Veteran coach takes reins, greets 86 athletes
The biggest change facing this year’s White River track and field program starts at the top, with Dameon Marlow taking over the program.
The transition from former coach Jerry Scheidt may not be the toughest in history, as Marlow is a familiar face in Hornet athletic circles. A longtime cross country coach, he has assisted the track program – specifically the distance runners – since the high school was in downtown Buckley.
The immediate good news is that Marlow has a bumper crop of athletes to work with. He reported a turnout of 86, split fairly evenly between the male and female rosters. They will get their first taste of action Saturday when the program travels to Rainier High School for its Icebreaker Invitational, a meet limited to schools of Class 2A size or smaller. The Hornets’ first taste of league competition comes March 24, a home meet against the Washington Patriots.
The Hornets are coming off a season in which the girls fared better than the guys. White River was represented at the state 2A meet by Brenna Liebel, who has graduated, and a relay team made up of Chloe Anastasi, Chloe Mitchell, Annabelle Hall and Shelby Stoeck, all freshmen a season ago.
White River did not send anyone to state from the boys team, a fact Marlow hopes to remedy.
This year, some of the early-season girls to watch for are Kelsey Bunker, a junior who does everything from throw the javelin to run the 800 meters. Also in the throwing events, the Hornets boast the sister act of Maci and Taylee Goethals, a senior and sophomore, respectively.
A strong suit might be the distance events, as Marlow has much of his cross country program turning out for the spring track season. That brings familiar names like Courtney Gelmini, Camryn Berryhill, Maddie Moser and Hannah Swettenam.
On the boys side, among those looking good during early turnouts, Marlow said, are junior Jaden Flanders and freshman Joel Slominski in the distance events and junior Greg Piontek in the pole vault.
Soccer team has effort, not a ton of experience
Longtime Hornet coach Russ DeFord admits this year’s squad might be short on experience, but promises a team “full of effort and passion.”
Among the key returnees is senior midfielder Hayden Grimm, who was named to the all-league first team following last year’s campaign. Other varsity contributors highlighted by the coach are senior midfielder Will Pitsch and junior forward/midfielder Alex Armstrong. They are joined by a trio of promising freshmen: defender/forward Cameron Moser, midfielder Evan Hamilton and forward Chris Dominquez.
The rest of DeFord’s early-season varsity roster includes seniors Tristin Allen, Collin Hamilton, Konner Thorgerson, Alex Morris, Konner Sokalski and Ty Welch; juniors Jonus Clapshaw, Austin Corkrey, Matthew McKinley, Andrew Brown, Chase Neidigh and Joshua Smith; and sophomores Adrian Fernandez and Riley Carter.
A key piece missing from the Hornet puzzle is Tyler Williams, last year’s South Puget Sound League 2A Goalkeeper of the Year, who was lost to graduation.
The Hornets are coming off a season in which they split a pair of district tournament games and advanced to the 16-team Class 2A state tournament.
Plenty of veterans return to girls tennis team
The season looks promising for Hornet coach Levon Moroz, who welcomes a roster packed with varsity experience.
For that reason, Moroz anticipates an uptick from last year’s campaign, in which White River lost more than it won.
This year’s roster begins with Kelsey Williams, a first-team all-league selection a year ago. The long list of returnees with varsity playing time also includes seniors Emily Towne and Kelsea Turley; juniors Kecia Howard, Andrina Maurseth, Zoe Rossich, Molly Long and Heather Kryzsko; and sophomores Natalie Elmore, Amelia Hammond, Danielle Hood and Rebekah Lockemy. Added to the mix is Mack Breeden who played varsity two seasons ago, skipped a year and is back as a senior.
A promising newcomer is Ysaline Winkel, who brings years of tennis experience to the program.
Williams, Howard and Kryzsko competed in the West Central District tournament last season.
“I am excited to see how our team develops this year and how well they compete against the other competition in our league,” Moroz wrote in an email. “We are going to have a very competitive lineup from singles through all doubles teams.”
