The weekend wrap and our Athletes of the Week for 10-24

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Good Monday morning. Soccer and softball to wrap up the weekend, and we also have this week’s Athletes of the Week.

Soccer
Pacific Lutheran women 1, Linfield women 1 (2OT): There was a doubleheader yesterday down in Tacoma with Valley players competing in both games for the visiting teams. In the women’s opener, the Wildcats and Lutes finished 110 minutes with a draw; junior Sydney Kuehn, from Duvall and a 2016 Cedarcrest HS grad, started for Linfield and worked 100 of those minutes with no stats of note reported.

Whitman men 2, Pacific Lutheran 2 (2OT): The men’s nightcap saw the Blues and Lutes also finish 110 minutes in a draw. Junior Jimmy Jacobson, from North Bend and a 2016 Mount Si HS grad, came off the bench for Whitman and logged 65 of those minutes with no stats of note reported.

Idaho women 0, Northern Arizona 0 (2OT): In the sunny fall skies and high altitude down in Flagstaff, AZ, the Vandals and Lumberjacks also played 110 and ended in a draw despite a number of solid opportunities from both sides. The draw helped cost Idaho a regular season Big Sky Conference (NCAA Division I) title and the top seed to the conference tourney this weekend, but both they and NAU will be participating in that tournament. Senior Claire Johnson, from Snoqualmie and a 2015 Mount Si HS grad, saw 102 of those minutes for the Vandals on defense with one shot recorded; it was not on goal and needless to say, she did not score a goal in the contest.

Softball
Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 2, California Breeze 1: The successful weekend for the Puyallup-based Hawks at the PGF weekend tournament in Salinas, CA, continued with a hard-fought win in their opening game yesterday of the final day of play. Cedarcrest HS’s Michaela Carter was 1-2 for WLH in this one.

Snohomish Shock 7, Elite Diamonds 16U Pluschke 3: The Snohomish team made Sunday a short one at the USSSA’s Ghosts and Goblins tournament in Everett for the Redmond-based Diamonds, despite a strong showing from Mount Si’s Jaclyn Huntzinger, who went 2-2 with a double to pace the Diamonds, coached by ex-CHS basketball assistant coach Mike Pluschke and whose daughter, Payton, a Red Wolves softball player, also plays for the team. She went 0-2 in the contest.

Bellevue Vipers 5, KB Fastpitch 16U 4: The Bellevue-based Vipers scored four runs in the final inning to stun the Kenmore-based KB and eliminate them from the G&G tournament. Mount Si’s Vera Harrison went 1-2 with two RBI’s for KB in the contest.

Suncats 7, Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 1: Carter led the Hawks going 2-3 with the team’s lone RBI as they ended their very strong weekend in central California with their lone loss of the tournament.

Hockey
Valleyite scores game-winner for junior team: Cam Gross scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal with 2:17 left in regulation, and the Snoqulamie player’s heroics lifted his junior ice hockey team, the Seattle Totems, to a 3-2 win this past Saturday night at home in Western States Hockey League action over the rival Bellingham Blazers. The goal was Gross’ second in as many games – he scored last Friday as well for Seattle in a loss on the road to Bellingham – and the 2016 Mount Si HS grad is developing now into a steady presence for the Totems, with three goals this season including the two this past weekend. Seattle is now 4-2-0 on the season, still trailing Bellingham for first place in the WSHL’s North Division. The Totems have three games Thursday through Saturday this week with the Southern Oregon Spartans, all at home. All games, at Olympic View Arena in Mountlake Terrace, begin at 7:05 p.m.

Time now for this week’s Athletes of the Week.

CEDARCREST – Our first girls’ wildcard selection is this week and we head to volleyball. Caroline Tiffany is getting it done for Cedarcrest volleyball. Granted, it’s been a struggle for the Red Wolves, what with only one win this year, but Tiffany’s putting the hard work in. 24 digs and two service aces for the CHS’er in their loss Thursday night to Lynnwood. It’s looking like the Red Wolves will sneak into the playoffs, but they have a few more matches before postseason starts. The final weeks of regular season play has Senior Night tomorrow with Meadowdale at home in Duvall followed by a trip to meet Archbishop Murphy on Thursday.

MOUNT SI – The boys’ selection this week goes to tennis. We haven’t done a thing with Wildcat boys tennis this year because of a lack of information made available to us by their program, but we do have the recent Kingco Tournament scores for you this morning, and we see that Corey Gizat won a singles match at last week’s tournament, so he’s getting their recognition. He took his opening round match last Friday beating Inglemoor’s Gavin Wright but fell to a Newport foe in the next round. Mount Si’s tennis season is done now. They finished 2-10 on the season.

