Friday’s Frenzy: Clark County athletes shine at state, all over state

Columbia River soccer advances to finals; three softball teams in final four; and Trey Knight of Ridgefield breaks another record

The Columbia River Chieftains worked late into the night Friday, and they were rewarded with a spot in the Class 2A boys soccer state championship match.

The Chieftains aren’t the only team one day away from winning it all.

Three softball teams — Woodland, Ridgefield, and Mountain View — have reached the semifinals in their tournaments and three other softball teams are still alive in the 4A tourney, which was postponed by rain.

In track and field, Clark County has had numerous state champions Thursday and Friday, with a big finish yet to come Saturday.

Skyview baseball, meanwhile, went up against one of the greatest pitching performances in state tournament history. Moses Lake hurler Evan McLean threw a perfect game in a Class 4A semifinal, stopping the Storm 3-0.

Here is a quick recap of all the goings-on so far as the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association wraps up spring sports with the traditional Memorial Day Weekend finish. And the WIAA’s Tournament Central page has links to all the events: http://wiaa.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=1009

Softball:

Mountain View beat Juanita 10-5 in the first round of the 3A tourney, then held off Snohomish 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Kinsey Martin hit a homer in the quarters. The Thunder will take on Yelm at 9 a.m. Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Prairie lost in the opener of the 3A tourney in Lacey, but won two games in the consolation bracket in hopes of earning a trophy.

Woodland and Ridgefield kept alive the dream of an all-Clark County championship in the 2A tournament, being played in Selah.

Olivia Grey, shown here earlier this season, and the Woodland Beavers have advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals. Photo by Mike Schultz
Olivia Grey, shown here earlier this season, and the Woodland Beavers have advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals. Photo by Mike Schultz

Olivia Grey struck out 31 batters in two games — in 12 innings total — as Woodland rolled to a 10-0 victory over Eatonville and then a 3-0 win over Lynden. Carleigh Risley, Kelly Sweyer, and Kaily Christensen each hit a home run.

Meanwhile, Ridgefield’s Kaia Oliver also threw two shutouts as the Spudders beat Lakewood 4-0 and then topped Ephrata 6-0. She had 32 strikeouts, including 20 in the quarterfinals. Kekai Schultz had a home run for the Spudders.

Woodland will take on Sehome in one semifinal Saturday. Ridgefield will face District 4 rival W.F. West in the other semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

In 4A softball, Skyview has advanced to the quarterfinals. The Storm beat Rogers 9-7.

Then the skies opened up and there was no more softball on Friday in Spokane. That leaves Battle Ground and Camas yet to play. Those two teams play their openers at 8 a.m. Saturday. The WIAA has rescheduled the tournament and, weather permitting, can get it all done Saturday.

Soccer:

The Columbia River defense was solid once again, and a goal in the first half was the difference as the Chieftains took down Fife 1-0 in a Class 2A semifinal in Sumner.

The Columbia River Chieftains, shown here earlier in their playoff run this season, hope to celebrate one more win Saturday in the Class 2A state championship match. Photo by Mike Schultz
The Columbia River Chieftains, shown here earlier in their playoff run this season, hope to celebrate one more win Saturday in the Class 2A state championship match. Photo by Mike Schultz

Columbia River will take on Sehome at 5 p.m. The Chieftains are looking for their second consecutive state title.

In Class 3A, Mountain View’s bid for a state championship ended in the semifinals. Lakeside topped the Thunder 3-0. Mountain View will play Interlake at 10 a.m. Saturday in the third-place match.

Baseball:

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the opponent.

That’s how the Skview Storm probably feel in regard to Moses Lake pitcher Evan McLean.

After all, McLean was perfect Friday night. Yes, perfect.

The Storm brought 21 batters to the plate and not one reached base. McLean struck out 12, leading Moses Lake to a 3-0 victory.

Skyview, in the final four for the third consecutive season, will play for third place at 1 p.m. Saturday against Issaquah.

Track and Field:

Trey Knight did it again.

Trey Knight, shown here last year, won the Class 2A state championship in the district Friday with a meet-record throw of 187 feet, 6 inches. Photo by Mike Schultz
Trey Knight, shown here last year, won the Class 2A state championship in the district Friday with a meet-record throw of 187 feet, 6 inches. Photo by Mike Schultz

A junior from Ridgefield, Knight defended his Class 2A title in the discus Friday, setting a new meet record. He also defended his title in the shot put on Thursday.

He launched the discus 187 feet, 6 inches, topping the meet record by more than 7 feet. He went 63-4 to win the shot put.

The 4A, 3A, and 2A meets are in Tacoma.

Also in the 2A boys meet, Levi Williams of Columbia River is your pole vault champion. He cleared the bar at 13-6.

In the 2A girls meet, Kiersten De La Rocha of Washougal won the discus at 116-4.

Ellie Saunders (left) and Jerrica Pachl of Seton Catholic celebrated their big day Thursday at the Class 1A track and field championships. Saunders and Pachl finished first and second in the high jump. Photo courtesy Kasey Powers
Ellie Saunders (left) and Jerrica Pachl of Seton Catholic celebrated their big day Thursday at the Class 1A track and field championships. Saunders and Pachl finished first and second in the high jump. Photo courtesy Kasey Powers

On Thursday, Nicole Guthrie of Woodland won the high jump at 5-4. Also on Thursday, Mackenzie Sparks of Ridgefield took home the javelin championship at 128-3.

In the 4A boys meet, Daniel Maton of Camas won the 1,600 on Thursday, his third victory in that event. This year, he was timed at 4 minutes, 6.07 seconds.

In the 3A girls meet, Katherine Kadrmas of Mountain View is the state champion in the 100 hurdles, clocking in at 14.91 seconds.

The small schools are in Spokane. And on Thursday, Seton Catholic had a special moment when Ellie Saunders won the high jump and teammate Jerrica Pachl finished second.

Saturday will feature a flurry of finals, one after the other, as the season comes to a conclusion.

Tennis:

Faith Grisham of Columbia River won her two matches in straight sets and is in the Class 2A girls singles semifinals.

Three doubles teams from Clark County are still alive in the championship hunt, too.

Kyle Mosier and Jacob Flentke of Union advanced to the 4A boys semifinals. Nicole Knudtson and Miriam Muntean of Union are in the 4A girls semifinals.

And in 2A boys, Nate Kessi and Wilson Keller are in the final four.

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