The Prep Beat

Sequim’s Ryleigh Zbaraschuk and Bailey Rhodefer were named co-MVPs of the Olympic League.

Four Wolves were named to the first team while coach Mike McFarlen was named the coach of the year. Port Townsend earned the sportsmanship award.

All-Olympic League

Co-MVPs — Ryleigh Zbaraschuk, Bailey Rhodefer, Sequim

Coach of the year — Mike McFarlen, Sequim

Sportsmanship — Port Townsend

First team — Pitcher: Makayla Bentz, Sequim. Catcher: Jazmine Royal, North Kitsap. 1B: Alexas Besand, Sequim. 2B: Gabbi Garcia, Kingston. SS: Hannah Grubb, Sequim. 3B: Mackenzie Willeford, Bremerton. OF: Sam Gorham, Olympic; Jennifer Reitan, Kingston; Columbia Raupt, Sequim. Util.: Emma Keller, North Kitsap.

Second team — Pitcher: Sarah Steinman, Port Angeles. Catcher: Kayla Gascoyne, North Mason. 1B: Mackenzie McMurrin, Kingston. 2B: Raelyn Lucas, Port Angeles. SS: Maddy Hinrichs, Port Angeles. 3B: Ashlee Reid, Port Angeles. OF: Dove Lucas, Port Angeles; Melissa Lewis, Sequim; Carly Gouge, Port Angeles. Util.: Kimber Bolin, North Mason.

Honorable mention — Megan Lee, Gen Polizzi, Port Townsend; Julie Johnson, Alyssa Gascoyne, North Mason; Adia Roberts, Jaimie Berry, Olympic; Kinsey Reed, Shelby Muhleman, Bremerton; Tori Kuch, Haley Gray, Port Angeles; Shelby Lott, Olivia Kirsch, Sequim; Allison Hilse, Madeline Glad, Kingston; Samantha Moore, Madison Wood, Klahowya; Miranda Holt, Taylor Knutsen, North Kitsap.

The Senior All-Star baseball doubleheader is Thursday at Gene Lobe Fields at the Fairgrounds.

The two seven-inning games begin at 4 p.m. The top 10 players are nominated for the All-State series in Yakima.

There’s also a softball All-Star game that begins at 3:30 p.m. It is a one-game, nine-inning format. The American All-Stars, coached by South Kitsap’s Jessica Cabato, include players from South, Bremerton, Olympic, North Kitsap and Sequim. National All-Stars are from Bainbridge, Central Kitsap, Kingston, North Mason, Klahowya and Port Angeles. The National team will be coached by Dan Haas of Olympic College.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. Active military and kids under 12 are free.  (more…)

Scoreczar.com’s Washington State softball rankings have put Bainbridge in the fifth spot among Class 3A teams in its latest poll following the district tournaments.

Bainbridge will take on No. 1-ranked University of Spokane in the first round of the state tournament at 9 a.m. Friday at the RAC in Lacey.

In 4A, No. 9 South Kitsap will face Arlington, which is ranked fourth, at 10 a.m. Friday in Spokane at the Merkel Sports Complex.

In the 2A class, Sequim is the highest West Sound team ranked among the top 20. The Wolves are sitting in the No. 3 spot, followed by Port Angeles, 11th, and Kingston, 19th.

Here’s the link for the complete rankings.

The final softball leaders are in and we had nearly full participation this year.

South Kitsap’s Hannah Spohn came in as the area’s top hitter, averaging .620 during the regular season. She also led in RBIs with 26. Port Angeles’ Sarah Steinman had an ERA of 1.50 with 48 innings pitched while Katie Raben of Bainbridge pitched 70.33 innings and had an ERA of 1.69.

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Two 400 runners have eclipsed the West Sound record in the event.
North Mason’s CJ Allen, who is better known for his ability in the hurdles, ran a 48.78 seconds. Central Kitsap’s Michael Thomas clocked in at 48.86.
Allen, who run the event just twice this year, has the No. 4 time in the state. Thomas, a standout basketball player, is No. 6.
The West Sound record is a hand-timed 49.0 (49.24 converted) set by Jeff Ellison of East Bremerton in 1977 and Scott Christensen or Port Angeles in 1966.
South Kitsap’s LaForrest Church is 14th in the state at 49.69.
Allen is also second in the state in the 300 hurdles, just .07 behind Steilacoom’s Daniel Zmuda. That time of 37.66 is another West Sound record. Central Kitsap’s Dom Demouchet ran a 37.82 in 1997. Allen was second at the state meet last year at 37.89.

South Kitsap, Bainbridge and Sequim are ranked in the top 10 in the scoreczar.com softball rankings.

South (3-1) is ranked No. 7 in Class 4A, Bainbridge (7-0) is ranked sixth in 3A and Sequim (6-0) is third in 2A.

