Big finish propelled Kentwood’s DeHart to top of talented heap | COLUMN

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Tomorrow’s online edition of the Kent Reporter will feature the year’s Female Athlete of the Year. Today’s edition focuses on the female athletes who were in the running for the year’s top honor. Next week, the Kent Reporter will turn its attention toward the female student athletes in the Kent Valley.

A week ago, when debating the merits it takes to win our Athlete of the Year honor, I noted that typically those who compete in more than one sport stand a better chance of bringing home our final prize.

This week, however, as we honor our Female Athlete of the Year, we’re going against the grain. Kentwood track standout Holly DeHart has hauled home the big prize. The recent graduate’s exploits on the oval proved to be too much to overlook.

DeHart won Class 4A state crowns in the 100- and 200-meter dashes by establishing new personal records. In addition, she ran a leg on both of Kentwood’s gold-medal winning 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relay teams. DeHart’s Herculean performance essentially put the state team title out of reach well before the final whistle of the year sounded.

No doubt, this was no ordinary year for female athletes in the area. And DeHart, clearly, is no ordinary female athlete. In 16 years in the business, I don’t recall ever seeing a performance like what DeHart delivered during the state meet at Mount Tahoma High in late May. Succinctly put, DeHart was lights out.

On that note, however, she was far from the lone female athlete in the area to put forth outstanding performances.

With that in mind, here’s a look (in no particular order) at those who challenged for our honor of the area’s top female athlete:

1. Emily Mohr, Kentridge

Mohr, a junior, continued her ascension as one of the state’s top swimmers, establishing new school records in the 50 and 100 free. The Charger speedster was at her best during the Class 4A state meet, taking fifth in the 50 (24.78) and seventh in the 100  (54.43). Both finishes helped Mohr take a step up from her sophomore season. The Kentridge senior-to-be appears poised for a breakthrough senior campaign.

2. Joanna Wu, Kent-Meridian

Keeping with the aquatics theme, Kent-Meridian’s Wu created her own wake at the state meet once again. The best swimmer to come out of the East Hill school in more than a decade, the junior standout established a pair of personal records during the Class 4A state meet, grabbing second-place finishes in the 100 and 200 free. In the 100, Wu touched in 51.86 seconds, just behind Thomas Jefferson’s Amber Cratsenberg (50.96). Wu continued to shine in the 200, where she touched out in 1:52.21. Kent-Meridian hasn’t had a state champion in girls swimming since 1997, when the 200-yard medley relay team of Emily Woodworth, Hannah Jo, Melissa Rockwell, and Susan Larson bagged a title. It would be no surprise to see Wu end that run her senior season.

3. Brittany Styger, Kentlake

One of the unsung heroes of the spring season, Styger delivered big time on the fastpitch diamond. The first-team all-SPSL North selection tied for first in the SPSL North in doubles (10), and was third in the division in batting average (.589), runs batted in (23) and home runs (5). The biggest highlight of Styger’s season came on April 12, when she went 4-for-5 with three home runs and five RBIs in a 21-0 win over Jefferson. As good as Styger was with the bat, however, she was just as adept behind the plate as the team’s catcher. Only two baserunners successfully stole on Styger during the season. “She was the staple of our defense,” said Kentlake coach Greg Kaas.

4. Courtney Johnson, Kentwood

An intense, gritty competitor who isn’t afraid to mix it up, Johnson once again reached the elite level in soccer and basketball. A goalkeeper for the soccer team, Johnson recorded 13 shutouts and helped the Conquerors (18-3-1) win the program’s first ever Class 4A state title with a 1-0 victory against rival Tahoma in the final. On the basketball court, Johnson was nearly as successful, earning first-team all-league honors after averaging 10.1 points per game. Along the way, she helped the Conquerors (19-8) advance to the state playoffs for a sixth straight year.

5. Chloe Watson, Kent-Meridian

Kent-Meridian’s super sophomore is just scratching the surface. One of the most gifted overall athletes in the area, Watson was a standout on both the volleyball court as well as in track and field. In the fall, Watson was a dominant force at the net as an outside hitter, routinely racking up double-digit kills. Few performances match the one Watson delivered on Oct. 6, when she brought down Auburn with 17 kills, 16 assists, and 13 digs during a four-game match victory. A first-team all-league selection in volleyball, Watson also reached the elite level in the spring, when she took eighth at the state meet in the long jump (16-5.25). Something tells me we’re just getting started with this Royals standout.

6. Kim Concillado, Kentridge

When it came to aerial acrobatics, there wasn’t anyone better than the recently graduated Concillado. A standout in gymnastics and track, Concillado was at her best in the spring when she was uncorking eye-popping marks in the pole vault. The Charger saved her best for last, too, reaching a personal-best 11 feet at the state meet, which helped her bring home a third-place medal.

7. Kylie Huerta, Kentwood

Though she’s only 5 feet tall, Huerta continued to play like a giant on both ends of the floor for the Conquerors. A kid who seldom came out of any game, Huerta averaged 18.4 points per contest and shared the South Puget Sound League’s MVP honor. Along the way, she helped Kentwood post a 19-8 overall record, and qualify for the state tournament for a sixth straight year. Huerta will play next season at Eastern Washington University.

8. Emily Tanasse, Kentlake

In an area that’s bursting with top-flight swimmers, this junior-to-be is one of the best. During the state meet last fall, Tanasse broke her own record in the 100-yard butterfly twice in one weekend. The end result was a third-place finish with an impressive mark of 56.69, which was nearly two seconds better than her previous best. For good measure, Tanasse added a fifth-place finish at state in the 100 backstroke.

9. Alyx Toeaina, Kentwood

Two years ago, Kentwood High track coach Steve Roche insisted that Toeaina could win multiple state titles before graduating. Last month at the state meet, Toeaina, a junior, made her coach look like a genius, winning her first Class 4A state crown in the discus with a personal best toss of 136 feet, 3 inches. Further establishing herself as one of the state’s elite throwers, she added a third-place finish at state in the shot put with a heave of 43-9.

10. Alexia Martin, Kent-Meridian

A two-sport standout, K-M’s long-distance specialist qualified for state on the cross country trails in the fall and on the oval in the spring. Martin was the top local female finisher at the Class 4A state cross country meet, taking 17th with a time of 18:51. She continued her ascension in the spring, taking 12th at the state meet in the 1,600 with a time of 5:12.81. Heading into her senior year, Martin will be one of the state’s top returning distance runners come fall.