Cle Elum’s Gall is the example

Cle Elum’s Gall shows leadership skills on and off field ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Jake Gall is big-time and small-town.

He’s a football player who scores a touchdown roughly every three times he touches the ball and has been invited by universities like Oregon and Oregon State to attend their games as a prospective recruit.

He’s also a sensitive high school junior who, after a long school day followed by two exhausting hours of football practice, has often spent the next two hours helping 10- and 11-year-old kids learning to play the game Gall already plays so well.

The latter may be more telling about Gall than the remarkable statistics he’s been putting up every Friday night for the Cle Elum Warriors. With the Grid Kids he helps coach, he’s particularly patient with the ones who struggle with a particular drill or exercise, often getting down onto the ground to do it with them.

“He connects with them on a quiet, personal basis,” says Thad Vaughn, coach of Cle Elum Cougars Grid Kids team. “He’s kind of changed the mindset of our younger kids. They used to think football was kind of a chore. Jake showed up and he’s really changed things for these kids.”

As a member of the Cle Elum football team, Gall is part of a stellar group of juniors and seniors who have changed things for the Warriors.

Except for back-to-back 10-1 and 8-2 seasons in 2006 and 2007, Cle Elum has been a fringe team in the SCAC West for most of the last decade, routinely overshadowed by Zillah and Goldendale, Granger and Naches Valley.

Not this year. The Warriors (5-0 in SCAC West play, 7-1 overall) have already trounced Goldendale, Granger and Naches Valley by an average score of 53-9, and will play host to Zillah (4-1, 5-2) tonight with the league title on the line.

The Warriors have plenty of talent, including swift senior running back Michael Newman (655 yards rushing at 13.1 yards per carry) and slick junior quarterback Tyler Kretschman, whose deft ballhandling, passing (14 TDs against just three interceptions) and decision-making helps make Cle Elum’s wing-T offense so tough to defend. Their sturdy, senior-dominated line isn’t big but, led by 225-pound Devon Winters, may well be the league’s best.

But Gall is the piece that really makes Cle Elum’s offensive machine hum.

As a running back, he averages nearly 16 yards per carry and 26 yards on pass receptions and has scored 20 offensive touchdowns despite touching the ball barely nine times a game. As a linebacker on defense, he averages more than 14 tackles a game and returned one of his two interceptions 30 yards for yet another touchdown.

And he’s not excelling simply because he’s playing against Class 1A players. At perhaps a quarter-inch over 6 feet tall and 205 chiseled pounds, with 4.6 speed in the 40 and uncanny acceleration to top speed, he would likely be a star — or, at the very least, a starter — at any 4A school.

That became obvious last June, when he attended a Nike combine that drew nearly 600 aspiring college recruits — most of them entering their senior year — from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Hawaii and Alaska. They were tested for speed (40-yard dash), agility (shuttle run), athleticism (vertical jump) and strength (power-ball throw).

Gall ranked 11th out of the 578 athletes there and sixth among 119 running backs.

Were he at a bigger school, playing in a league scrutinized college scouts, Gall would be on everybody’s watch list for a scholarship to live out his dream of playing big-time college football. His family moved to Cle Elum seven years ago from North Bend, where he might have played for Mount Si in the KingCo against recruiter magnets like Bellevue, Bothell and Mercer Island.

When his father, Kelly, told him a couple of years ago the family was willing to relocate to a larger school district with a higher-profile athletic program, Jake would have none of it.

“You can do something about where you live, but that didn’t feel right,” Jake said. “It would be totally awesome to play for a big 4A school, but I live here and I’ve been playing with these guys for seven years. (Moving elsewhere) would go against the whole brotherhood thing.”

Instead, Jake has gone to summer combines where he could test himself against other prep players with college dreams. Kelly videotapes Cle Elum’s games and posts his son’s highlights online (jakegall.com) to show potential recruiters what they weren’t likely to see in person.

“He’s a big fish in a small pond now,” Kelly Gall says. “If he had played for Mount Si, would he still be that good? You like to think so, but you never know. I’ve talked to coaches who say ‘I don’t care what school he’s coming from — if he’s good, he’ll get noticed.’

“But of course, a lot of the kids from the 4A schools seem to get noticed a lot more.”

Those who have had to go up against Gall, of course, can already attest to his talents.