HONORABLE MENTION – We don’t usually do honorable mentions, but we’re going to give one out thanks to something we saw having a look at Twitter this morning. Mount Si High School’s girls soccer program last Wednesday played Newport at Newport High School in Bellevue. It was the final home game of the year for Newport, so they honored their seniors on Senior Night. Except, the Knights this year have no seniors so what did they do? Turned it into a Senior Night for Mount Si’s three seniors – Bella Gerlitz, Gabi Krueger and Shelby Johnson. The Newport folks recognized the Wildcat trio and gave them all flowers. Great show of respect from NHS and its program and we give it a shout this morning in this segment. Mount Si’s seniors will all have their senior night tomorrow night at home, and we’ll be there for it.

Posted in Athletes of the Week 2018-19, College Sports, On the Diamond, On the Ice, Tennis, Volleyball | Leave a comment

Mount Si volleyball into final weeks of season, plus college volleyball wrap on this Sunday

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Let’s talk some volleyball now and wrap up this past week for Mount Si High School’s volleyball team.

The win for Mount Si this past Wednesday night was a special one for their four seniors, as they took care of Newport in four sets 25-17, 24-26, 25-13, 25-21. Final numbers from that one which we didn’t have for you right away but do for you now included some strong games from their senior crew. Kami Smith led the way with 19 assists, 10 digs and nine aces, while Bellah Gogan added 13 kills, 15 digs and three aces. Hayley West had seven kills, a block, three aces and 10 digs while Sarah Kaitlyn Mitchell added four kills, two assists, two aces and three digs.

Mitchell will remember her four years in the program well. “It’s been a great four years at Mount Si being on the varsity team. It’s just been a really great experience with Foote and all the girls,” she said. “Sad it’s coming to an end sometime soon, but hoping we’ll go far this season.”

The win for Mount Si last Wednesday came off a loss last Monday at Issaquah. The Eagles swept in three 25-13, 25-21, 25-20 despite a solid 23 assist, 10 dig and three ace effort from Dana Dolan. Wesy added six aces and 10 digs, while Bailey Showalter pitched in eight kills and three digs.

The Wildcats tomorrow finish the regular season at Inglemoor with a 7:00 first serve, then the Kingco 4A Tournament starts Thursday. The seeding will be decided based out of tomorrow’s results. Mount Si has clinched anywhere from a sixth-eighth seed into the tournament, and will lock up the sixth seed, and a date with the third-seeded team to be determined Thursday, with either a win against the Vikings or a Bothell loss at Eastlake. Mount Si and Bothell are currently tied for sixth in Kingco 4A with 3-5 league records, but the Wildcats hold the head-to-head matchup advantage with their win over the Cougars earlier this season.

Despite knowing they’ll be in, Mitchell believes that the team will continue to give it their all as the playoffs get going. “We’ve got to keep persevering and striving towards our goal of getting through playoffs and working hard this year. The grind never stops,” she said. The keys to success, according to the senior, are simple. Unity and confidence, baby. “I think just to be confident in ourselves and working together as a team and just persevering through every play, every day,” she said.

Mount Si will need just one win in the league tournament to make districts. Mitchell believes the team can go far. Real far. “I think we can go to state if we really wanted to,” she said. “I think we can keep working hard and push through and make it.”

Mount Si JV’s defeat Newport, fall to Issy: The Wildcat JV rolled to a win Wednesday night over Newport 25-10, 25-12, 25-8. Tori BearBow led the way with 12 digs, a kill and an assist for Mount Si while Megan Simpson pounded out 14 assists, six aces and five digs. The win came off a loss last Monday against the Eagles in Issaquah, 22-25, 27-25, 25-15. Lexi Niehaus led the way that night for the Wildcats, with 13 kills and 10 digs, while BearBow pitched in 12 digs, two assists and a kill. Abby Fletcher added 14 kills, nine digs, two assists, two aces and a block while Clara Schlotfeldt recorded 28 assists, six digs and an ace. The Wildcats finish the season tomorrow at Inglemoor. Game time is 5:30 prior to the varsity game at 7:00.

Wildcat “C” splits week: One of the lessons that “C”-teamers learn during the course of the season is how to deal with adversity and respond well to it. Well, like a lot of other things this season for this freshman-laden group of players, they’ve passed their first test in that department.

