The prep sports world continues to spin in exciting circles with local volleyball teams heading into district play, football and soccer teams qualified for their state tournaments, and swimmers headed to their state meet.
Not to be outdone, cross country runners from both Enumclaw High and White River completed their season Saturday with appearances at the Class 3A state meet.
Here’s a look at where things stand for the Plateau’s high school athletes, coaches, parents and other fans.
FOOTBALL
Only 16 teams remain in the hunt for a Class 3A state championship and two of those call the Plateau home.
Both Enumclaw High and White River survived last week’s “round of 32” contests and have landed in the state 3A’s Sweet 16.
The WIAA’s approach made for some tough trips. The Ferndale squad, for example, traveled across the state to defeat Cheney High by a single point; Evergreen High of Vancouver made the jaunt up Interstate 5 to lose by three touchdowns to Liberty of Renton.
Both Plateau schools were accorded home-field advantage for their postseason openers. White River, coming off an emotional Battle of the Bridge victory that gave the Buckley school a league title, defeated the Peninsula Seahawks 28-17. Enumclaw took on the Shorewood squad and registered a 42-20 victory.
Now, it’s time for the month-long grind that slices the field in half every week until a Class 3A champion is crowned.
For White River, the state tournament begins Saturday afternoon when the Hornets head north to face Sedro-Woolley High. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
Sedro-Woolley is seeded No. 8 into the state tournament and received home-field honors while White River was seeded No. 9. It’s a loser-out contest with the victor advancing to play the winner of a game between No. 16 Ferndale and No. 1 O’Dea.
Enumclaw was handed the No. 11 seed and opens against No. 6 Kennewick High. For EHS, that means a trip across the Cascades and a game at Lampson Stadium. Game time is 2 p.m. Saturday in Kennewick.
The winner in the Tri-Cities will advance to play the winner of an opening-round game between No. 3 Eastside Catholic and No. 15 Southridge.
GIRLS SOCCER
Both local teams are participating in the Class 3A state soccer tournament, which kicked off yesterday (Tuesday) and continues today with first-round contests.
In all, there are 20 teams in the 3A field, all hoping to still be alive for the Nov. 21 state semifinals and Nov. 22 championship game. The final two days of the state tourney will feature games at Sparks Stadium in downtown Puyallup.
Enumclaw begins state play by hosting Prairie High, getting the home-field advantage by virtue of a higher seed. EHS begins tourney play as the No. 13 team in the field while Prairie comes in at No. 20. The winner moves on to play No. 4 Eastside Catholic (on the road) on Nov. 14.
White River’s state experience begins Nov. 14 when the Hornets play Liberty of Renton. The contest will be staged at Roy Anderson Field in Gig Harbor at 7 p.m.; the Hornets are seeded No. 8 into the tournament and Liberty is No. 9.
Here’s how each Plateau team earned a state tourney berth.
White River: After receiving a first-round bye in the District 3 tournament, White River locked up a spot in the state tourney with a 3-1 victory over fellow NPSL 3A member Thomas Jefferson the evening of Nov. 4. It was the third time the league foes had squared off this season and the third time the Hornets came out on top.
Finding the net for No. 3-seeded White River were Jordyn Daigle, who scored twice, and Lillian Banks.
The contest was played at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Two nights later, on the turf at Federal Way Memorial Field, White River took on the Central Kitsap Cougars. The Hornets were kept off the scoreboard while the Kitsap crew posted goals in each half to emerge with the 2-0 win.
With the loss, White River claimed the district’s No. 3 berth into the state festivities.
Enumclaw: Entering as the district’s No. 4 seed, EHS had received a first-round bye but immediately ran into trouble. Standing in the Hornets’ way were the Peninsula Seahawks who posted a 3-1 victory and sent EHS into the loser’s bracket.
After giving up a first-half goal and two more in the second period, Enumclaw cracked the scoreboard when Sutton Kelsey scored in the 69th minute.
The district contest was played at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.
In a loser-out contest two nights later, Enumclaw kept its season alive with a 2-1 victory over Kentlake High. Kelsey scored in the 12th minute but the Falcons answered with a goal just a minute later. The game-winner came early in the second half when Kelsey posted her second tally of the night off an assist from senior Clare Largent.
That set the stage for a Nov. 8 district tourney showdown where the winner would advance to state while the loser would watch from the bleachers. Squaring off against Timberline High, the Hornets fought their way to a 3-2 victory over the Blazers.