“He’s hard to block on defense and hard to tackle on offense, because he’s strong and he’s fast,” says La Salle assistant coach Greg McMillan, whose Lightning defense was scorched for two long Gall touchdown runs and a short pass reception that Gall turned into a 66-yard scoring play.

“He’s the full package.”

Volleyball: Zillah finishes undefeated in SCAC West

NACHES, Wash. — Finishing off a 12-0 run through the SCAC West, Zillah’s volleyball team defeated Naches Valley 25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21 on Thursday night.

With senior Whitney Winters putting away 20 kills and adding 11 digs and three blocks, the Leopards will take the West’s top seed into next week’s eight-team SCAC district tournament.

In Tuesday’s opening round, Zillah will host River View while Naches Valley travels to Kiona-Benton. Zillah will host the district finals on Nov. 5.

Zillah highlights: Whitney Winters 20 kills, 11 digs, 3 blocks, 22-23 serving; Jennifer Nelson 15 assists, 14-15 serving, 4 digs; Kassidy Ruggles 17-18 serving, 3 aces, 9 kills, 5 perfect passes, 2 blocks; Felina Razey 22 assists, 10-11 serving, 4 digs; Allison Torres 20-20 serving, 4 kills, 10 digs; Leigh-Ann Purdy 9-9 serving, 19 digs, 6 kills.

Naches Valley highlights: Justine Benner 24 kills, 15-17 serving, 2 aces; Katie Reeder 10 kills, 13-15 serving, 4 aces; Vanessa Jones 8-9 serving, 15 perfect passes, 11 digs; Alex Krapf 14-14 serving, 2 aces, 36 assists; Abby Yost 14-15 serving, 2 aces, 3 blocks.

GOLDENDALE 3, LA SALLE 0: At Goldendale, Wash., Crysta Counts produced 18 perfect passes and 12 digs as the Timberwolves secured the West’s No. 2 district seed with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 sweep. Goldendale will host Burbank in district play at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Goldendale highlights: Crysta Counts 18 perfect passes, 12 digs, 8-8 serving, 2 kills; Haley Hoffman 26 assists; Lexi Cameron 8 kills, 13 digs; Karissa Ihrig 18-18 serving, 6 pp, 5 kills; Allison Hutchins 10 kills; Brooke Graff 4 kills, 2 blocks; Bree Wanderscheid 12 digs, 6 pp; Kylie Montgomery 6 pp, 4 digs, 3 kills.

La Salle highlights: Rachel Gasseling 16 assists, 18 digs; Regine Standley 5 kills, 4 blocks, 14 digs; Ashley Anderson 4 kills, 4 pp, 5 digs; Janell Dufault 13-14 serving, 9pp, 10 digs; Megan McCanna 12-12 serving, 6 digs; Dani Kaschmitter 3 kills; Cheyenne Taylor 4 kills, 3 digs; Maddie Morford 7 digs, 4 pp.

GRANGER 3, CLE ELUM 1: At Cle Elum, Wash., the Spartans closed out the season with a 25-10, 25-18, 21-25, 25-15 victory.

Granger highlights: Paige Blodgett 3 kills, 3 digs, 12-14 serving, 2 aces; Brook John 8 kills, 5 blocks; Vanessa Nava 8 digs, 7-8 serving; Angelica Oliveros 11 digs, 9-9 serving; Lyndsay Oswalt 12 kills, 3 digs, 4 aces, 6 assists; Elizabeth Ramirez 5-5 serving; Monique Rodarte 8 digs, 28-28 serving, 8 aces, 3 assists; Jennifer Salgado 2 kills, 2 digs; Aubrey Sanchez 5 digs; Alini Villa 7 kills, 7 digs, 4 pp, 17-18 serving, 7 assists.

Cle Elum highlights: Sara Ferguson 8 digs, 6 blocks; Erin Dellinger 6 blocks; Katie Schmitt 14 assists; Chloe Newton 8 kills; Chelsea Cameron 7 aces.

CBBN 4A DISTRICT

WALLA WALLA 3, EISENHOWER 1: At Walla Walla, Wash., the Blue Devils held off a second-half rally by the Cadets, who nearly forced a fifth game in a 25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 26-24 first-round, loser-out loss.

Brooke Brown put away 19 kills and had 11 digs and Mikel Sydney collected 19 assists in Ike’s season finale. In Thursday’s other first-round match, Wenatchee ousted Moses Lake 25-18, 25-11, 26-24.

