Title chasers: A look back at lower South Sound state champions
From nail-biters to blowouts. From sprints to strikeouts. From cheers to tears.
Five teams from the lower South Sound and 13 individual athletes won state titles during the 2016-17 school year. The Olympian takes a look back at who these title chasers are, and how they won it all.
TEAM STATE CHAMPIONS
NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN
Sport: Boys cross country
Date: Nov. 5, 2016
Location: Sun Willows golf Course, Pasco
How it happened: Luke Schilter, a senior, led the Navigators to a first-place finish with a 2B state championship of his own. On an icy Saturday, Schilter led the race from the starting line, finishing in 15 minutes, 56.4 seconds. He was the only runner to finish in under 16 minutes.
Four more Northwest Christian runners — senior Corban Phillips (17th, 17:19.2), freshman Garrett McSheffrey (18th, 17:20.7), freshman Noah Phillips (22nd, 17:31.7) and senior Stephen Epp (24th, 17:40.2) — barreled in behind Schilter. The five finished with a spread of 1:43.8, and the Navigators finished 26 points ahead of second-place Liberty Bell to win their third-straight title.
TUMWATER
Sport: Volleyball
Date: Nov. 12, 2016
Location: Saint Martin’s University, Lacey
How it happened: The top-ranked T-Birds wrapped up a perfect season — finishing 22-0 with wins over 4A programs like Curtis, Emerald Ridge and Bellarmine Prep — by winning their second 2A state title in three years. Tumwater swept Woodland in the championship game and didn’t lose a set in any of its four matches at SMU, sweeping Pullman, Burlington-Edison and Archbishop Murphy earlier in the tournament.
Tumwater junior Kennedy Croft, a Gonzaga commit, finished with 19 kills, 12 digs and three aces. Cristina Hegarty, a senior, led the T-Birds with 19 digs and Eastern Oregon signee Maddy Pilon, a senior, pitched in 41 assists. Croft was later named the Gatorade state volleyball player of the year.
YELM
Sport: Girls wrestling
Date: Feb. 18, 2017
Location: The Tacoma Dome
How it happened: Yelm was the second-ranked team entering Mat Classic XXIX behind state-favorite Federal Way. The two programs remained close in the points race throughout the final day of the tournament, until freshman Brooklyn Cutler (fifth, 115 pounds) and senior Jasmine Welch (seventh, 170) pinned their opponents in consolation matches to add to a slim Tornados lead.
Later in the evening, Federal Way needed its two remaining finalists to win by pin to tie the score, but only one did. Yelm finished with 97 points, edging the Eagles — who beat Yelm at regionals a week earlier — by six.
Sophomore Phoenix DuBose (second, 115), freshman Carly Smith (second, 125) and senior Ariana Zemke (second, 145) each met defending state champions in their final matches, but led Yelm’s program to its first state title in school history with earlier wins. Junior Chelsey Rochester (eighth, 185) rounded out Yelm’s scoring. All six of Yelm’s state-qualifying wrestlers reached the podium.
W.F. WEST
Sport: Softball
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Carlon Park, Selah
How it happened: This wasn’t unexpected. Following last season’s untimely loss to Fife in the 2A semifinals, the Bearcats returned as menacing as ever with a veteran team loaded with talent. In its 14th consecutive trip to the state tournament, W.F. West (22-3) effectively worked through East Valley of Yakima, White River and Ellensburg before stamping its season with a 5-1 win over Port Angeles in the title game.
Senior ace Lexie Strasser, a Central Washington University signee and two-time Olympian All-Area selection, fanned nine in the final outing to finish her season with 112 strikeouts. Sophomore Kindra Davis, a Boise State commit and Paetynn Lopez drove in runs in the first before Kyndra Haller’s two-run home run in the third broke the game open. The win gave W.F. West its second title in three years, and fourth since 2000.
NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN
Sport: Girls track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: Aided by four first-place finishes on the final day of the 2B state championships, the Navigators racked up 90 points to cruise to a team title.
