I’ve lost sleep and pulled out plenty of hair since the prep season officially came to a close May 28.
Why, you ask?
It all boiled down to our choice for the Kent Male Athlete of the Year. In the end, Kent-Meridian High’s David Jones won out.
A two-sport star (track and football), Jones narrowly edged the competition. And when I say narrowly, I mean by the slimmest of margins. I’ve been putting together year-end honors for more than a decade. During that time, there have been several close calls and lengthy debates with colleagues.
This year’s debate takes the prize. It’s not because Jones wasn’t deserving – clearly, he is. However, an argument could be made for a number of local athletes. I take this decision seriously. A lot of time — more than some realize — goes into it.
There’s no set-in-stone criteria for the eventual winner. However, a few key traits do come into play. After all the statistics are boiled down, I look at how many sports each individual competed in. Those who compete in three sports always gain a slight edge over those who may have participated in just one. In addition, character and leadership play a paramount role, as do the opinions of local coaches.
All told, this process is considerably more complex than simply flipping a coin — though my sleep pattern of late makes part of me wish that I had done just that.
Steve Konowalchuk had no plans to leave his job as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League until the Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey team asked him to be its new coach.
Everything came full circle for the Thorp family of Kent two weeks ago.
Keeping with a family tradition that was established well before they were born, Kennedy Catholic’s Mitchell and Jamie Thorp brought home a state boys doubles tennis championship. The Thorps — Mitchell, a junior, and Jamie, a freshman — knocked off Seattle Prep brothers Evan and Drew Beckam, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6, to capture the Class 3A state title on May 28 at Kamiakin High in Kennewick.
That capped a perfect season for Kennedy’s dynamic duo, which finished the year 17-0.
The Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey team will name their new head coach in a 3 p.m. press conference Thursday in the Club Lounge at the ShoWare Center in Kent, according to a Wednesday T-Birds media release.
The Tri-Cities Fever clobbered the Seattle Timberwolves 86-59 in a professional Indoor Football League game Sunday night at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
Talk about ending the prep sports year with a bang.
The final three weeks of the spring season went by in a blur and was highlighted by not one, but multiple state championships. Two of those (Kent-Meridian boys track and Kentwood girls track) were won by programs that had not ever reached the golden status.
What will I remember most about the spring of 2011?
Certainly the successes, especially those at the state track and field meet.
But there also were a handful of moments that I have been unable to go into much detail about – until now, that is.
With that in mind, here’s a handful of memories that I will remember most from the spring:
Kentwood product Cody Bartlett realized a dream Wednesday morning.
Bartlett, a Washington State University senior and 2006 Kentwood High graduate, was selected in the 41st round — 1,249th overall — by the Toronto Blue Jays on the third and final day of Major League Baseball's amateur draft.
"It's one of those surreal feelings that you can't really describe," said Bartlett, who played both second base and shortstop for the Cougars. "It's a childhood dream I have had in the back of my mind since I first picked up a baseball."
Tess Manthou and Eliana Spero came about as far as a duo possibly could in a very short time this spring.
Kentwood High’s standout doubles team sparingly competed with one another during the regular season, but joined forces during the postseason these last three weeks.
After taking second at league three weeks ago, Manthou and Spero delivered a mild surprise by grabbing a district title a week later. This past weekend at the Class 4A state tournament in Vancouver, Manthou and Spero nearly pulled off the perfect finish. Kentwood’s dynamic duo won three-straight matches in Vancouver before falling to Brittany Ellingsen and Anna Romanovsky of Skyview in a marathon championship match, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 (8-6).
“We had our opportunities,” lamented Manthou. “We had four match points, but weren’t able to put the ball away.”
Quarterback Charles McCullum threw six touchdown passes to help the Seattle Timberwolves rip the Wenatchee Valley Venom 61-45 in a professional Indoor Football League game Friday at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
Holly DeHart put the butterflies aside Saturday afternoon at Mount Tahoma High.
A year after being overcome by flu-like symptoms caused by overwhelming nervousness, the Kentwood High senior delivered one of the finest performances in state track history. DeHart blistered the track to gold-medal finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and ran key legs on two winning relay teams en route to helping the Conquerors run away with the team title with 66 total points.
Kentwood, which has been unstoppable on the track this spring, finished 23 points ahead of second-place Inglemoor (43).
As for the nerves that slowed DeHart last year ...
"I left them on the track," she said laughing moments after winning the 100-meter dash in a personal best 11.97 seconds.
They didn't have a single individual state champion Saturday at Mount Tahoma High.
Instead, the Kent-Meridian Royals had an entire team of 'em during the boys Class 4A state track & field meet.
Behind a balanced performance throughout their lineup, the Royals grabbed nine medals, yet not a single gold. Despite missing out on the individual top spots, it all added up to a golden finish for Kent-Meridian, which won the program's first-ever team title with 45 points.
"It has been a goal of ours all along. Our goal was to come here and get a trophy," said Kent-Meridian coach Ernie Ammons, who guided the Royals to a second-place team finish in 2009. "Nine state placers! Nine state placers!"
Kent-Meridian was followed closely by Mead (41) and third-place Wenatchee (37).
They weren't picked to win the South Puget Sound League North Division.
Nor were they chosen to make it all the way to the Final Four of the Class 4A state tournament.
But the Kentwood High boys soccer team exceeded expectations time and time again this spring. On Saturday at Harry E. Lang Stadium, the Conquerors did it one last time. Behind goals from Ivan Manzano and Jared Fuller along with a shutout by goalkeeper Chris Kubeja, the Conquerors turned back Stadium 2-0 to claim a third-place trophy from the state tournament.
"All year long, they've come out and surprised people," said coach Aaron Radford. "They surprised me, they surprised each other, they surprised the league and the fans. They were incredible."
The Kentwood High boys soccer team was caught by surprise Friday night.
Despite a strong late push, the Conquerors were unable to overcome an early 1-0 deficit, falling to Eastlake 2-1 in a Class 4A state semifinal game at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
The Wolves stunned the Conks early, finding the back of the net in the first 30 seconds when Evan Yamada delivered a picture-perfect corner kick to Trevor Saliber, who headed in a goal well out of the reach of Kentwood goalkeeper Chris Kubeja from five yards out.
"That caught us big time (by surprise)," said Kentwood coach Aaron Radford. "Coming into this game, we had trailed for about 15 minutes all season long. (That goal) allowed (Eastlake) to impose their style of play. It changed the mental side of the game.
Holly DeHart wants to rid herself of the butterflies and stomach pains that marked the days leading up to last year's track & field state meet.
So the Kentwood star took a different mental approach to last Saturday's district meet at Mount Tahoma High.