Eisenhower highlights: Brooke Brown 19 kills, 11 digs; Shelby Hein 6 kills, 5 digs, 3 aces, 3 blocks; Mikel Sydney 19 assists, 2 aces; Andrea Espinosa 12 digs, Sh’Tara Manzano 10 assists.

CWAC DISTRICT

GRANDVIEW 3, TOPPENISH 0: At Grandview, Wash., Taylor Hall and Payton Parrish combined for 23 kills to help the third-seeded Greyhounds win 25-22, 25-8, 25-12.

Grandview advances to Saturday’s finals at Selah and will play East Valley at 11 a.m. In Thursday’s other loser-out match, Ephrata beat Ellensburg 26-24, 25-13, 25-23 and will play Selah on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Grandview highlights: Payton Parrish 10 kills 19 assists; Taylor Hall 13 kills; Mikaela Espinoza 8 kills, 3 blocks.

Toppenish highlights: Belen Carriedo 7 kills, 5 digs; Anissa Godina 7 kills, 10 digs; Taylor Kendall 2 kills; Andrea Padilla 2 kills, 3 digs; Yanet Bravo 12 assists, 4 digs.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON 2B

KITTITAS 3, ENTIAT 0: At Entiat, Wash., Dakota Adams and Erica Clerf registered 12 kills apiece and Hannah Nelson served 13 aces in the Coyotes’ 25-15, 25-5, 25-5 sweep.

Kittitas concluded league play and will take the South’s No. 1 seed into the district tournament on Nov. 5 at Entiat.

Kittitas highlights: Dakota Adams 12 kills; Erica Clerf 12 kills; Ashley Hayes 4 kills, 7 blocks; Tori O’Shaugnessy 4 kills; 2 aces; Hannah Nelson 13 aces; Jessica Lawrence 28 assists; Kaitlin Kilgore 6 digs; Cyndy Carney 8 digs.

RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN 3, LAKE ROOSEVELT 0: At Coulee Dam, Wash., Onyx Gibbs’ 11 kills led the Crusaders to a 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 sweep and improved their South mark to 9-2.

Riverside Christian highlights: Onyx Gibbs 11 kills; Breezy Byrne 3 kills, 4 aces, 20 assists; Haley Ackerman 4 kills; Megan Bos 4 kills; Kendra Staymates 8 kills, 4 aces, 3 blocks.

NORTH CENTRAL 1B

THORP 3, WILSON CREEK 0: At Wilson Creek, Wash., the Tigers closed out their regular season with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-21 sweep and finished 8-2 in league.

Thorp will have the No. 2 seed for district, which opens Tuesday at Soap Lake.

Thorp highlights: Katelyn Pendley 13 kills, 5 aces, 9 digs; Christina Price 9 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces; Alex Houle 22 assists; Keiley Greenlaw 8 aces.

NON-LEAGUE

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 3, HIGHLAND 0: At Cowiche, Wash., the Knights tuned up for next week’s Greater Columbia 1B district tournament with a 25-7, 25-12, 25-16 sweep.

Sunnyside Christian highlights: Alyssa Haak 20-20 serving, 12 digs, 11 assists; Alex Newhouse 6 digs, 8 pp; Stormee Van Belle 11-12 serving, 9 kills; Danika DeGroot 15-16 serving, 6 kills, 11 assists; Maddy Wavrin 7 kills, 11 pp.

Highland highlights: Jessica Pellicer 7-8 serving, 4 digs, 8 perfect passes, 4 kills; Kendyl Preston 5-6 serving, 11 digs, 3 kills, 6 assists; Chelsey Fisk 6 digs, 5 pp; Liz Garcia 8 digs, 2 pp; Courtney Clear 6-7 serving; Tamson Reed 5-5 serving, 3 kills.

Preps: Kallis scores twice to lift Rams

YAKIMA, Wash. — Sophomore Sadee Kallis powered in two goals during a fast start that sent West Valley to a 4-0 victory over Pasco in a CBBN 3A playoff match Thursday at Cottonwood Field.

The Rams scored all four of their goals in the first 32 minutes in the loser-out contest. Lindsay Burns got it started in the fifth minute.

Rozlyn Pratt and Stephanie Gibson split goalkeeping duties and had a save each in the shutout.

West Valley (14-4) advances to the regional tournament and will play a 1 p.m. loser-out game Saturday at University.