Senior Heidi Sowers had a pair of first-place finishes in the 100 hurdles (15.43 seconds) and 300 hurdles (45.95). She became a two-time champion in the 300 hurdles, and finished the season as the lower South Sound leader in both races. Sowers scored 36 of Northwest Christian’s points, with runner-up finishes in the long jump (17 feet, six inches) and triple jump (36-0).
Junior Eliana Summers won the 3,200 (11:54.55) and was the runner-up in the 1,600 (5:21.74). Megan McSheffrey, a junior, won the 400 (1:00.14) and took third in the 800 (2:25.26). Senior Elizabeth Stottlemyre was the runner up in the javelin (126-7).
INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONS
DRAYDEN ALEXANDER
Sport: Boys track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma
How it happened: Alexander, a River Ridge sophomore, started with the baton. By the time his teammate Josh Braverman, a senior, reached the finish line the Hawks had another 2A title in the 4x100 relay.
River Ridge ran a season-best time of 42.92 seconds, after entering the finals as the No. 2 seed. The Hawks won their preliminary heat the previous day, but Pullman entered the finals as the race favorite. Alexander was quick through the first corner. Senior Alex Coleman, the second leg, closed a small gap before handing the baton to junior Tyler Robinson.
Robinson was even with the rest of the field when he reached Braverman and the two had a clean exchange. In a neighboring lane, Pullman dropped the baton, giving Braverman a clear track to the finish. The win carried on a legacy for River Ridge in this race. The 2014 team of Michael Key, Ika Morton, Chris Leiba and DeJuan Frye still holds the meet record (41.49).
JOSH BRAVERMAN
Sport: Boys track and field
Date: May 26-27, 2017
Location: Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma
How it happened: Call it a career for the River Ridge senior, who will run at the University of Iowa next season. At this year’s 2A state championships, Braverman brought home three titles in the 110 hurdles (14.07 seconds), 300 hurdles (38.48) and as a leg of the Hawks’ 4x100 relay team (42.92).
Braverman finished his season ranked in the top 60 nationally in both hurdles races. His personal-best time of 13.99 in the 110 hurdles set at the 2A West Central District championships was the best in Washington this season, and his time of 14.04 in his preliminary heat at the state championships was a meet record.
In the 300 hurdles, Braverman’s personal-best time of 37.62 set in March held as Washington’s best until the final day of the season, when hurdlers from West Seattle and Mead edged it. Braverman won both of his hurdles titles uncontested his senior year. His junior year, he became River Ridge’s 50th track and field state champion when he won the 300 hurdles for the first time.
ALEX COLEMAN
Sport: Boys track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma
How it happened: Coleman, a River Ridge senior, ran the second leg of the Hawks’ 4x100 relay, which won another 2A state title.
River Ridge ran a season-best time of 42.92 seconds, after entering the finals as the No. 2 seed. The Hawks won their preliminary heat the previous day, but Pullman entered the finals as the race favorite. Sophomore Drayden Alexander was quick through the first corner. Coleman closed a small gap after the pass before handing the baton to junior Tyler Robinson.
Robinson was even with the rest of the field when he reached senior Josh Braverman and the two had a clean exchange. In a neighboring lane, Pullman dropped the baton, giving Braverman a clear track to the finish. The 2014 team of Michael Key, Ika Morton, Chris Leiba and DeJuan Frye still holds the meet record (41.49).
IAN FROST
Sport: Boys track and field
Date: May 26, 2017
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: Frost, a Mary M. Knight junior, led the lower South Sound and 1B for the rest of the season in the discus after launching a throw of 156 feet, nine inches at the Oregon Relays in Eugene in April.
He didn’t let up when he arrived at the 1B state championships. Frost uncorked a throw of 156-8 — just one inch off of his personal best — to capture a state title for the Owls. His throw beat second-place RJ Plum of Northport by nearly 18 feet. Frost finished the season ranked in the top 25 statewide.
