By Nathan Joyce
Maxpreps.com
One Honest Golfer
Here's a little story left over from the state golf tournaments, which took place May 23-24 on Spokane-area golf courses.
Yelm's Beth Stonecypher finished in the top three at the Class 3A tournament her freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. She was hoping for a state title as she headed into her final state tournament.
And things were off to a strong start. Stonecypher, who has a golf scholarship to the University of Idaho, was in first place after nine holes, and was in third heading into the final hole of the first round. On the 18th hole, she knocked a tee shot just out of bounds, and it cost her two strokes.
Irritated, she absently signed her scorecard and headed out for ice cream with her family. Later that night, while mentally reviewing her round at her hotel room, she realized she had signed an incorrect scorecard. Her card said she shot a 72, when she had shot a 73.
She quickly called her coach and told him she needed to be disqualified.
"I didn't want to be known as a cheater," she told the Olympian newspaper.
And thus her high school career ended: With out a state title, but with plenty of honor.
Breaking Up the Big District
There are plenty of changes coming to high school sports come September.
With the new classifications taking and teams shuffling into new or different leagues, there will plenty going on.
Here's another change: In the postseason, Class 4A teams in the West Central District (District No. 3) - which includes two massive leagues, the Narrows and South Puget Sound - have shared their berths to the state tournaments with Southwest Washington (District No. 4) for several years. With those two districts joining forces, the WCD/SW district tournament has become a monster. Half of the state field comes from it in every sport.
Well, not next year.
The Southwest Washington District is going to break that up and pool its state berths with the Class 4A KingCo Conference, the Seattle Times is reporting.
The two leagues will share a state berth (meaning they trade it back and forth every year), and instead of having one less shot at state each year, they'll have a mini-playoff. The No. 3 team from the KingCo and the No. 2 team from Southwest Washington will play a loser-out, winner-to-state game in every team sport but football (where berths to the state's 32-team field is already set).
Chief Sealth Controversy Continues
The Chief Sealth girls basketball team moved a step closer to losing both of its Class 3A state girls basketball championships.
The Seattle school's girls basketball team has been under a cloud of controversy since a Seattle Times' investigation named numerous recruiting violations Feb. 15.
Monday, the SeaKing District voted to strip Chief Sealth of two district titles (2005 and 2006), a move that could pave the way for both state titles to be removed as well.
The Seattle Times articles listed violations from the last three years, including the arrangement of a fake lease for several players who lived out of the district to play for the school. The Seahawks, who were nationally-ranked all last season, have won 56 of 58 games in the past two seasons and the last two state titles. It's believed to be the biggest recruiting scandal in state history.
An investigation by the school district found several violations and head coach Ray Willis and his staff were dismissed (they are appealing the ruling). The school district voted against forcing the team to forfeit, as it didn't believe the players should be punished. The school district imposed probation instead, something the Metro League supported.
The SeaKing District voted to overturn the league ruling and then voted to impose harsher penalties. As well as stripping the team of all its district wins the last two seasons (thus nullifying how the school qualified for state), it will not be allowed to play in the district tourney in 2007.
The district also recommended to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the state's governing body of high school sports, stripping the Seahawks of both state titles.
"I think this vote indicates that we want athletics to be run fairly," district secretary Tom Doyle told the Seattle Times. "We advocate sportsmanship. We advocate fair play. We advocate level playing fields."
Chief Sealth has five days to appeal. It wasn't immediately known when the WIAA will meet about the issue.
"I was surprised that [the Sea-King District board] went as far as they did," Al Hairston, the athletic director for the Seattle School District, said in the Seattle Times. Banning Chief Sealth from participating in postseason play in 2007, he said, is "particularly harsh and unfair to kids still in the program."