Scoreczar.com rankings go deeper than just the top 10. Central Kitsap comes in at 26th in 4A, with Port Angeles 14th in 2A and Kingston 18th.

Here’s the link to the rankings.

In a pre-season coaches poll, Olympic League coaches predicted Port Angeles would win the league title, North Kitsap would finish a close second, followed by Kingston, Olympic and Sequim.

Turns out league coaches aren’t that far off.

Port Angeles (13-1) is in control of the No. 1 seed, and league championship, with two games remaining in the regular season. Olympic and Bremerton are now tied at 11-3, thanks to Oly’s win over Bremerton Friday night, and one of those two teams will wind up with the two seed.

North Kitsap (9-5) is two games behind with two games left. Kingston (6-8) is hanging onto the fifth seed, despite losing to NK. NK can still claim the third seed, but would need some help.

What to watch for:

Tuesday: The game of the night will be North Kitsap at Olympic. NK needs to beat Oly if it wants to gain that third seed. The Vikings would also have to beat NM and need Oly to lose to PA Friday. … Kingston (6-8) will help itself if it can keep winning. The Buccaneers face Klahowya. … Port Townsend (6-8) is still in the hunt for a 1A district berth, but faces a tough task in playing PA.

Wednesday: Central Kitsap (6-4) hosts Gig Harbor (5-5) in a Narrows League game that could affect seeding into the 4A district. CK is currently third and GH fourth. The top four seeds are in.

Friday: The key game will be Port Angeles at Olympic, but again it depends on what happens Tuesday. Olympic could be looking at a two seed, but more than likely are going to wind up as the third seed. …  Bremerton has the inside track for the second seed with a win against Kingston.

The Olympic League standings are coming into order with Port Angeles the only remaining unbeaten team.

PA (10-0) is trailed by Bremerton (9-1), Olympic (7-3), North Kitsap (5-3) and Kingston (4-5) in the top five spots.

Top performers:

Jewel Johnson had a game-high 26 points in Port Townsend’s loss to Olympic. … Oly’s Ashli Payne had 25 points and Olivia Wiliams chipped in 19. … Bainbridge’s Grace Kenyon had 25 points in the Spartans win over Nathan Hale. … Eboni Harpes had a double-double, 12 points and 13 rebounds, in Bremerton’s win over North Mason. Sawyer Kluge had 19 points in the win… NK’s Kristin Brown also had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Vikings win over Klahowya. Rebekah Baugh had eight assists and 18 points for NK. … Maddie White led CK with 20 points and Taylor Krouse had 19 in the Cougars overtime loss to Olympia.

What to watch for:

Thursday: The annual tilt between rivals Evergreen Lutheran and Crosspoint takes place at 6 p.m. in a Sea-Tac League game at the Chico school.

Friday: The big OL match of the night will be between North Kitsap and Bremerton. Both teams are coming off convincing wins and NK remembers losing at home to the Knights earlier in the season. … CK (3-2) will look to rebound from its overtime loss to Olympia but will travel to Yelm (4-2) to take on the Tornados. … Bainbridge (6-4) continues the tough portion of its schedule when it takes on Holy Names (10-2).

Scoreczar.com has come out with its updated computer rankings through Jan. 3. A few local teams made the list.

Central Kitsap is ranked No. 17 in Class 4A while Bainbridge is ranked No. 19 in 3A. A handful of 2A teams made the list, but none in the top 20.

Here’s the link to the rankings.

It’s been an interesting past couple of days in girls basketball.

Bremerton came from behind to beat North Kitsap on the road, then had a clunker against 3A SPSL Peninsula Wednesday. Meanwhile, NK traveled up to Port Angeles and lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

That sets up a prime early-season showdown between Port Angeles (5-0) and Bremerton (4-0 at Bremerton Friday.

Olympic picked up its third win in a row to improve to 3-1 and is in third-place, followed by 3-2 Port Townsend (1A) and 2-2 North Kitsap.

Top performers:

Port Townsend’s senior Codi Hallinan had 18 blocks, 16 points and 11 rebounds in the Redskins win over Klahowya. … CK’s Taylor Krouse had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds while teammate Maddie White had 21 points in the Cougars win over Yelm. … PA’s Maddie Hinrichs finished with 25 points in a win over NK. … Ashli Payne led Olympic with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Trojans beat Kingston and Sequim’s Alexas Besand 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Wolves defeated NM. … Bainbridge’s Grace Kenyon led the Spartans with 16 points in a tough loss to West Seattle.

What to watch for:

Friday: The two remaining undefeated teams in the OL face off when Port Angeles travels to Bremerton. .. Central Kitsap is at Gig Harbor in what has been a good rivalry game for both teams in the Narrows. … Franklin is at Bainbridge in a Metro League counter and Crosspoint hosts Chief Leschi in its Sea-Tac League opener.