In Thursday’s other play-in game, Hanford eliminated Eastmont 2-1 and will play at Kamiakin on Saturday.

First half: 1, WV, Lindsay Burns (Alison Alderman) 5:00; 2, WV, Sadee Kallis, 9:00; 3, WV, Samantha Filingeri-Olsen (Brittnee Rider), 31:00; 4, WV, Kallis (Jaden Gjestrum), 32:00.

Second half: No scoring.

Saves: Rozlyn Pratt (WV) 1, Stephanie Gibson (WV) 1, Yenixa Benitez (P) 8.

CWAC DISTRICT

SELAH 1, OTHELLO 0: At Selah, Wash., Ashley Kuhlmann’s goal in the 65th minute was the difference for the Vikings in the first-round, loser-out match at Karl Graf Field.

Goalkeeper Rachel Mears made three saves as Selah avenged a shootout loss at Othello last Saturday.

Selah (9-6-2) advances to the semifinals and will play at Prosser (12-3-1) on Saturday at noon.

First half: No scoring.

Second half: 1. Selah, Ashley Kuhlmann (Sarah Bersing), 65:00.

Saves: Rachel Mears (S) 3; Allesha Reyes (O) 3.

EPHRATA 2, ELLENSBURG 1: At Ellensburg, Wash., the Tigers held on after Trew Tucker got Ellensburg within a goal late in the second half.

Ephrata advances to a semifinal on Saturday at top-seeded East Valley. Ellensburg finished the season at 8-8-1.

First half: 1. Ephrata, own goal, 24:00.

Second half: 2. Ephrata, Haley Berryman, 74:00; 3, Ellensburg, Trew Tucker, 78:00.

Saves: Kayla Brissey (Eph) 10; Taelor Griffin (Ell) 7.

PREP DIVING

Local trio among prelim leaders

MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Eisenhower’s Beth Klingele, West Valley’s Robyn Sundlee and Naches Valley’s Brittney Silvestri each were among the leaders in their respective classifications Thursday in district diving preliminaries.

Klingele was second in Class 4A through eight dives, as was Sundlee in Class 3A. Silvestri was the only competitor in Class 2A-1A-B.

Scores compiled during Thursday’s eight dives will carry over into Saturday’s finals at Central Washington University, during which three more dives will be contested.

Class 4A: 1, Sammy Hendrickson (Moses Lake) 239.6; 2, Beth Klingele (Ike) 230.85.

Class 3A: 1, Danielle Freund (Southridge) 249.9; 2, Robyn Sundlee (WV) 232.45.

Class 2A-1A-B: 1, Brittney Silvestri (NV) 174.35.

Central soccer misses shot at postseason

BILLINGS, Mont. — Central Washington, hoping to enhance its NCAA Division II playoff hopes Thursday, came up empty in its showdown with Montana State Billings.

The Wildcats scored an own goal and a sloppy exchange from their goalkeeper to a defender allowed another in a 3-0 GNAC loss to the Yellowjackets.

“I am disappointed,” CWU coach Michael Farrand said in a university press release. “We had a chance to do something really special; we had a shot at postseason play, and we missed it.”

The defeat dropped Central to 7-3-2 in the conference and 8-4-4 overall while MSUB leapfrogged the Wildcats into second place in the conference at 7-1-4 and 10-2-4.

After CWU defender Allie Washburn attempted to stop a crossing pass and deflected the ball into the Wildcats’ net, goalkeeper Kayla Lipston’s pass to a teammate was intercepted and converted into a Yellowjacket goal and a 2-0 halftime deficit for Central.

West Valley graduate Adrienne Biglow then assisted on MSUB’s final goal which came early in the second half from Kristen Kastelic.

First half: 1, MSUB, own goal, 28:46; 2, MSUB, Jaucelyn Richter (Heidi Greenback), 33:22.

Second half: 3, MSUB, Kristen Kastelic (Adrienne Biglow), 48:29.

Saves: Kayla Lipston (CWU) 4; Danielle Gordon (MSUB) 3.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

Smith leads Central past Saints

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Erin Smith put down 10 kills and produced seven blocks Thursday night, leading Central Washington to a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin’s in GNAC volleyball in Nicholson Pavilion.

Smith, a sophomore from Selah, keyed CWU’s 25-23, 25-17, 25-22 triumph.

