The busiest week of the high school season is here. Six spring sports contest their state championships this weekend. Here's everything you need to know:
Baseball: Defending champs return to Safeco
The teams that won the Class 4A and 3A baseball titles are still alive and will be back at Seattle's Safeco Field on Friday.
The Richland Bombers just couldn't let their historic run end. Last year, they became the first big school to win three state baseball titles in five years. Now, they are the first Class 4A school to make the semifinals for four straight years. They play Shorewood (Shoreline) in the semifinals on Friday. Federal Way and Kentwood play in the other.
The O'Dea Fighting Irish of Seattle returned the semifinals by beating the Union Titans of Vancouver 9-8 in extra innings. They will play Enumclaw in one semifinal while Camas and Columbia River face off in the other.
Soccer: Shorecrest's run comes to end
The Shorecrest (Seattle) Scots were the defending Class 3A state champs and had won 39 straight soccer games and were ranked No. 1 in the state.
But the No. 2 Camas Papermakers ended that run in the state quarterfinals, 1-0. Camas, a state soccer power itself, will play No. 3 Mount Rainier in the semifinals. Nick Palodichuk, the Gatorade state player of the year, leads Camas. Glacier Peak and Capital play in the other semifinal.
UCLA-bound Kelyn Rowe scored five goals in a 5-1 quarterfinal win over Todd Beamer as Federal Way, the No. 7 team from the South Puget Sound League, made a surprising run to the semifinals. The Eagles will play No. 2 Lake Stevens in the Class 4A state semifinals. Ferris and Stadium play in the other semifinal.
Softball: State field still not set
A rainy weekend in the Tacoma area caused the postponement of the West Central District softball tournaments. The WCD is the state's largest district and has half of the berths into the 3A state tournament and six of the 16 in the 4A.
The WCD is trying to get the district tournament done by Tuesday. The defending champs have qualified. Kelso is back in the Class 4A tourney and Bainbridge has returned to the Class 3A field.
Golf: The first state event is on deck
The state golf tournaments, held the in the Tri-Cities and in Yakima, are the first state events contested. It begins on Tuesday and ends Wednesday. Holy Names' Kristin Tan is the golfer to watch. She won a state title as a sophomore. As a junior, she finished third, but she led the Cougars to the team title.
Track and Field: Memorable performances on tap
The state track and field meet, which begins Thursday, promises some record-setting marks. The Class 4A/3A/2A meets are at Mount Tahoma in Tacoma. The Class 1A/2B/1B meets are at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.
The state meet has the possibility of two seven-foot high jumpers in Skyline's Kasen Williams and Mead (Spokane)'s A.J. Maricich. The state record holder in the javelin, Tahoma's Derek Eager, will try to better his record. He's also the top discus thrower in the state.
And the distances races are stacked this year. In 4A, Central Kitsap's Shane Moskowitz, and North Central's Ben Johnston in 3A are two of the nation's best male runners. Northwest School's Maddie Meyers and Glacier Peak's Amy Eloise Neale are among the nation's top female runners.
Tennis: Another title for a champion?
Bainbridge's Sasha Carter has stamped herself as the favorite to win the Class 3A singles title. Carter, a junior, won the Class 1A title as a freshman at Annie Wright in Tacoma. She had to sit out as a sophomore because of the WIAA transfer rules.
She beat Holy Names' Natalie Allen, the defending state champ, in the title game of the Metro League tournament and the SeaKing District tournament.