CY HICKS
Sport: Boys wrestling
Date: Feb. 18, 2017
Location: The Tacoma Dome
How it happened: Hicks was an early favorite to win the 2A heavyweight title entering his junior season at Tumwater. He knew that, but he also knew what it would take to actually win it.
His sophomore year, Hicks was projected to advance to the final match. But, he ended up on the same side of the bracket as his cousin, Hunter Mullins of Orting, who went on to be a two-time champion at 285 pounds.
Hicks pinned three opponents in the consolation bracket to take third, but already had his sights set on winning a title the following year.
His junior season had its ups and downs — including a loss to W.F. West’s Hunter Arredondo in the 2A state regionals that made his Mat Classic XXIX road even harder — but that just made the final result that much sweeter.
The first day at the Tacoma Dome, Hicks pinned Lindbergh’s AJ Sellem in the opening round before meeting Toppenish’s Jonathan Cuevas, the top-ranked 2A heavyweight in the state, in the quarterfinals. Hicks endured several blood timeouts to top Cuevas, 12-4.
He outlasted Foss’ Jackson Potts, 3-1, in the semifinals and faced Arredondo, a two-time finalist, in the championship match. The two wrestlers were deadlocked at 1-1 when regulation ended. In the first overtime, just before the period expired, Arredondo caught Hicks’ left leg and pushed forward.
It appeared Hicks was about to fall, but he quickly twisted away, instead throwing Arredondo to the mat for a two-point takedown to win, 3-1.
CURTIS LENZ
Sport: Boys wrestling
Date: Feb. 18, 2017
Location: The Tacoma Dome
How it happened: Lenz didn’t want to be a wrestler, but after prompting from his parents to participate in an after-school sport, the Rainier senior settled on wrestling.
By the end of his final season, Lenz ended up with a 2B/1B title in the 106-pound weight class. He finished 30-2 as a senior, and was undefeated against wrestlers in 2B and 1B.
At Mat Classic XXIX, he almost effortlessly worked through his bracket, pinning his first two opponents. In the final, Lenz wrestled Kalama freshman Chase Staup, who he’d already defeated several times during the season, and calmly and efficiently worked to a 4-1 decision.
When the referee raised his hand, Lenz became Rainier’s first state champion since 2006. He is one of only five Mountaineers to win a state title in wrestling.
MEGAN MCSHEFFREY
Sport: Girls track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: The Northwest Christian junior ran plenty the final weekend of the season, and heavily contributed to the Navigators’ 2B team title run.
But McSheffrey’s big win came in the 400, where she ran a time of one minute, 0.14 seconds to edge Wilbur-Creston’s Madison Clark. McSheffrey was the top qualifier for the final after running a 1:01.04 in her preliminary heat a day earlier.
She was one of only two 2B runners this season to finish the 400 under the one-minute mark, posting a personal-best 59.47 in May at Tumwater’s Shaner Invitational. McSheffrey was also the first female runner in the lower South Sound to break one minute this season.
KYLER NYGREN
Sport: Boys track and field
Date: May 25, 2017
Location: Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma
How it happened: Lyden’s Brandon Swarthout proved he had Nygren’s distance in the long jump two weeks before the 2A state championships, posting a classification-best 23 feet, four inches at a sub-district meet in Bellingham.
But that didn’t faze Nygren, a Black Hills senior who led the lower South Sound in the event the remainder of the season after jumping a personal-best 23-0 3/4 in May at Tumwater’s Shaner Invitational. At that point, Nygren was ranked third statewide.
So, winning a 2A title in the long jump? No problem.
Nygren, who will compete at Western Washington University next season, recorded the winning jump on his third attempt. He posted a jump of 22-7 1/4, and Swarthout never caught up, with his best jump three inches shorter than Nygren’s. Nygren finished the season ranked eighth statewide in the event.
TYLER ROBINSON
Sport: Boys track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Mount Tahoma Stadium, Tacoma
How it happened: A smooth transition between Robinson, a River Ridge junior, and senior teammate Josh Braverman on the final corner led to another state title for the Hawks’ 4x100 relay team.
