A handful of athletes with local connections – mostly Plateau high school tracksters but one former Enumclaw High baseball standout – find themselves in the sporting spotlight.
TRISTA TURGEON
The White River High freshman has blazed her way to a No. 1 time among all the state’s Class 2A competitors.
The Hornet moved to the top of the state list in the 100-meter hurdles – setting a personal record in the process – during the April 15 South Sound Classic at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
Turgeon’s time of 15.78 seconds put her ahead of Sehome’s Bella Connell (15.90) and East Valley-Spokane’s Makenzey Gillespie (15.98).
She is joined on the state’s Top 5 list by teammate Emma Tomlinson, a junior. A distance runner, Tomlinson presently sits No. 4 in the in the 3,200 meters with a time of 11:29.04 and is No. 5 in the 1,600 meters with a showing of 5:15.59. She posted both those times during an April 22 invitational meet at Snohomish High School.
MCCOY BROOKS
The Enumclaw High junior sits at No. 1 among the state’s Class 2A runners after posting a time of 4:21.30 in the 1,600 meters. His performance came during the April 15 Pasco Invitational.
It was a personal best for Brooks and moved him ahead of Sehome’s Zach Munson (4:21.54) and Tumwater’s John Hoffer (4:21.60).
He is one of three EHS athletes landing on the Class 2A’s Top 5 list. Fellow distance ace Evan Cheney presently has the third-best time (9:24.57) in the 3,200 meters. From the girls’ side of the EHS program, junior Natalie DeMarco moved to No. 4 in the javelin when she unleashed a throw of 107 feet, 5 inches during a home meet on April 13.
TREVOR CASSELL
The former Enumclaw High baseball standout was honored for his pitching prowess at Montana State University-Billings.
Following a complete-game shutout against Northwest Nazarene, Cassell was named the Great Northern Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week and the Division II West Region Pitcher of the Week. The honor is voted upon by members of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Cassell’s April 14 gem came during the second half of a doubleheader against Northwest Nazarene. He allowed just two hits and fanned nine hitters while improving to 3-1 on the season.
Cassell was a four-year letterwinner at Enumclaw High as both a pitcher and infielder. He capped his Hornet hurling career by being named an all-league, first team selection.
Following his EHS days, Cassell spent two seasons at Skagit Valley College before heading to Billings.
The Great Northern Athletic Conference competes at NCAA Division II status. The GNAC is a sprawling conference that covers five states and one Canadian province. Aside from Montana State-Billings, member institutions are found in Washington (St. Martin’s, Seattle Pacific, Western, Central); Western Oregon University; Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho; the University of Alaska in both Fairbanks and Anchorage; and Simon Fraser university in Burnaby, B.C.
McCoy Brooks ran a 4:21.30 in the 1,600 meter event, a personal best and earning him a place as No. 1 runner in the state’s Class 2A category. Contributed photo
Trevor Cassell was a four-year letterwinner at Enumclaw High as both a pitcher and infielder before moving onto Montana State University-Billings. Contributed photo
