It was business as usual last week for the Kentwood High girls track team.
The Conquerors, which entered the season as the favorite to win the South Puget Sound League North Division title, once again lived up to the promise last Wednesday afternoon as they put away Kent-Meridian 100-50.
The victory helped Kentwood wrap up its second consecutive North Division crown. It also is Kentwood’s second straight perfect run through league competition.
Kent-Meridian High’s Brandon Harris hasn’t peaked just yet. But the senior track standout certainly is on his way.
Harris captured titles in the 100-meter dash, the triple jump and the high jump last week, helping the Royals dispatch Kentwood 95-50 and win their second consecutive South Puget Sound League North Division title.
However, Harris wasn’t quite finished with only three individual titles on the day. He wanted more.
It wasn't pretty, but the Kentwood High baseball team (16-8) earned a state berth in its first district playoff game Tuesday night with a 15-7 win over Gig Harbor at Heritage Park in Puyallup.
"We didn't play very good defense and didn't pitch very well, but we came to hit," said Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad.
They are the self-proclaimed no names on the South Puget Sound League diamond.
After Tuesday afternoon's performance, however, the Kentridge High baseball team very well might have made a name for itself.
Behind a pinpoint pitching performance by ace righthander Ian Buckles and the perfect combination of clutch hitting to go along with spectacular defense, the Chargers turned back Kentlake 7-1 in a loser-out West Central/Southwest 4A Bi-district at Art Wright Field in Kent.
Erika Smyth thought for sure the home run she hit in the bottom of the fourth Tuesday afternoon wasn't getting out of the infield.
Instead, it carried over the center-field fence at Kentwood to give Kentlake a 4-0 lead in a first-place tiebreaker game against Tahoma.
It began as a vision three years ago.
The Kentwood High boys soccer team was coming off a wildly successful season in the South Puget Sound League North Division from the season before, a run that included a state berth. Yet head coach Aaron Radford had a decision to make. One that the success of the upcoming seasons would hinge upon.
Stick with the senior veterans on the varsity roster or go with the youngsters coming up?
No Flies On Doodle, winner of four stakes at Emerald Downs, heads an overflow list of 14 older fillies and mares nominated to the $50,000 Hastings Handicap to be run Sunday, May 15.
Seattle Timberwolves Slide Show
Elusive Noise made it two straight victories Saturday with a gate-to-wire triumph in the $21,000 Caliber Concrete Purse for 3-year-old fillies on Kentucky Derby Day at Emerald Downs.
Kent Reporter Preps of the Week | May 6 edition
Last May, Safeco Field represented something something special for Kentwood High pitcher Avery Kain.
Shortly after throwing a two-hit, complete-game masterpiece in an 8-0 Class 4A state championship against Richland at the home of the Seattle Mariners, Kain took stock of his surroundings and was succinct with his feelings.
Tahoma beat Puyallup today 6-4 at Curtis High School for the South Puget Sound League title and grabbed the No. 1 seed in the West Central District III/ Southwest Division 4A baseball tournament.
It took a photo finish and a stewards’ inquiry to render a decision Friday evening at Emerald Downs, but Gdanz Express ultimately prevailed in the $13,300 feature race for 3 year olds.
Turnabout is fair play, just ask the Kentlake High fastpitch team, which beat Tahoma 5-2 on Thursday night.
This came little more than 24 hours after Tahoma beat Kentlake 6-5.
"I don't think we ever had a doubt it would turn out differently," said Kentlake catcher Brittany Styger.
Several members of the local handicapping fraternity along with Emerald Downs’ personnel were polled for selections for the 137th Kentucky Derby. If their consensus is right, Arch Arch Arch will be wearing a garland of roses Saturday in Louisville.
The Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey team selected left wing Ryan Gropp from Kamloops, British Columbia, with their first round pick, sixth overall, in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft Thursday at the BMO Centre in Calgary, Alberta.
The Kentridge High girls tennis team turned the tables on Kentwood last week during a pivotal match between two of the area’s top teams.
The Kentridge High baseball team didn’t need a miracle.
But after graduating 13 seniors from last year’s team, the Chargers certainly needed a shot of confidence to contend this spring in the rugged South Puget Sound League North Division.
“Nobody thought we were going to be anybody at the start of the season,” third baseman Kyle Leady said. “Our goal was to be a somewhat competitive team, put up decent numbers and not be embarrassed like everybody thought.”
Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey defenseman Ryan Button signed a three-year entry level contract Wednesday with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.
Quarterback Houston Lillard threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead the Tri-Cites Fever to a 63-33 win over the Seattle Timberwolves in a professional Indoor Football League game Saturday in Kennewick.