River Ridge ran a season-best time of 42.92 seconds, after entering the finals as the No. 2 seed. The Hawks won their preliminary heat the previous day, but Pullman entered the finals as the race favorite. Sophomore Drayden Alexander was quick through the first corner. Senior Alex Coleman closed a small gap after the pass before handing the baton to Robinson.
Robinson was even with the rest of the field when he reached Braverman and the two had a clean exchange. In a neighboring lane, Pullman dropped the baton, giving Braverman a clear track to the finish. The 2014 team of Michael Key, Ika Morton, Chris Leiba and DeJuan Frye still holds the meet record (41.49).
LUKE SCHILTER
Sport: Boys cross country, track and field
Date: Nov. 5, 2016; May 25-27, 2017
Location: Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco; Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: Schilter, who will run collegiately for Washington State, won three 2B state titles this year — one in the fall and two in the spring.
The first, at the cross country state championships in Pasco, was one that eluded him for three years. His freshman, sophomore and junior seasons the Northwest Christian senior was the 2B/1B runner-up. He said early on his senior season that nothing was stopping him this year.
And nothing did. In icy conditions, Schilter slipped and fell on the course twice, but still finished far ahead of the rest of the field, crossing the finish line alone in 15 minutes, 56.4 seconds. He collapsed at the end of the race, but was congratulated by several other runners in the finishing chute.
Schilter’s individual title paced the Navigators to their third-straight team title.
In the spring, Schilter tacked on two more titles at the 2B track and field state championships. He won his second consecutive title in the 3,200, running a personal-best 9:28.13 to to beat Adna sophomore Austen Apperson by nearly 15 seconds. He also won the 1,600 in 4:23.34. His personal-best time of 4:18.91 set at the Brooks/Liberty Distance Twilight in April led 2B this season, and led the lower South Sound.
HEIDI SOWERS
Sport: Girls track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: The Northwest Christian senior was the biggest contributor to the Navigators’ team title run at the 2B state championships.
Sower tallied 36 total points, including 20 from her two individual state title wins in the 100 hurdles (15.43 seconds) and 300 hurdles (45.95). Sowers won the 300 hurdles in back-to-back seasons, and finished her senior year as the lower South Sound leader in both races. Her personal-best times in the 100 hurdles (15.14) and 300 hurdles (45.95) led 2B at the end of the season.
Earlier in the season, the Biola University commit was named the female athlete of the meet at Tumwater’s Shaner Invitational for the third consecutive year.
KAYLEE SOWLE
Sport: Girls track and field
Date: May 26-27, 2017
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: The triple crown. That’s what Sowle, a Mary M. Knight sophomore, won at the 1B state championships. Sowle won the high jump (5-6), long jump (17-10 1/4) and triple jump (35-0), and finished as the 1B season leader in all three events.
She defended the high jump title she won her freshman season, beating her own meet record with the 5-6 jump. That tied her personal-best height, which was ranked fifth statewide with five other jumpers at the end of the season.
Sowle’s personal-best distance in the long jump at the state championships beat the 1B runner-up by nearly a foot, and erased a meet record set by Mount Vernon Christian’s Carla Van Rooyen set in 2014 by eight inches. Sowlee also jumped a personal-best distance in the triple jump, winning the event by more than a foot.
ELIANA SUMMERS
Sport: Girls track and field
Date: May 27, 2017
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney
How it happened: Summers cruised to a win in the 3,200 on the final day of the 2B state championships, and helped lift the Navigators to a team title.
Summers, a Northwest Christian junior, blew by the rest of the field, finishing in 11 minutes, 54.55 seconds. She finished more than 15 seconds ahead of runner-up Evelin Lopez of Soap Lake, and was the only runner to finish in the 11-minute range.
Summers was also one of only five athletes in 2B this season to run the 3,200 faster than 12 minutes. Her personal-best time of 11:36.58 set in April at the Brooks/Liberty Distance Twilight in Renton led 2B this season.
Lauren Smith: 360-754-5473, @smithlm12
This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Title chasers: A look back at lower South Sound state champions."