The win improved the Wildcats to 6-7 in the conference and 12-9 overall. Central hosts Western Oregon on Saturday night.

CWU highlights: Erin Smith 10 kills, 7 blocks; Meg Ryan 10 kills, 9 digs; Jordan Offutt 6 kills, 3 blocks, 9 digs; Cheltzie Willams 5 kills, 2 blocks; Carlee Marble 22 assists; Devin Larson 13 assists; Kaely Kight 25 digs.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Early trick-or-treat for Wildcats

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Central Washington’s women’s basketball players will commemorate Halloween a day early by visiting local neighborhoods Sunday in search of canned goods for the FISH food bank.

FISH, or Friends In Service to Humanity, is in its 40th year of operation and is said to have served 1,704 people in 619 households last August.

CWU players will travel in pairs starting at 5:30 p.m., and will wear costumes.

Residents not planning to be home but wishing to contribute can either leave donations on their porches or take them to Nicholson Pavilion on Monday morning.

Non-league or not, Pirates eager for win

YAKIMA, Wash. — In terms of timing, Davis’ trip to Hermiston, Ore., today for a non-league football game would seem uncomfortably risky at best.

The Pirates, fighting a three-game losing streak and a batch of injuries, are trying to get rested and healthy for what they hope will be a three-team playoff on Tuesday for the CBBN’s third spot in the 4A regional playoff cross-overs.

But with the exception of sitting out dinged-up David Trimble, Davis isn’t dialing back anything.

“We want to win the game and get some momentum back,” said Coach Rick Clark. “It’s a good thing for us, not a negative. The probability of that playoff is very good and we want to have a good night heading into that.”

Hermiston (5-3) finished second in Oregon’s 5A Columbia River Conference and played three CBBN opponents, beating Walla Walla (28-21) and Moses Lake (28-24) and falling to Kennewick (34-0). The trouble these Bulldogs present for Davis is they run the ball well — Bobby Adams rushed for 200-plus yards in five straight games before getting held to 86 in last week’s loss to Pendleton.

Davis (5-3) has another motivation for giving its best effort tonight, and that’s clinching a second straight winning season. No small matter when it’s been 42 years since that’s been done.

“That’s a huge thing,” Clark said, “when you consider the direction we’re trying to take the program.”

About that tiebreaker

If Richland and Wenatchee tie Davis at 3-3 they will meet in Moses Lake on Tuesday to decide third, fourth and fifth place via two 16-minute contests.

Based on a preseason number draw, Davis and Wenatchee would meet in the first contest (two eight-minute periods) with the winner to then face Richland.

The No. 3 seed will travel to play GSL champ Mead in one of three playoff crossovers. There’s a decent consolation prize for the No. 4 and 5 seeds — both get to host their GSL counterparts, albeit in non-playoff crossovers.

All the other non-playoff crossovers have been set, and West Valley will travel for a rematch at Sunnyside on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. The Rams won their Sept. 23 encounter 22-12.

West Valley to stay 3A

Expecting to have 2A numbers and wanting to have its intent settled before the declaration process begins next month, the West Valley School Board voted to opt up to 3A for the next two-year enrollment cycle in 2012-2013.

Athletic Director Joe Coscarart predicts West Valley’s 10-12 enrollment, which will be submitted to the WIAA on Nov. 11, will be 1,040 — below the current 3A minimum of 1,086.

With Quincy expected to head down to 1A, the CWAC had made inquiries with West Valley about its status. But even though West Valley will stay put, non-league opportunities will open up with the CWAC dropping to nine schools and Pasco likely jumping from the CBBN’s 3A division to 4A.

Coscarart noted that while West Valley has a large seventh-grade class coming up, the sixth-grade class is “one of the smallest we’ve seen.”

Letter of the law

Rules are rules, I get that. If you don’t follow all the rules of athletic competition, especially in the postseason, there can be some tough consequences.

But what happened to West Valley’s Maggie Parobek at the CBBN 3A district cross country race took heartbreaking to another level.

After battling injuries for over a year, Parobek broke through with a stellar effort, placing fifth while leading the Rams to what would have been a regional-qualifying third place.

Except for one thing: She didn’t have a number. That’s a uniform violation and she was disqualified, not only barring her from advancing but dropping West Valley to fifth place and out of a regional berth. An appeal was denied on Monday.