Largent came up big in the state-clinching win, scoring all three Hornet goals. The first came just three minutes into the contest off an assist by Kelsey. The Blazers scored twice early in the second half to put Enumclaw in a hole, but Largent’s goal at 55 minutes (Lexi DeVol assist) tied the game and – in extra time – Largent buried the winning goal.
VOLLEYBALL
After completing successful North Puget Sound League 3A campaigns, both White River and Enumclaw High will be participating in this weekend’s District 3 tournament.
The Nov. 14-15 showcase – with matches split between Mount Tahoma and Silas high schools – will begin with a dozen teams. At the close of two days of action, six squads will have punched their tickets to the Nov. 21-22 state Class 3A tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
White River finished the regular season with a perfect 16-0 mark and league championship in coach Hayley Steinman’s first year at the Hornet helm.
Enumclaw landed the No. 2 spot in the final NPSL 3A standings with a 13-3 record, under the direction of second-year coach Barbie Becker.
Enumclaw High (the tourney’s No. 7 seed) will play a tourney opener against No. 10 Silas at 5 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to take on No. 2 White River at 7 p.m. Both matches will be at Silas High in Tacoma.
The district tournament is a double-elimination affair and both local schools will play Friday and Saturday.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Runners from all corners of Washington gathered Saturday for the all-classification state cross country meet.
Some competing individually, some as part of a qualifying team, each ran the 5,000-meter course at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
In the Class 3A girls race there were 196 runners.
White River: The Buckley girls placed 10th in the team standings during Saturday’s Class 3A state meet.
The Hornets were anchored by a sixth-place performance by standout junior Paeton Poelman, who toured the Sun Willows course in 18 minutes, 34.4 seconds.
Hornet teammates included Maddi Larson, 39th place, 19:51.3; Victoria Blakley, 48th, 20:03.8; Zoie Klimkiewicz, 106th, 20:52.2; Lily Rodarte, 150th, 21:44.4; Naomi Carthum, 159th, 22:04.0; and Hannah Dehnert, 185th, 23:33.1.
Enumclaw: Lillian Haas was the lone state representative from the Enumclaw High program.
She finished the 5,000 meters in a time of 20:45.4, placing 99th in the field.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco once again played host to the state cross country championships, bringing together runners from all classifications and all districts in the state.
Sun Willows presents athletes with a 5,000-meter challenge.
Enumclaw: Enumclaw High had qualified a full team for the state meet and placed 19th in the final Class 3A standings.
The Hornets were paced by junior Elliott Cheney who finished with a time of 16 minutes, 56.7 seconds, landing him 84th in the 3A field of 194 runners.
Also running for Enumclaw High were Caleb Massey, 108th place, 17:16.8; Melvin Johnson, 142nd, 17:41.9; Liam Harding, 171st, 18:05.3; Spencer Ballard, 175th, 18:13.0; Ellis Behrens, 176th, 18:13.7; and Jack Blair, 179th, 18:17.7.
White River: Representing White River in the 3A meet were Cannon Ross, who finished 107th with a time of 17:14.8, and Mateo Anderson, 113th, 17:19.4.
GIRLS SWIM & DIVE
Eight Plateau swimmers – four each from Enumclaw and White River – will be in the water Nov. 14-15 during the state meet.
The two-day event, which features athletes from all classifications, will take place at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Enumclaw: Alexandra Levesh will compete in three events during the state meet, having qualified individually in both the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke. Additionally, she will make up one-fourth of the EHS 200-yard medley relay team, joining teammates Addisyn Sawyer, Molly Michael and Audrie Roddy.
Enumclaw’s alternates to state are Rylee Mulligan, Louisa Stuenkel, Danielle Giese and Lily Pederson.
White River: Haley Weisheyer will be a busy swimmer at state, competing in two individual events and two relays. She qualified individually for both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle races.
She also will take part in both the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay, joining teammates Emma Hines, Grace Bergin and Peyton Wall.
WR-Soccer-Soule PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON Hornet Riley Soule races downfield during the first half of White River’s playoff game against Central Kitsap.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON Belle Knauss, a senior defender for White River, looks to corral a loose ball during the Hornets’ Thursday night playoff game.
WR-Soccer-Soule PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON Hornet Riley Soule races downfield during the first half of White River’s playoff game against Central Kitsap.
