Kentwood High senior-to-be Karl Johnson enjoyed a big afternoon Saturday, June 18.
Erick Walker and I have both spent countless hours trying to figure out the answer to a simple question.
Who should be the male athlete of the year?
Tayler Saucedo transformed himself in nine months.
He went from winless on the mound for Tahoma High’s baseball team as a junior during the 2010 season to 7-1 in his senior campaign, helping to lead the Bears to a South Puget Sound League North Division title, while also catching the attention of college coaches and professional scouts.
On a gorgeous Tuesday morning at the start of summer vacation more than two dozen youngsters worked on their skills at a youth soccer camp organized by Tahoma High varsity soccer players.
Noosa Beach etched his name into the Emerald Downs record book Sunday with a spectacular 3 ½ -length victory in the $50,000 Budweiser Handicap on Father’s Day.
Heavily favored Rossi Reserve wore down long shot Giacomina in deep stretch and notched a one–length victory Friday in the $10,900 Microsoft Purse for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs.
With the meet’s leading rider Leslie Mawing aboard, Rossi Reserve ran six furlongs in 1:10.86 on a fast track and paid $3.40, $2.60 and $2.20. Tom Wenzel is the winning trainer for Northwest Farms of Yakima.
Tahoma High’s varsity boys and girls soccer players will host a number of camps this summer.
The older handicap division gets its first two-turn test Sunday in the $50,000 Budweiser Handicap at one mile. Defending champion Noosa Beach was assigned a record 125 pounds for the next-to-last steppingstone to the $200,000 Longacres Mile, grade 3, on Sunday Aug. 21.
Kyle Conwell has options.
If the 2009 Tahoma High graduate gets the right offer, he could be playing minor league ball in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization by the end of the summer, and if not he can head down to Abilene Christian University in Texas where he has a baseball scholarship waiting for him.
Dre’s K was never headed Saturday en route to an 11-¼-length victory in the $10,300 Laurel Laurel Purse for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs.
The classy mare No Flies On Doodle regained her winning form Friday with a gate-to-wire victory in the $18,600 Pat Keaton’s Retirement Purse for fillies and mares at Emerald Downs.
A four-time stakes winner locally, No Flies On Doodle had lost eight straight races before the three-quarter-length victory under jockey Javier Matias. The 5-year-old ran one mile in 1:39.19 on a fast track and paid $4.60, $3 and $2.20. Vann Belvoir is the trainer for owner West Coast Racing LLC.
The final three weeks of the spring season went by in a blur and was highlighted by not one, but multiple state championships. Two of those (Kent-Meridian boys track and Kentwood girls track) were won by programs that had not ever reached the golden status.
Kentwood High cheerleaders showed they support all athletes during the Washington state Special Olympics Summer Games held June 3-5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Final Round Results on June 4 for Pacific Raceways National Dragster Challenge and Pawn X-Change Drag Race Series Race 5 on June 5
Rallying from slightly off the pace, Rainier Ice earned a 2 ½-length victory Sunday in the $17,600 WTBOA Purse for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs.
For You My Heart wore down Tasya in the final strides for a one-length victory Saturday in the $17,600 Pierce County Employees Day Purse for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs.
Owner Jody Peetz said it best after Roarified led all the way Friday for a 1 ¼-length victory in the featured Boeing Employees Saddle Club Purse at Emerald Downs.
“When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll,” Peetz said. “What can I say? It’s great!”
The Puget Sound Football camp will return to French Field at Kent-Meridian High from June 22-24. The camp is for athletes entering grades 4-9 and cost $90.
Kentwood freshman Catherina Li was the top local placer during last week’s girls Class 4A state golf tournament at Downriver Golf Course in Spokane.
There are no stakes races scheduled this weekend at Emerald Downs.
Perhaps the handicappers can use a week away from stakes activities to look at the track’s best horses. Through four stakes races the only consistency has been large fields—an average of nine horses per stakes event, and an average $2 win payoff of $33.80.