When I think of the flagrant behavior that can result in disqualification, the punishment doesn’t seem to fit this particular crime. But I don’t wish to rail on against people running events and strictly enforcing well-specified rules.

What I would like to say is that if this is one of those tough teaching moments for athletes, let it be for race officials as well. When runners are called to the starting line would it hurt to have them double check their numbers? That takes one breath of effort.

I like the precaution that the SCAC is taking at its district meet on Saturday. In the league’s notice to coaches it states: “Athletes’ attire will be inspected at the starting line. Our goal – no uniform disqualifications.”

Savoring the victory

“It’s amazing how a win can make you feel so much better,” said Wapato football coach Orson Christensen. “It was such a relief and an uplifting experience for our kids.”

When you’re program has come up short in 23 straight games, that’s how sweet it is to end the streak, which the Wolves did last Friday with a 28-14 home victory over Grandview.

Down 14-7 at halftime, Wapato rode the legs of senior running back Miguel Rivera, who ran for 256 yards and two scores.

“It got to a point where it felt like we were snake bit with injuries and eligibility and those were big challenges,” Christensen said. “It was hard to know week to week where we were.

“Miguel has had a hyperextended elbow and a quad injury, but obviously he wasn’t hurting Friday,” he added. “We finally got a majority of the kids on the field, and the longer the game went the more confidence they had.”

Rivera’s 256 yards appears to be a school record, eclipsing by a yard the previous mark set by Chris Gaytan in 2006.

• Scott Spruill’s prep blog is at sportsyakima.com He can be reached at 577-7686 or sspruill@yakimaherald.com

10/28/11 Prep spotlights

CLASS 4A-3A

Elise Tello, Eisenhower cross country, sophomore

Running first for the third-ranked Cadets over the last two weeks, Tello placed third in the CBBN 4A district meet with a time of 18:05 for three miles.

CLASS 2A

Heidy Rodriguez, Wapato.cross country, freshman

In the span of two weeks, Rodriguez placed second in three consecutive CWAC meets and trimmed 1:14 off her home-course best time.

CLASS 1A

Lucas Denney, Goldendale football, junior

The Timberwolves’ first-year starting quarterback threw for 131 yards and two touchdowns against Highland, giving him 916 yards and 11 scores for the season.

CLASS 2B-1B

Dakota Adams, Kittitas volleyball, junior

A first-team all-league hitter as just a sophomore last year, Adams put together 28 kills in CWL 2B South sweeps over Lake Roosevelt, Soap Lake and Warden.

 

10/28/11 Prep hot tickets

SATURDAY

VOLLEYBALL: Fresh off their unbeaten conference seasons, West Valley and Selah are hosting their respective district tournaments.

Six teams are converging at West Valley for the one-day CBBN 3A tourney, which advances four to regionals. The title game is slated for 3 p.m.

The CWAC tourney concludes at Selah with the top three moving on to regionals. The championship game is also at 3 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY: The SCAC district meet will be held at Apple Ridge Run in Naches Heights. The top two teams and 10 individuals qualify for 1A state from the girls race at noon, and the top three teams and 15 individuals advance from the 12:45 boys race.

GIRLS SWIMMING: It’s a full day of finals at Central Washington University’s Aquatic Center for the 4A, 3A and 2A-1A district meets.

10/28/11 Girls swimming leaders

THROUGH OCT. 25

200 medley relay: Ellensburg (Davis, Masters, Froelich, Wilson) 2:03.58, Eisenhower 2:05.35, Sunnyside 2:05.80, Prosser 2:10.87, Selah 2:11.08.

200 free: Hailey Rankin (Prosser) 2:03.44, Alissa Bezenek (Eisenhower) 2:09.08, Jordyn McDowell (West Valley) 2:13.58, Alexis Medelez (Zillah) 2:15.99, Danielle McKeirnan (Prosser) 2:16.86.

200 IM: Hailey Rankin (Prosser) 2:15.82, Taylor Wilson (Ellensburg) 2:17.82, Marisa Broersma (Sunnyside) 2:20.82, Alissa Bezenek (Eisenhower) 2:28.11, Landon Hopkins (Eisenhower) 2:30.22.

50 free: Bethany Imperial (Wapato) 26.05, Keely Hausken (West Valley) 26.10, Anne Froelich (Ellensburg) 26.25, Marisa Broersma (Sunnyside) 26.39, Heather Seaman (West Valley) 26.46.

