After injury last year, Royal's Derrick Daigre is ready to reclaim his state crown
• FAVORITE: Kent-Meridian.
• CONTENDERS: Kentwood, Kentridge.
• SLEEPERS: Tahoma, Kentlake.
• LEAGUE OUTLOOK: Kent-Meridian won its first SPSL North track title last season since 2001. This spring, the Royals have been pegged to repeat that success and have the tools to do it. Though Kent-Meridian lost burner B.J. Arceneaux, who transferred to Kentwood, the Royals still bring back multiple-event standouts Brandon Harris, Abu Kamara, David Jones, Jordan Thompson Walker and University of Washington-bound star Derrick Daigre, who won a state title in the 800-meter in 2009, but struggled with injuries last spring. Since 2007, the Royals have posted a 23-4 overall mark in SPSL North meets.
SPSL NORTH: AT A GLANCE
• FAVORITE: Kentwood.
• CONTENDERS: Tahoma, K-M.
• SLEEPERS: Kentridge, Kentlake.
• LEAGUE OUTLOOK: Now this should be fun. KW came into its own last season, winning the school’s first-ever SPSL North track and field title. To get it done, the Conks had to go through perennial powerhouse Tahoma, which had won 36 SPSL North meets in a row and four consecutive league crowns. KW knocked off Tahoma 89-61. But can the Conks do it again?
Kent Meridian 5th Annual Track and Field Invitational Slide Show
Kentwood hosted Auburn Riverside on Friday.
The Conquerors played it close against the Ravens early. Kentwood couldn't hold Riverside down and lost the game 21-4. The Conks bounced back on Monday with a 14-4
victory over the Royals from Kent-Meridian.
The Chicago Slaughter scored the winning touchdown with 53 seconds left to beat the Kent Predators 37-36 in a professional Indoor Football League game Friday in Chicago.
Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard signed a three-year entry level deal today with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.
"I am excited to sign with the Avalanche," Pickard said. "This is the first step in a pro career and I am looking forward to being a part of the Avalanche organization."
She doesn’t need a nickname.
In fact, the name she was born with serves perfectly, especially for a kid on the fastpitch diamond who can swing the bat with the kind of authority that Kentridge High’s Haley Crusch delivers on a regular basis for the Chargers.
As stated, Crusch crushes. Over the plate. Inside. Outside. High. Low.
It really doesn’t matter to the Kentridge junior. She hits ‘em all.
“That’s kind of my nickname,” Crusch said about her last name. “It fits well.”
Amber Pineda has heard the talk, but refuses to listen.
Instead, the Kent-Meridian transfer is looking to the future rather than taking note of the past when it comes to the school’s fastpitch program.
“They said they weren’t that great, but I don’t believe them,” said Pineda, a pitcher who transferred to the East Hill school from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. before the year began. “I heard they have not won that many games, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. I think I could help them start winning games this year. I think we have potential.”
Kent-Meridian has been on the bottom of the South Puget Sound League North Division looking up for the last two years. And despite the fact that the Royals entered the spring season earlier this week having lost 36 consecutive North Division games, Pineda has high hopes for the months ahead.
For some trainers taking the winter off is routine. For some trainers racing thoroughbreds through all four seasons is customary practice. For the Jim Penney barn it has always been the latter.
However, this time was different. Trainer Jim Penney and assistant trainer Kay Cooper made a rare move and decided to pack up for the winter. In fact, it has been so long since the Penney barn took a winter off that Cooper couldn’t remember when it could have been.
She can slap the ball like Ichiro, but can leave the yard like Ken Griffey Jr., too.
But Kentlake outfielder Erin Crowley is hardly an offense-first player.
“I feel like defense is more important,” said the 18-year-old senior. “I have a team that can have a good offensive game if I am not hitting and we can still win.”
Of course, Crowley can do both. And do both well, with a bit of flair and like no other player in the South Puget Sound League North Division. A lanky lefthander, the Kentlake senior is as adept at dropping down a drag bunt for a single as she is at finding the gap for a double or triple.
Want power?
• FAVORITES: Tahoma, Kentlake.
• CONTENDERS: Kentwood, Auburn Riverside, Mount Rainier.
• SLEEPERS: Kentridge, Auburn.
Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Brenden Dillon has joined the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. Dillon was signed by the Dallas Stars, the parent club of the Texas Stars, to a three year entry-level contract March 1.
The Kentwood fast-pitch team played Bothell to a 1-1 tie Saturday at home.
Bothell went up 3-1 in the top of the seventh, but the Kentwood girls did not get an to swing the bat in the bottom of the seventh due to a time limit on the game.
There have been plenty of coaching openings for Quientin Poil to choose from over the years. A baseball junky who has both played and coached at the college level, none of the previous vacancies felt quite right.
Instead of giving the potential openings at least a tip of the cap, Poil let them pass by like a fading changeup out of the strike zone.
That is, of course, until early January, when Kentlake High’s Jason Evans officially announced his five-year run with the Falcons was over. Like a thigh-high fastball over the middle of the plate, this was an opportunity Poil couldn’t let slide by.
The Tri-City Americans defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-3 Sunday night at the ShoWare Center in the T-Birds season finale.The 2010-2011 Seattle Thunderbirds season awards were… Continue reading
Despite a late comeback attempt, the Seattle Thunderbirds fell to the Portland Winterhawks 5-4 on Saturday night at the ShoWare Center. With the loss, the Thunderbirds have been eliminated from the Western Conference playoff race
Kentlake kicked off the season with a non-league match up with Bothell on Saturday -- a game that was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was rained out -- at Kentwood High.
The Falcons put the Cougars away 6-1.
Center fielder Erin Crowley scored on a Jessie Richardson on a suicide squeeze in the first inning for Kentlake.
The Spokane Chiefs defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-0 Friday night, March 18, at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The T-Birds playoff hopes are still alive despite the… Continue reading
He didn’t wait long in making a name for himself, launching a home run in just his second varsity game.
Five games later, Kent-Meridian’s Kyle Engman continued the trend, going deep once again.
By season’s end last year, Engman had left the yard four times — three of which came in South Puget Sound League North Division play. In a league known for its power pitching, Engman’s accomplishment certainly was noteworthy, especially for a team that struggled to generate offense a year ago.
What may be even more noteworthy, however, is the fact that Engman did it as a 14-year-old freshman.