After a loss to Issaquah last Monday, the girls responded well last Wednesday and swept Newport rather easily 25-14, 25-18, 15-4. It was a balanced effort, too, for the Wildcats, paced by Ella Moore who had seven aces and two digs, and Alyssa Underbrink added an assist and six digs. Carly Fletcher pitched in eight assists, four aces and four digs as well for Mount Si. The win came off the loss last Monday to the Eagles, 25-19, 25-20, 25-16. Underbrink had 26 digs while Fletcher had 12 assists, five digs and a kill.

Mount Si wraps up their very successful season tomorrow at Inglemoor with a 5:30 first serve.

Colleges now as we wrap up the past few days there for Valley athletes:

Northwest U. def. College of Idaho 25-13, 26-24, 20-25, 31-29: The Eagles got off to a roaring start at home in Kirkland last night, but had to hold on in the end to outlast the visiting Coyotes. Sophomore Courteney Carr, she of Snoqualmie and a 2016 Mount Si HS grad, had a double-double of 40 assists and 10 digs along with a pair of kills to lead Northwest.

St. Mary’s def. Santa Clara 25-21, 25-16, 25-20: The Gaels handled the Broncos in Santa Clara, CA, in WCC action yesterday. Limited action for junior Anna McCreadie, from North Bend and a 2015 Mount Si HS grad, who had two digs and a block for Clara in the match.

Whitman def. George Fox 25-20, 25-23, 25-23: The Blues last night swept the Bruins at home in Walla Walla, aided by North Bend’s Emma Anderson. The Whitman freshman, a June MSHS grad, had a solid game, with seven assists, two aces, five digs and a kill for Whitman.

Eastern Oregon def. Northwest U. 27-25, 25-23, 25-23 (Fri.): The weekend opened last Friday with the Mountaineers needing every last point to outlast the Eagles in a sweep in Kirkland. Carr had 20 assists, 10 digs and three kills in this contest for NU.

Santa Clara def. Pacific-CA 25-21, 25-14, 22-25, 25-18 (Thu.): SC handled the visiting Tigers last Thursday behind four kills and five blocks from Valleyite McCreadie. SC after this weekend is 6-16 overall and 1-9 in conference play.

Pacific-OR def. Whitman 25-28, 25-22, 25-21 (Fri.): The Boxers took care of the Blues to open the weekend this past Friday over in Walla Walla. Anderson had just three assists and a dig in this one for Whitman.

Posted in College Sports, Volleyball | Leave a comment

Valley athletes take to the college gridiron and pitch on Saturday

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Football and soccer scores from the colleges now:

Football
Central Washington 60, Simon Fraser 19: Central rolled to an easy win under the lights last night in Ellensburg over the hapless Clan. Freshman Jack Weidenbach, of North Bend and a 2017 MSHS’er, recorded three tackles for Central in the game. Fellow frosh Tank Brewster, from Snoqualmie and a June Mount Si grad, did not play for SFU.

Weber State 34, Montana State 24: Weber handled the visiting Bobcats in Ogden, UT. Senior Alex Neale, from Duvall, started and worked at center on the offensive line for Montana State in the contest.

Pacific Lutheran 33, Willamette 20: PLU delivered at home in Puyallup against the visiting Bearcats from Salem, OR. Sophomore Alex Rendon, he of Snoqualmie and a 2017 MSHS’er, caught three passes for 29 yards for the Lutes in the game.

Berry (GA) 28, Millsaps 21 (20T): The Vikings rallied twice, once to force overtime, then again a second time in the extra session at home in Rome, GA, to hold on to their unbeaten record. They are now 8-0 and a local participated in the win – North Bend’s Colby Weldon. Weldon, a senior and 2015 MSHS’er, recorded no stats for Berry in the contest.

Bethel (MN) 41, Concordia (MN) 13: The Cobbers were routed on the road by host Bethel in Arden Hills, MN. Senior Andrew Thompson, from North Bend and a 2015 MSHS’er, led Concordia defensively with 15 tackles, seven solo. Freshman Collin Fleisch, a June MSHS’er from Fall City, did not play for the Cobbers in the game.

Cal Lutheran 28, Pomona-Pitzer 24: Pomona took a 24-14 halftime lead on the road in Thousand Oaks, CA, but saw the host CLU’ers rally to take the win over the visiting Sagehens, scoring the game-winning touchdown with two minutes left in the game. Freshman Michael Collins, from Snoqualmie and a June MSHS alum, saw action on the offensive line for P-P in the contest.