Diving (11 dives): Beth Klingele (Eisenhower) 338.95, Robyn Sundlee (West Valley) 312.15, Brittany Silvestri (Naches Valley) 234.20.

100 fly: Hailey Rankin (Prosser) 1:00.93, Alexis Medelez (Zillah) 1:03.25, Anne Froelich (Ellensburg) 1:03.31, Taylor Wilson (Ellensburg) 1:04.11, Alissa Bezenek (Eisenhower) 1:04.18.

100 free: Taylor Wilson (Ellensburg) 54.83, Keely Hausken (West Valley) 56.39, Heather Seaman (West Valley) 57.77, Hailey Rankin (Prosser) 58.08, Anne Froelich (Ellensburg) 59.05.

500 free: Hailey Rankin (Prosser) 5:25.28, Taylor Wilson (Ellensburg) 5:39.42, Katie Masters (Ellensburg) 6:31.18, Gabby Villarreal (Prosser) 6:34.43, Kara Morris-Phillips (Grandview) 6:43.53.

200 free relay: West Valley (Hausken, Feldmann, McDowell, Seaman) 1:45.95, Ellensburg 1:51.30, Prosser 1:54.03, Sunnyside 1:54.40, Eisenhower 1:55.82.

100 back: Landon Hopkins (Eisenhower) 1:03.10, Keely Hausken (West Valley) 1:03.26, Alissa Bezenek (Eisenhower) 1:05.18, Taylor Wilson (Ellensburg) 1:05.52, Bethany Imperial (Wapato) 1:05.53.

100 breast: Taylor Wilson (Ellensburg) 1:09.75, Hailey Rankin (Prosser) 1:10.42, Marisa Broersma (Sunnyside) 1:11.90, Cassadie Moore (Sunnyside) 1:15.16, Katie Masters (Ellensburg) 1:18.93.

400 free relay: West Valley (McDowell, Feldmann, Seaman, Hausken) 3:54.98, Eisenhower 4:10.02, Prosser 4:17.80, Sunnyside 4:19.01, Ellensburg 4:25.71.

2011 Girls soccer leaders

SCORING LEADERS

Through games of Oct. 26

Player, school Goals Helen Petersen, Prosser 36 Madison Moore, Prosser 23 Shallise Rodriguez, East Valley 22 Grace Martin, La Salle 21 Delaney Romero, Naches Valley 19 Sandy Hanses, West Valley 16 Samantha Herzog, East Valley 14 Mackenna Morton, Davis 13 Keilin Farrand, Ellensburg 12 Caitlin Long, Highland 12 Yasi Mohsenian, East Valley 11 Micki Williams, Mabton 11 Sarah Bersing, Selah 10 Ashlee Betancourth, East Valley 10 Jaden Gjestrum, West Valley 10 Oryian Matheny, Grandview 10 Salome Yates, East Valley 10 Deanna Avalos, La Salle 9 Tayler Lime, Naches Valley 9 Allie McGree, La Salle 9 Trew Tucker, Ellensburg 9 Brittany Baumgarten, Naches Valley 8 Katie Jach, Davis 8 Sadee Kallis, West Valley 8 Carli Kass, Naches Valley 8 Andrea Keffeler, Goldendale 8 Mariah Rojas, East Valley 8 Margaret Busey, La Salle 7 Ashley Kuhlmann, Selah 7 Kylie Ott, Selah 7 Matti Boyle, Prosser 6 Maricella Chavez, Mabton 6 Hannah Hugo, Ellensburg 6 Clare McGree, La Salle 6 Mackenzie Andringa, La Salle 5 Emma Avalos, La Salle 5 Ally Burgess, Ellensburg 5 Veronica Cueva, Toppenish 5 Makensie Forsyth, Prosser 5 Kiesha Garcia-Stubbs, East Valley 5 Vickey Lopez, Davis 5 Kassi Lucas, Naches Valley 5 Hayley Reynolds, West Valley 5 Karissa Trinidad, Grandview 5 Shay Withers, Naches Valley 5 Tessa Aiken, Naches Valley 4 Ali Alderman, West Valley 4 Jax Chissus, Ellensburg 4 Samantha Filingeri-Olsen, West Valley 4 Kate Frazier, Naches Valley 4 Kate McGree, La Salle 4 Karly Sattler, La Salle 4 Rylee Suhadolnik, Prosser 4 Gicelle Velasquez, Wapato 4 Isabel Alvarado, Wapato 3 Courtney Buchanan, West Valley 3 Lindsay Burns, West Valley 3 Lindsay Dearmin, Cle Elum 3 Kelsey Dolquist, West Valley 3 Ashleigh Fraser, Cle Elum 3 Kaitlyn Maddux, Prosser 3 Wendy Magana, Grandview 3 Tassia Merkle, East Valley 3 Emma Montmeny, Davis 3 Reina Perez, Highland 3 Rozlyn Pratt, West Valley 3 Brittnee Rider, West Valley 3 Ali Sellsted, Eisenhower 3 Aimee Silva, Davis 3 Carlee Wheelon, Goldendale 3 Ashley Wilkey, Selah 3

