The numbers are in.
And for Kentwood and Kentlake’s prep track and field programs, that proved to be a good thing after the South Puget Sound League meet May 12 and May 14 at French Field.
The top 10 individuals in each event earned berths to the West Central District meet at Mount Tahoma, which is slated for Friday and Saturday.
Behind a pitching gem by Nikole Weber and the defensive play of the year by center fielder Erin Crowley, Kentlake hung on to beat Puyallup 3-1 for the South Puget Sound League title on Friday evening at Service Club Ballfields in Kent.
It’s not yet panic time for the Kentwood High baseball team.
But after Saturday’s 10-6 loss to Puyallup in the South Puget Sound League championship game, there is some head scratching going around.
Despite home runs from Austin Voth, Taylor White and Bryant VanEngelenburg, the sixth-ranked Conquerors were unable to overcome a fast start by the No. 1 Vikings.
Things fell apart for the Kentlake High fastpitch team a year ago.
This spring, they’ve come together.
Kentwood’s Tess Manthou and Alyssa Nagai proved to be the area’s brightest shining stars during the SPSL girls tennis tournament, which finished up at Kent-Meridian High on Tuesday. Manthou and Nagai teamed up to beat Tahoma’s Sierra Southworth and Maria Bahlenhorst for the doubles title, 6-1-6-4. Manthou and Nagai were the only players from Kent to bring home a championship.
The gymnasium at Kentwood High is filled with championship banners.
In fact, the nearly 30-year-old building is the home of title banners from virtually every sport — except one.
It has been a long road for Kentwood’s girls track and field team, one that has not included a South Puget Sound League North Division title.
The race for the South Puget Sound League North Division girls tennis crown won’t be going down to the wire this season.
After more than a month of speculation, Chris Paulson was announced on April 22 as the new head football coach at Kentlake High.
Paulson, 28, spent the past two years at Mount Rainier. In two years with the Rams, Paulson posted an 8-11 overall record. The year before Paulson arrived at MR, the Rams were 1-9 overall.
The soccer playoffs are right around the corner.
But where are the local teams?
If the standings in the South Puget Sound League North Division remain as they were at the beginning of the week, neither Kentwood or Kentlake will be advancing.
The roll continued for the Kentwood High baseball team on Friday afternoon.
The roll continued for the Kentwood High baseball team on Friday afternoon.
A day after barely getting past rival Tahoma, the Conquerors exploded for 18 hits en route to a 15-9 South Puget Sound League win over Kentlake.
As a parent of two boys (4 and 10), I’ve come to learn that some things are a lot funnier when they happen to someone else.
That thought has never rung more true than last week at Safeco Field during the Mariners home opener against the Oakland A’s. Attending the first game of the season at Safeco is a tradition in the Walker household.
A little bit of sun went a long way for Kentwood High’s Holly DeHart this past weekend.
DeHart, a junior, delivered a big-time show at Edgar Brown Stadium during the Pasco Invitational on Saturday. DeHart won the 100-meter dash (12.25), the 200 (24.90), finished second in the long jump (17-feet-6 inches) and helped both of Kentwood’s relay teams finish among the top three.
Blister problems held back Austin Voth on the baseball diamond last spring.
Today, the only blistering going on in the Kentwood High right-hander’s world is the kind he is currently administering on his South Puget Sound League North Division foes.
As it was last season, this is an extremely balanced league, though Auburn, Kentridge and Kentwood are clearly at the head of the class. Flip a coin and on any given day any one of Auburn, Kentridge and Kentwood could beat one another. Kentridge picked up the first match against Auburn on March 25, so the Chargers may have an edge. Auburn rallied late last year to secure its first SPSL North title since 2003.
She showed last spring what she’s capable of accomplishing on the tennis court in No. 1 singles, advancing to state in her first season of high school competition.
And for an encore?
Kentwood’s Tess Manthou might just be turning her attention to the doubles side this spring.
Kentwood basketball star Joshua Smith scored 10 points last Wednesday night in helping the West defeat the East 107-104 in the McDonald’s All-American boys basketball game.
Smith, who led the Conquerors to the Class 4A state championship last month, connected on 4 of 5 shots from the field and drained a pair of free throws.
A reshuffling of the South Puget Sound League in track and field has left the North with six teams: Auburn, Kentlake, Kent-Meridian, Kentridge, Kentwood and Tahoma. Federal Way won the North last year followed closely by Kent-Meridian. K-M would have given the Eagles a stiff challenge for the North crown this spring. Federal Way’s shift makes K-M the heavy favorite to win the team title this season. It’s not that the rest of the North isn’t talented, but the Royals have returned almost all of their point scorers from state a year ago, when they finished second overall. Kentwood and Kentridge both have above-average talent, neither however has the depth of K-M. If the Royals don’t run into any health or grade issues, a state title is a legitimate possibility.
Consider Maddi Varela a quick learner.
Varela, a Kentlake High sophomore and track standout, blistered the oval on March 27 in the 400-meter dash at the Kent-Meridian Invitational. Varela won the event with a time of 59.79 seconds.
What has turned heads, however, is the fact that Varela was attempting the 400-meter dash for the first time in her prep career. Normally a sprinter, one who excels in the 100 and 200, the 400 just might be the perfect fit.
They opened the season with a bang. If the Kentwood High girls track and field team can finish it that way, the Conquerors very likely will have made school history.
“The girls track team is the only team at Kentwood that has never won a league title,” said coach Steve Roche. “I have pointed that out to them.”
Kyle Jones knew this moment was coming.
But that didn’t make it any easier for the Kentlake High soccer coach to announce that this spring will be his final season with the boys team. Jones doubles as the school’s girls coach and announced in the fall that he would not be back with them, either.