Soccer
Valleyite takes conference lead in goals with pair for Linfield ladies in win: It’s been an excellent junior season for Linfield’s Sydney Kuehn. The Wildcat women’s soccer forward, a 2016 Cedarcrest High School grad from Duvall, has been leading her team in scoring all season. Well, after a pair of goals yesterday for Linfield in a 3-0 win over Lewis & Clark at home in McMinnville, OR, she’s now leading the conference.

Kuehn opened the scoring with a goal in the 20th minute off a feed from teammate Michayla Sponsel, then finished a feed from teammate Ashley Guldanger in the 58th minute for her second of the game, and Northwest Conference (NCAA Division III)-leading eighth on the season. The Valleyite worked 77 minutes of the game and the two goals came on her lone shots of the game, both on goal.

Linfield is in Tacoma today to play PLU at noon. Catch the game on NWC Digital, which you can find a link for in our news links or on many over-the-top platforms, such as Roku and Amazon FireTV.

Also:

Central Washington women 1, St. Martin’s 0: It was senior day for Central’s Michaela “K.K.” Wallace, and the Valleyite took full advantage. Wallace, a 2015 MSHS’er from North Bend, started and worked 51 minutes for the host Wildcats, logging four shots, one on goal and one miss off the crossbar in the second half. She did not score any goals in the contest for Central as they took the win in their final home game of the season.

Whitman men 1, Puget Sound 0: The Blues held off the Loggers in Tacoma. Junior Jimmy Jacobson, from North Bend and a 2016 Mount Si HS grad, came off the bench and played a little over 50 minutes, with one shot recorded for Whitman; it was not on goal and he did not score any goals in the contest for the Blues.

Concordia-PDX women 3, Northwest Nazarene 0: The Cavs handled their business at home in the Rose City over the visitors from Idaho. Senior Karlie Hurley, she of North Bend and a 2015 MSHS grad, started and worked the full 90 for Concordia, with one shot on goal early in the second half. She did not score any goals in the contest for the Cavs.

Montana State-Billings 3, Seattle Pacific men 2: MSUB held off the Falcons last night in Seattle to even the season series for 2018 at a win apiece; SPU beat MSUB in Billings, MT, earlier this season with the game-winner scored by Duvall’s Chris Cole. Cole, a senior, did not play for the Falcons in last night’s game, but the other two members of SPU’s “Duvall Trio” did play. Both freshman Alden Massey and sophomore Nik Reierson started and worked the full 90, combining for six shots, one on goal, with no goals scored between the two of them. All three are Cedarcrest HS grads.

Hawaii Pacific women 1, Hawaii-Hilo 0: HPU hopped over to the “Big Island” of Hawaii and left there with a road win over the Vulcans. Junior Camryn Buck, she of Ames Lake and a 2016 MSHS’er, started and worked 65 minutes with one shot on goal recorded; she did not score any goals in the contest for the Sharks.

Chapman women 2, CalTech 0: Chapman made easy work of the hapless CalTech side, getting the road win in Pasadena, CA. Freshman Mia Fowler, from North Bend and a June MSHS’er, saw limited action for Chapman in the match with no stats of note reported.

Posted in College Sports, Football, Soccer | Leave a comment

Cross country and softball news to start your Sunday……

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Good Sunday morning. Late start this morning, but we have some cross-country news to start things off.

Cedarcrest High School’s cross-country team hasn’t raced in a couple of weeks, but yesterday the Red Wolves shook off the rust and competed at the Wesco Conference Championships at Lakewood High School in Arlington.

The Red Wolve girls finished fourth as a team in the 3A/2A South Division race, ninth overall, and were led by Sonjya Blycker. The freshman took 29th overall and sixth out of all South Division runners in the race, clocking 19:35.5 on the course there at Lakewood. As the for CHS boys, the team finished fifth in the division and 11th overall, and were led by Brennan LeBlanc, who took eighth in the division and 26th overall clocking 16:06.9. Blycker and LeBlanc both earned all-league honors with their results in the races.

CHS competes next weekend at the Northwest District meet at South Whidbey High School. College action now featuring some former Red Wolves:

Northern Sun Preview, Aberdeen, SD: The University of Mary (ND) men traveled to the site of their upcoming conference championship meet, and it was a solid weekend, with a second-place team finish, aided by Valleyite Ben Benson. Benson, a freshman from Duvall and a June CHS alum, clocked 26:33.7 on the 8k course at the Lee Park Golf Course to take 13th overall for the Marauders.