YVCC soccer adding results to injuries

YAKIMA, Wash. — Like baseball and basketball, soccer has its own on-field dialogue. Among the more basic verbal responses are, “Nice save,” or “Nice pass,” or, on the occasion of having scored a goal, a chorus of teammates yelling, “Yes!”

But for Yakima Valley’s women this season, the terminology has all too often included, “Ow!”

Briana Mares, a freshman from Eisenhower, recently expressed that sentiment while removing tape from her sore right ankle.

“I rolled it the other day,” she said. “I can still play, but it’s just really annoying.”

Others among coach Jake Sagare’s Yaks can no doubt relate.

An inordinate amount of health problems have depleted YVCC’s ranks, yet the team remains in strong contention for the third and final playoff berth in the power-laden East Region.

Following Wednesday’s 12-1 victory over Wenatchee Valley, the Yaks were 8-4-0 in the region and 10-5-1 overall. They also were ranked fifth in the most recent NWAACC coaches poll, with East competitors Spokane and Walla Walla occupying the top two spots, respectively.

“Toward the end of my own playing career,” said Sagare, “I was kind of injury-prone. But as a coach, this is something of a new issue.”

To date, no fewer than 13 of YVCC’s 19 players have been slowed by some sort of health issue with nine missing one or more matches because of them.

Ailments have ranged from Alma Garcia’s swollen ankle resulting from a bee sting to recurring knee problems for Adrianna Jones to a severe ankle sprain to Morgan McDowell, whom Sagare reported Tuesday was hospitalized and awaiting an appendectomy.

“It seems like it’s always been something,” said Michelle Galvan, a sophomore from Sunnyside. “At least we haven’t all been hurt or sick at the same time.”

And at least Jones, a sophomore from East Valley and one of the team’s best scoring threats, returned Wednesday for limited action after missing the four previous games.

And Sagare, meanwhile, has not only juggled personnel effectively enough to keep YVCC in the postseason mix, he has uncovered new potential in the process.

“I’ve had to change our lineups around,” he said, “and hope that the girls who normally haven’t had to play defense would pick it up pretty quickly. Some of them have been a pleasant surprise and have stepped in and done pretty well, so later I’ve had to decide whether to go back to the old lineup.”

As one would imagine because of the myriad of injuries and illness, the Yaks have had their competitive ups and downs. Nonetheless, they have a signature victory to their credit — a 1-0 triumph over archrival Columbia Basin on Oct. 15 that came via Kaylah Gonzales’ 70th-minute goal.

Another EV alum, Gonzales has scored five goals and added six assists this year. Katy Allen and Elizabeth Figueroa, both from Eisenhower, lead the team with 14 and nine goals respectively, while Jones has six, according to NWAACC statistics.

“That was a big boost for us,” said Sagare, who’s in his third season as YVCC’s mentor. “I think the girls realize the challenge of our conference, and I think the win against CBC did a lot for our confidence. And of course there are some personal rivalries between our players and theirs (the Hawks list athletes from Grandview, East Valley and Sunnyside on their roster).”

Said Allen, a sophomore, “The CBC game was big — probably our best win of the year.”

There will be a rematch next Wednesday at Pasco which, along with Saturday’s home match with Walla Walla and a regular-season finale on Nov. 5 with Treasure Valley, also at home, will determine Yakima Valley’s fate.

“As a coach,” Sagare said, “you want your team to peak at the right time. I think we can compete with any team in our conference if we approach our potential, so now it’s just a matter of peaking at the right time.

“That and getting everyone healthy.”

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