for the beginning of the fastpitch season, thanks to a roster shared by veteran players and promising newcomers.
Among his list of top returnees, Walker mentions seniors like pitcher Emma Pipitone, catcher Megan Klapperich and Mack Dowman, plus juniors Ella Lidstrom and Lillie Tucker. A season ago, Lidstrom was a second team, all-SPSL 2A selection while both Pipitone and Klapperich received all-league honorable mention.
“We are confident we can compete and do well this season,” Walker shared in an emailed season preview.”
He is first scheduled to see his team in action at 7 tonight (Wednesday) during the season opener, a nonleague contest at Clover Park. Thursday, White River is slated for its SPSL 2A opener at Clover Park and the week concludes Friday with a road trip to Franklin Pierce.
WHITE RIVER: BASEBALL
The squad might be young, but coach Nate Barnett sees the type of talent that should push the Hornets toward the top of the South Puget Sound League 2A standings.
He envisions the team challenging other contenders like Fife and Enumclaw for “top three” status.
Pitching can be a determining factor and the Hornets can turn to four-year varsity performer Tyson Campbell. Barnett has speed on the basepaths, led by Logan Keller, and some solid defense highlighted by Ty Jacobs.
A season ago, Campbell was a first team, all-SPSL 2A pitcher, Chase Deitz was a first-team infielder, Titan Seibert was a second team outfielder and Keller was an honorable mention selection.
In addition to those familiar names, Barnett reports, this year’s roster is bolstered by a strong sophomore class and a couple of promising freshmen.
Barnett and his crew opened the season March 11 with a nonleague, 9-8 loss at Bonney Lake. Next on the schedule, weather permitting, will be a busy stretch of four games in four days: March 16, host Clover Park; March 17, at Clover Park; March 18 vs. Rogers High at the Heritage Park Recreation Center; and March 19, a 3 p.m. home game against Stadium High.
WHITE RIVER: BOYS SOCCER
“We have a really strong core group of guys who have played a lot of minutes for us,” coach TJ Suek reported following his squad’s first week of turnouts.
That veteran bunch have been setting the tone during practice sessions and driving a commitment to improving each day, he added.
The coaching staff can first turn to a handful of proven returnees. On that list are sophomore Elijah Wagner, who tied for the team lead in goal scoring last year and was a first team, all-South Puget Sound League 2A performer; senior Jonathan Corr, also a first team selection and a three-year starter; senior Josh Mackie, a three-year starter and second team all-league pick; junior Tate Ringel, a two-year starter who earned all-league honorable mention last season; junior Denver Mollett, an honorable mention pick; and senior goalkeeper Nick Panin.
“As a coaching staff we are excited about the number of kids in our program and the level of quality of their play,” Suek said.
The first look at the 2022 squad came yesterday (Tuesday) when the Hornets traveled to face the Orting Cardinals. Friday, the team is set to host Franklin Pierce in a 7 p.m. contest. Both are SPSL 2A contests.
WHITE RIVER: TRACK & FIELD
Longtime coach Dameon Marlow – who heads both the Hornet boys’ and girls’ track and field programs – has plenty to keep an eye on, with a roster numbering nearly 60 athletes.
He’ll see how things are progressing tomorrow (Thursday) when the White River contingent travels to Tacoma to compete against the Foss Falcons. The meet is planned for 3:30 p.m. on the campus of Mount Tahoma High School. There’s a “Rainier Icebreaker” meet on Saturday and the Hornets’ first home meet comes March 24 when Franklin Pierce High makes the trip to Buckley.
Marlow has experience throughout both rosters.
On the boys’ side, familiar names include Jackson Tague in the throwing events, Payne Plaster in the sprints, Cole Holmes in hurdles and Wyatt Skinner in the long jump and triple jump. In the distance events, the coach can turn to the trio of Cole Riley, Evan Slish and Michael Marlow; all are seniors except Marlow, a freshman.
Riley was a first team, all-league selection a season ago for his 400-meter performance. Both Slish and Marlow proved their distance abilities during the fall season, qualifying for the state cross country meet.
On the girls’ side of the program, some of the top performers are expected to be Rebekah Kuro in throws, Kelsey Sanders in sprints, the duo of Vivian Kingston and Emma Tomlinson in distance events (both ran in the fall at the state cross country meet) and Ava Cash, who returns in the pole vault. Additionally, Kelcie Melcher will be tackling the hurdles this season.
Kuro, Sanders and Cash are seniors, Melcher is a junior, Tomlinson is a sophomore and Kingston is a freshman.
WHITE RIVER: GIRLS TENNIS
When coach Brad Pratt first gathered together this year’s White River tennis team, it was a fairly young bunch he addressed. The turnout list includes two seniors, six juniors, 11 sophomores and six members of the freshman class.
Pratt anticipates his varsity lineup will primarily consist of seniors and juniors, but that could change. “I’m excited for some of the younger players who are showing some talent and will most likely be mixing up the roster to give some younger players some court time,” he said.
Heading the Hornet effort will be Gabriella Pratt, a returning senior who has been a letter-winner since her freshman season. She took lessons during the off season and has greatly improved, the coach said.
“I am looking forward to a great year of tennis and am excited for the amazing group of girls I get to coach,” Pratt concluded.