Sasquatch Invite, Spokane: Gonzaga freshman Mary Cate Babcock, a classmate of Benson’s at Cedarcrest who also graduated back in June, ran for the Bulldogs women in this event last Friday at Spokane Falls Community College and took 31st clocking 21:45.6 over the 5k course at Downriver Golf Course.

Also this morning:

Softball
Two area teams with Valley players are competing in the United States Specialty Sports Association’s Ghosts and Goblins weekend tournament up in Everett. Highlights of yesterday’s action:

Elite Diamonds 16U Pluschke 9, Bellevue Vipers 4: The Redmond-based Diamonds handled their Eastside rivals in their Ghosts and Goblins tourney opener. Cedarcrest’s Payton Pluschke led the way, doubling as part of a 1-3 effort, scoring two runs and driving in a third. Mount Si’s Jaclyn Huntzinger also pitched in for the Diamonds, going 0-2 with a walk, run scored and RBI.

KB Fastpitch 16U 11, Mill Creek Mayhem 1: Kenmore-based KB rolled to the win in their G&G opener behind a combined one-hitter from Kingco 4A pitchers Olivia Connor (Inglemoor) and Eden Molay (Bothell). Mount Si’s Vera Harrison went 0-2 for KB in this one.

Elite Diamonds 16U Pluschke 9, Issaquah Flame 1: Both Valleyites had a hit, with Huntzinger getting a walk and Pluschke scoring a run as the Diamonds rolled over another Eastside rival.

Snohomish Shock 8, KB Fastpitch 16U 0: KB proved to be no match for the ladies from up north as they fell in the middle game of their set yesterday in Everett. Harrison again went 0-2 for KB in this one.

Elite Diamonds 16U Pluschke 9, Redhawks 4: The Diamonds finished off a three-game sweep of their opening day of their tournament in Everett with Huntzinger going 1-2 with a walk and run scored and Pluschke driving in a run despite going 0-2. Pluschke’s dad, Mike, a former CHS varsity assistant girls’ basketball coach, coaches the Diamonds.

KB Fastpitch 16U 13, Elite Diamonds ’02 2: Harrison went 1-1 with two walks and a run scored for KB, who was powered by a grand slam from Katie Ingersoll and a separate homer from Carli Zanassi, both Kingco 4A players from North Creek as they rolled over a separate Diamonds team from Redmond.

Also:

Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 7, Salinas Storm 2: In day two of the PGF tournament down in Salinas, CA, the Puyallup-based Hawks handled the host Storm with the help of a pair of runs from Cedarcrest’s Michaela Carter and a 1-2 effort with an RBI from a soon-to-be Wesco rival of Carter’s, Meadowdale’s Olivia Dimmock. The Red Wolves and Mavericks will play each other in the spring in Wesco 2A/3A play.

Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 5, Sorcerer 1: The Hawks moved to 5-0 on the weekend with another win over a California team. Carter led the way, going 2-3 with two runs scored. WLH wraps up the tournament today.

Posted in On the Diamond, Track/XC/Running | Leave a comment

Red Wolves football gives it their best, but falls short

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Cedarcrest High School’s football team was looking to rebound last night after two blowout losses. Their defense did their best to keep them in the game, but the Red Wolves fell just short.

Visiting Mountlake Terrace scored a touchdown in the final quarter to rebound from a halftime deficit and beat CHS 12-7 in a defensive battle at Cedarcrest High School in Duvall. Tyler Gray led the Red Wolves, with 17 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown as CHS operated almost exclusively on the ground, gaining as a team almost 200 yards rushing while losing six through the air (on the lone pass reception of the contest, ironically by the Red Wolves’ two-way offensive threat Gray).

As noted, the Red Wolves defense stayed tough throughout the game, with almost 50 tackles and one fumble recovery (by senior Gavin McDermott), five for loss. 16 of those tackles were made by Gray or fellow senior Fredrick Reid.

Under center, McDermott and Cameron Kohlruss went a combined 1-8 with two interceptions and that negative six yards previously mentioned.

The loss is CHS’s third straight after starting the season a solid 3-2. They play next week at Liberty against the Patriots. Game time is 7:00 pm next Friday at Liberty High School in Renton.

Posted in Football | Leave a comment