While some of the fall’s teams and individual athletes have called it a season, others are just hitting their stride.
This week will see Enumclaw High represented in the Class 2A state football tournament while both EHS and White River have teams in the state volleyball extravaganza. Additionally, both schools have athletes heading to the state swim and dive championships.
Here’s how things look for Hornets on both sides of the county line.
VOLLEYBALL
The Class 2A state volleyball tournament will be staged this Friday and Saturday, November 10-11, at the Yakima Valley SunDome. Both Enumclaw and White River have qualified.
White River: The White River High girls first guaranteed themselves a spot in the upcoming Class 2A state volleyball tournament, then showed their prowess by capturing the District 2/3 championship.
Now, under the guidance of first-year coach Samantha Pond, the Hornets will head to the Yakima Valley SunDome for the November 10-11 tourney. They will begin the two-day tournament this Friday, November 10. Of the 16 teams in the field, a dozen will advance to Saturday play and the rest will head home sooner than they had hoped.
White River’s initial state opponent will be Black Hills High; the Tumwater team is seeded No. 12 into the tourney, while the talented Hornets are No. 5. The two are scheduled to square off at 12:45 p.m. Friday.
The winner will take on the victor of a match between North Kitsap and Burlington-Edison. The losers of those two pairings will play Friday in a loser-out contest.
Prior to state, White River had entered the 16-team District 2/3 bracket as the No. 1 seed and quickly showed why they were so highly regarded. The Hornets opened play November 3 with a 3-0 victory over Fife to earn a spot in the tourney semifinals and, more important, guarantee a trip to Yakima. Day 2 of district play saw the Hornets take a 3-0 decision over rival Enumclaw, then take the district title with a 3-0 victory over the Washington Patriots.
Enumclaw: The Enumclaw High girls will begin their state tournament experience with a Friday match against the Pullman Greyhounds. The contest is slated to begin at 2:30 in the SunDome.
Under the watchful eye of veteran coach Jackie Carel, the Hornets will be one of 16 teams appearing in the Dome. Four will be eliminated on the opening day of play with the rest advancing to Saturday action.
Enumclaw opens tourney play as the No. 9 seed while Pullman enters at No. 8. The winner of the EHS-Pullman contest will play later Friday against the winner of a match between Fife and top-seeded Columbia River.
The loser of those two pairings will square off later Friday in a loser-out battle.
Enumclaw earned its state berth with a third-place showing at the November 3-4 district tournament.
In the opening round of district play, EHS defeated the Fife Trojans 3-0, reaching the district semifinals and guaranteeing a state trip in the process. In the semis, the Enumclaw crew faced Plateau rival White River for the third time this season; the two had split SPSL 2A matches and, in district play, White River emerged on top 3-0.
In the tussle for third and fourth place in the district tourney, Enumclaw knocked off North Kitsap 3-1.
Photo by Todd Overdorf / Sonscape Images No. 4 Gunnar Trachte takes off running for a first down.
FOOTBALL
Enumclaw: The 16-team Class 2A state football tournament kicks off this weekend and the Enumclaw High Hornets have been pegged as one of the teams predicted to go deep into the bracket.
First-round pairings were announced Sunday and showed the Hornets opening tourney play against the Othello Huskies. Game time has been set for Saturday, November 11, at the Enumclaw Expo Center, with a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Enumclaw and Othello met in last year’s 2A playoffs, squaring off in the quarterfinals. Playing at the Expo Center, EHS took a 20-17 victory and advanced to the semifinals against Lynden.
This time around, Enumclaw will take on Othello sporting a 10-0 season record. The Huskies, members of the Central Washington Athletic Conference, will travel to the Expo Center with an overall mark of 7-2 (5-1 in CWAC play). The WIAA selection committee seeded EHS No. 3 in the field and ranked Othello No. 14.
Between the state tourney and the close of the regular season was a November 3 district pairing that had EHS hosting the Sammamish Redhawks.
Enumclaw had entered that initial postseason contest pegged No. 2 in the state’s Class 2A ranks by both the Associated Press and the WIAA’s Ratings Percentage Index. Sammamish, on the other hand, was unranked by the AP and was No. 32 in the RPI.
Given that, even non-football fans might have guessed what would happen when the two lined up at the Enumclaw Expo Center. However, few might have predicted the absolute whipping EHS would put on its visitors from the north.
The Hornets scored early and often, finding the end zone on just their third offensive play of the night and adding a second touchdown on their seventh play. The Enumclaw defense was more than up to the task, registering three turnovers in the first half, and the offense converted all into TDs.
The score ballooned to 77-0 by the time the final buzzer mercifully sounded.
White River: The White River Hornets closed the book on a turnaround season on a chilly November 3 evening in Poulsbo.
After receiving an at-large bid to the 12-team district playoffs, White River was paired against the imposing North Kitsap Vikings. Everything went the way of the home team, which advanced to the Class 2A state tournament with a 41-0 victory over the Hornets.
Followers of the White River program will remember the 2023 season as one in which the school’s football fortunes started an upswing. After finishing 1-8 a year ago, this year’s squad went 3-5 in SPSL 2A play and 4-6 overall. Excitement built midway through the season – the first under new coach Wyatt Evenson – when the team won three straight games and registered four victories in a five-game span.
SWIM & DIVE
Enumclaw: Seven swimmers from Enumclaw High School will be participating in the Class 1A/2A championships, which take place November 9-11 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Competing against athletes from around the state will be the following from EHS: Scarlet Connelly in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly; Tori Massey in the 200-yard individual relay and 100-yard backstroke; Alexandra Levesh in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke; and Audrie Roddy in the 500-yard freestyle. In addition, EHS will have teams in two relay races: the 200-yard medley relay crew consists of Massey, Levesh, Connelly and Molly Michael; the 400-yard freestyle relay features Addisyn Sawyer, Briella Marecle, Roddy and Michael.
