TRACK AND FIELD
The White River High girls placed third and the boys were seventh on May 10 when all 16 teams from the South Puget Sound League 2A gathered for an all-team league meet.
The top 11 finishers in each event earned the right to compete in the next stage of the season, the West Central District meet in Bremerton. From there, the top seven in each event will earn a spot at Star Track, the state championship meet.
Earning a district berth were the following White River track and field athletes.
Girls: Tori Schmidtke, 400 meters; Emma Robbins, 400 meters; Makayla Melcher, 1600 meters, 3200 meters; Sam Fiedler 100-meter hurdles; Taylor Schmidtke 300-meter hurdles; 4×100 relay (J’Kira Wolbrecht, Ta. Schmidtke, To. Schmidtke, Robbins); 4×200 relay (Ta. Schmidtke, To. Schmidtke, Hannah Davidson, Maria Hawthorne); 4×400 relay (Robbins, Ta. Schmidtke, To. Schmidtke, Hawthorne); Paidon Froemke, javelin; Hawthorne, javelin; Jessica Taylor, pole vault; Madison Jenkins, pole vault; Isabella Marks, pole vault.
Boys: Spencer Brooks, 400 meters; Will Stern, 1600 meters, 3200 meters; Grant Swettenam, 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles; 4×100 relay (Brooks, Braedan Clay, Payne Plaster, Swettenam); 4×400 relay (Ted Stern, Cole Riley, Brooks, Jared Zaugg); Jackson Gibbon shot put, discus; Christopher Farrer, discus; Thomas Cox, javelin; Duncan Walker, javelin; Riley Maas, pole vault; James Hendrickson, pole vault; Charlie Pratt, pole vault; Blake Leahy, pole vault.
SOFTBALL
The Hornet girls secured their postseason position during a Monday contest, a game that determined seeding into the West Central District tournament. White River was paired against Lindbergh High at 4 p.m. on the Eagles’ home diamond.
Monday’s winner advances to the West Central District tournament as the No. 3 seed from the South Puget Sound League 2A, while the loser goes as No. 4. Results of Monday’s game came too late to be included here.
The Hornet girls missed the opportunity to play for the SPSL league title Friday afternoon, losing 10-3 to the Eatonville Cruisers. The game was played in Eatonville.
The contest was deadlocked through three full innings, but the hosts’ bats came alive with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning. The Cruisers tacked on five big runs in the fifth frame and added two more in the sixth, more than enough to secure the win.
White River had opened the South Puget Sound League 2A tournament with a 9-8 victory over the Foss Falcons on May 6. That was followed May 8 with a 6-4 victory over Orting, a win that assured the Hornets a spot in the upcoming district tourney.
Playing the Cardinals in Orting, White River jumped on top early, scoring three runs in the first inning. The outburst was highlighted by Solina Still’s two-run home run. Peyton Wallen had two doubles and drove in three runs to boost the Hornet effort.
TENNIS
Advancing to the district tournament are the White River doubles team of Alyssa Macphail and Paige Proctor.
West Central District play is set for Friday and Saturday, May 17-18, at the Kitsap Tennis and Athletic Center in Bremerton.
BASEBALL
The White River High Hornets are one of just 16 teams from the Class 2A ranks still playing baseball, still chasing the dream of a state title.
White River opens state tourney play Saturday, May 18, taking on the Ridgefield Spudders. The 1 p.m. contest will be played at Wheeler Field in Centralia.
The state tourney is a one-and-done affair, with the first-round victors playing a second game on Saturday. Should the Hornet beat Ridgefield, they will be paired against the winner of a game between W.F. West and Archbishop Murphy.
The tourney’s semifinal rounds will be played May 24 and the final two games of the season will be played the following day. The Final Four action takes place at Yakima County Stadium.
The Hornets earned their state berth by winning three of four games in the West Central District tournament.
The Hornets had a first-round bye in the WCD tourney and went up against lower-seeded North Mason in the second part of the bracket. The seeding apparently didn’t matter to the Bulldogs; the Olympic League squad, from Belfair, posted a 6-0 shutout against White River.
Pushed into the loser’s bracket and just a single loss away from elimination, the Hornets bounded back with a 7-2 victory over Orting on May 8 and two more victories on May 11. Those latter two games, also loser-out contests, resulted in a 3-1 victory over Steilacoom followed by an 11-6 triumph over North Kitsap.
