Top-ranked Auburn-Riverside, ranked 30th in the nation in one poll, made quick work of its Class 4A showdown with No. 2 Federal Way, 64-49.
Federal Way was missing two players, including leading scorer and rebounder TyShana Burgess, who was on leave for personal reasons.
2. Orting proves it's No. 1: The Central Kitsap Matman Classic featured five teams ranked in the top 20 of the state by WashingtonWrestlingReport.com. Class 1A Orting proved the site was correct in ranking it No. 1 by winning the team title over several bigger schools. No. 9 Graham-Kapowsin (4A) was second, No. 2 Lake Stevens (4A) was third, No. 11 Rogers (4A) was fourth and No. 18 Enumclaw (3A) was fifth.
Josh Smith, Kentwood
File photo by Dennis Lee
3. Smith finally returns to action: Kentwood big man Joshua Smith, who at 6-foot-10 is rated the No. 1 center in the nation, saw his first action in a month, scoring 10 points in a 61-37 win over Tahoma. The UCLA-bound Smith has been sidelined with a knee injury. Smith missed the next two games, including the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.
4. Seferian-Jenkins Invited to Army Bowl: All-State tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins of Gig Harbor was one of the first 19 players picked for the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Seferian-Jenkins is one of the nation's most highly recruited tight ends.
5. Bainbridge's streak finally ends: The Bainbridge gymnastics team has won every regular-season meet it's competed in since 1999. That's a run of 115 straight wins. That streak came to an end as Holy Names won a three-team Metro League meet with 162.75 points. Bainbridge scored 159.3.
Top performers
Daniel Campbell (Cedarcrest boys basketball): The senior broke school records by hitting 10 3-pointers en route to 41 points in an 83-56 win over Granite Falls. He was 10 of 20 on 3-pointers and 5 of 6 on 2-pointers.
Gary Bell (Kentridge boys basketball): The junior scored 38 points and had six rebounds and five assists in a 70-56 win over Jefferson.
Will DiIorio (Bainbridge boys basketball): The senior had 25 points, 17 rebounds and five steals as the Spartans beat Cleveland 83-66.
Kylie Huerta (Kentwood girls basketball): The 5-foot-1 senior had 27 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists as the Conquerors beat White River 54-42 in the King Holiday Hoopfest.
Nate's notes
There has been plenty of teeth-gnashing since the WIAA released the reclassification numbers last month. Leagues are still trying to figure out to realign.
One of the major issues is that the spread for the 2A classification next year is a staggering 513 to 1,085 students (that’s counting grades 10-12). Schools on the small end of that spectrum have to play teams twice as big as them in their same league and in the postseason.
I still believe that the way the WIAA figures classifications is correct. It should be done by percentage in an effort (rather than by set numbers) to keep the classifications balanced.
Maybe it’s time to rethink the opt-ups. The massive number of schools opting-up is what put us in this mess.
Twenty-two teams opted-up to 3A (this is the first year classifications have been set after teams opted-up) and another four went to 4A. For every team that opted-up, a team went from 3A down to 2A. If those 22 teams hadn’t opted-up, the 2A classification would range from around 500-850. Those are reasonable numbers.
A lot of schools won’t be happy about not opting-up. Schools opt-up to stay in leagues with traditional rivals or keep transportation costs low. I have an answer for that, too, and it’s something that’s already in play in many leagues.
The answer is to embrace multi-classification leagues. That way you can keep regional rivalries intact and solve any transportation issues.
I’m not saying we should completely eliminate opting-up. It makes sense for some private schools, and the WIAA can allow it on a case-by-case basis.
Nathan Joyce has been a sports writer in Washington for 12 years. He currently works at the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.