White River: When the Class 1A/2A state swim and dive championships begin this week, a trio of White River athletes will be in the talented field.
Competing for White River High will be: Haley Weisheyer in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle; Cheyenne Fessler in the 50-yard freestyle; and Trista Turgeon in diving.
The meet begins Thursday and runs through Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
CROSS COUNTRY
Cross country runners from throughout the Evergreen State, from schools of all sizes, gathered November 4 for the state championship races. All were contested at the traditional site, Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
White River girls: The White River High girls have run strong all season and nothing changed when they appeared on the biggest stage. Competing November 4 at the Class 2A state championships, the Hornets placed No. 4 in the girls’ team standings.
As usual, the squad was paced by the speedy Emma Tomlinson who placed ninth in a field of 152, finishing the race in 19 minutes, 16 seconds. Others representing White River at the state meet included Paeton Poelman, 25th overall, 20:04; Vivian Kingston, 29th, 20:24; Nativity Leddy, 74th, 21:32; Evelyn Holmes, 88th, 21:55; Lily Rodarte, 110th, 22:38; and Paityn Kaydus, 137th, 23:54.
Enumclaw girls: Enumclaw High had qualified its entire girls’ team for the Class 2A state meet, where the Hornets landed in 13th place.
The team was led by Lillian Haas, who placed 55th overall in the field of 152, with a time of 20:57. Rounding out the EHS girls’ team were Ava Sawyer, 64th, 21:10; Avery Marecle, 83rd, 21:47; Stella Grant, 102nd, 22:17; Brynne Stafford, 136th, 23:51; Kami Bullock, 142nd, 25:01; and Sydney Poe, 145th, 25:56.
Enumclaw boys: Behind No. 1 runner McCoy Brooks, the Enumclaw High boys’ team placed seventh in the 2A field, which counted 16 schools.
There were 160 entries in the boys’ race and Brooks finished No. 5 in the large field, clocking a time of 15:40. Others running for the EHS boys’ program were Evan Cheney, 37th overall, 17:00; Elliott Cheney, 100th, 18:04; Michael Poleski, 103rd, 18:07; Ellis Behrens, 108th, 18:12; Jeremy Dumler, 125th, 18:34; and Cole Olson, 133rd, 18:44.
White River boys: The White River boys’ program had a lone representative at the Class 2A state meet.
In the field of 160 runners, Michael Marlow was No. 33 across the finish line, clocking a time of 16:51.
Photo by Kevin Hanson Enumclaw junior Ally Mavin, under pressure from a pair of Roughriders, prepares to launch a pass downfield during Saturday’s District 2/3 match at the Expo Center.
GIRLS’ SOCCER
Enumclaw: The fall soccer season came to a disappointing and dramatic close for the Enumclaw High girls, who were eliminated by Port Angeles in shootout fashion.
The Hornets and Roughriders met the afternoon of November 4 at the Enumclaw Expo Center with an appearance in the Class 2A state tournament on the line. It was the final step in the District 2/3 tourney where the loser was relegated to packing their uniforms away until next fall.
The teams battled scoreless for the full 80 minutes of regulation play, then tacked on a pair of scoreless, five-minute overtime periods. That sent the contest to a penalty kick phase where the ‘Riders prevailed 4-2. Enumclaw’s pair of penalty kicks were converted by Bella Baird and Ruthie Landwehr.
Prior to facing the ‘Riders, Enumclaw’s game No. 2 in the district tournament was a lopsided affair in favor of the Hornets, who scored six goals in the opening 40 minutes and rolled to a 9-0 whitewashing of the Franklin Pierce Cardinals.
The loser-out game was played November 2 at the Enumclaw Expo Center and featured the shutout goalkeeping of Megan Madill. The Hornet offense was more than up to the district task, with Sutton Kelsey and Bella Baird scoring two goals each. Also finding the back of the net were Ruthie Landwehr, Claire Largent, Lauren Bogar, Senna Burt and Emma Henshaw.
The opening night of postseason play was no friend to Enumclaw High. The visiting Sequim Wolves made the October 31 jaunt to the Expo Center pitch where they claimed a dramatic 4-3 victory to begin the District 2/3 tournament.
After Sequim hit the scoreboard first, EHS responded with two goals by Reese Darby, sandwiched around a tally by Henshaw. The Wolves scored twice in the final eight minutes to tie the contest and eventually won in a shootout.
Enumclaw High hosted the tourney opener by virtue of being the higher (No. 4) seed. The Wolves, members of the Olympic League, entered the contest as the No. 5 seed.
Enumclaw High finished the season with an overall record of 14-4-2. That included a 12-2-2 mark in South Puget Sound League 2A play, good for second place in the final league standings.
White River: The Hornets’ postseason journey was a three-game affair, highlighted by a single victory but also marked by two losses that ended White River’s season.
The tourney began on a disappointing note, as coach Mack Anderson’s squad fell 5-1 to Sammamish High the evening of October 31.
White River had entered the game seeded No. 6 into the District 2/3 tourney while the host Redhawks, members of the Kingco Conference, were slotted at No. 3.
Slipping into the loser’s side of the bracket, the Hornets bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Evergreen High of Seattle, a win that came on the Hornets’ home turf at Arrow Lumber Stadium.
That brought a decisive November 4 game against South Puget Sound League 2A rival Steilacoom. The contest, again on the Buckley turf, sent one team into the Class 2A state tourney and sent the other home for the season.
The 1-0 verdict – which featured a weather-related weather delay near the end of the first half – went the way of the Sentinels.
