By Nathan Joyce
Maxpreps.com
Baseball: Jackson Stakes Claim as Washington's Best
Is Jackson the best baseball team the state of Washington has ever produced?
The Timberwolves of Mill Creek made their claim for that vaunted title Saturday after capping a perfect season (27-0) by beating Auburn 7-1 in the championship game of the Class 4A state tournament at Safeco Field in Seattle.
Baseball America ranked Jackson second in the nation heading into the title game.
Geoffrey Brown was the big star for the T-Wolves in the title game. He allowed only three hits in five innings and hit his first homer of the season, a two-run shot.
The Class 4A and 3A title games were held at Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, for the first time. The two-day total for the event was 13,601, according to the Seattle Times.
In the Class 3A title game, Daniel Hagensen struck out nine in a three-hit effort as Newport of Bellevue beat Peninsula of Gig Harbor 5-1. Newport, which won despite six errors, won its sixth state baseball title.
Granite Falls beat Rochester 3-0 to win the Class 2A title in Yakima. Brewster ran its winning streak to 51 games to win its second-straight Class 1A title, beating Kalama 5-1. And in the Class B title game, DeSales of Walla Walla won its seventh-straight title, and 14 out of 15, as it beat Lind-Ritsville 7-6.
Soccer: Snohomish Lives Up to the Hype
The Snohomish Panthers (20-1-0) have been the team to beat in the state all season. Currently ranked sixth in the nation - they were No. 1 at one point in the season - they became No. 1 in the state with a 5-1 win over South Kitsap of Port Orchard in the championship game of the Class 4A state tournament in Sumner.
Brandon Kelly had two goals and an assist for Snohomish.
The Camas Papermakers won the Class 3A title, beating Lakeside of Seattle 1-0.
Highland of Cowiche won a dramatic Class 2A title game. Leo Diaz scored on a miracle shot from 30 yards away in the right corner, with one second remaining in overtime, as they beat Archbishop Murphy of Everett 2-1.
Fastpitch: Prairie Wins Title
Samantha Schoenwald gave up three hits in 10 innings of work as she led Prairie of Vancouver past Shadle Park of Spokane, 2-1, in the Class 4A state fastpitch title game in Tacoma. Prairie, which won state in 2000, finished in the top four the previous three years.
Tumwater, which lost its season opener, won its 24th straight game, beating North Mason of Belfair 1-0 in the Class 3A title game.
In Wenatchee, Hoquiam beat Othello 2-0 for the Class 2A state title. Onalaska beat Zillah 3-1 for the Class 1A title in Moses Lake.
Track and Field: Hooks Four Times a Lady
University of Washington-bound Whitney Hooks became the first Class 4A athlete to win four-straight state titles at Star Track, the Class 4A and 3A state meets in Pasco.
Hooks, from Cascade of Everett, won her fourth shot put title, setting a meet record with a 47 foot, 3 inch heave. She also won her second straight discus title.
Among other standout performances from the state track meets:
Mount Spokane's Megan O'Reilly won her third-straight Class 4A 3,200 title, setting a state record at 10:05.81. The previous record was 10:08.0 set in 1982 by Bellevue's Patty Matava.
Attrail Snipes won the Class 3A 100, 200 and 400 titles for Rainier Beach of Seattle. He was the first sprinter to accomplish the triple since 2001.
At the Class 2A/1A/B meet in Cheney, Jane Larson of Cedar Park Christian in Bothell won the 800, set a meet record in the 1,600 (5:01.61) and won the 3,200 giving here 10 state individual titles in her career.
For complete Class 4A/3A results go to: http://www.jcrawford.net/startrackindex.html
For complete Class 2A/1A/B results go to: http://websrv.ewu.edu/groups/athletics/WIAA/info.htm
Golf: Bellingham Wins Record Fifth Straight Title
The Bellingham girls tied a state record by winning their fifth-straight team golf title on May 24. The Red Raiders scored 111 Stableford points, beating Interlake of Bellevue by 56.5 points, the second-biggest margin of victory in Class 3A girls history. Bellingham won by 84.5 points in 2004.
Tiny Ritzville won five straight Class 1A titles from 1994-98.
All the state tournaments were held at Spokane-area courses.
Seattle Prep freshman Katrina Hegge made a name for herself in her first state golf tournament. Hegge won the Class 3A title by five strokes (66-75-141).
There was a bit of an upset for the Class 4A boys title. Bellarmine Prep's Kyle Stanley shot a 4-under 68 in the second round, but couldn't catch Nick Ellis (67-71-138) of Eastmont (Wenatchee). Clemson-bound Stanley is ranked ninth in the nation among high-school-aged players. Bellarmine (Tacoma) still repeated as boys champs.
For complete state golf results go to: http://www.wiaa.com/Athletics/golf/
Tennis: Davison's Absence the Real Story
It wasn't who won the Class 4A state girls title that was the big story of the state tennis tournament. More importantly, it was who wasn't there.
South Kitsap's Stephane Davison won the last two state titles, but this year she decided to play golf instead. She did well, qualifying for the state tournament (she finished 34th).
Davison, who will play at the University of Texas in the fall, is the No. 22 player in the nation for 18-year-old girls according to USTA.
For complete state tennis results go to: http://www.wiaa.com/Athletics/tennis/