January

JV wrestlers grapples with sweep; M-P hosts Premier tourney

While the spotlight was on the Tomahawk varsity as they won their first conference match of the season against Cascade, the junior varsity team had an even better night, sweeping the Bruins JV squad.
In each JV weight class competition, the Tomahawk won by pinning his opponent.
The varsity match was closer, won 40-33.
The next day as Marysville hosted 17 teams in their Premier tournament, six wrestlers had top-fives finishes as the Tomahawks ended the day squarely in the middle of the pack. Their 104 points were good for ninth place.
Brian Donaldson and Tannon Hillis bookended the competition, with Donaldson taking third at 103 pounds and Hillis duplicating the feat in the heavyweight category. A third Tomahawk, Jesse Masten, finished third as well.


February

Tomahawk basketball loses Stohl

M-P basketball was having one of its best seasons ever.
Thanks to the potent two-man scoring threat of senior guard Jared Stohl and senior post Nathan Lozeau, the Tomahawks built a 12-3 record in Wesco North, edging Lake Stevens for the conference No. 2 playoff seed.
Then, at Oak Harbor for their last regular season game of the year, Stohl suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Tomahawks narrowly lost that nights game to Oak Harbor 88-85.
Marysville tried to adjust to the loss of their co-captain, but suffered double-digit losses against Mariner and Stanwood, going 0-2 in the playoffs to end their promising season.
Though the Tomahawks lost five seniors from that squad to graduation, the 2007-08 team has assembled a winning record in 2007. And while Stohl and Lozeaus careers with the Tomahawks have ended, both have seen playing time as freshmen for the University of Portland and the University of San Diego.
At Portland, Stohl is averaging eight points per game. He had a 5-for-5 field goal performance in his Pilots 67-63 loss to the Washington Huskies Dec. 15. As of Christmas break, Lozeau had contributed 21 points off the bench for San Diego.


Caldwell wrestles in first-ever girls state tourney

In 2007, for the first time ever, Washington state had enough female wrestlers to host a girls state wrestling tournament.
Many of the girls who got to the tournament did so by qualifying in their regular season matches against both boys and girls.
One was Lakewood freshman Keely Caldwell. Caldwell is part of a wrestling family, watching her brothers wrestle at state for the Cougars. This year, she got to be part of the family legacy.
At 112 pounds, Caldwell lost her first match in a 5-3 decision to River Ridges Lucky Saengchanh but won her consolation match by pinning Robin Erickson of Mary Walker in the second round.

Tulalip Heritage defeats Liberty Christian,
qualifies for state title game

While much of the state basketball spotlight shone on Marysville-Pilchuck during the 2006-07 season, their neighbors on the Tulalip Heritage boys basketball team were having an equally spectacular season.
After losing their first two games of the season, the Hawks won their rest of their regular season games, building a perfect 12-0 record in the Northwest 1B league. Illness saw Tulalip narrowly lose an early playoff game to Lummi, but the Hawks rebounded, winning the leagues third seed into the playoffs.
In Yakima, Tulalip looked unstoppable. On Feb. 21, they defeated Oakville 73-45. The next day they defeated Tri-Cities Prep 58-50 setting up a Feb. 23 quarterfinals game against Liberty Christian.
With the 66-51 win, the six-year-old Tulalip basketball program found itself in the state 1B title game against state powerhouse Sunnyside Christian.
In that game, the Hawks were finally overmatched, losing 58-40.
It was a career series for a junior-laden Tulalip team. Lesjar McKinney had the state tournaments highest scoring output with 80 points as well as the highest per game average with 20 points per game. Antonio Johnson made the same lists with a 13.8 per game average and 55 points.


March

Kizer throws win against Snohomish; goes 7-0

With six strikeouts, M-P senior pitcher Brandon Kizer outdueled the highly touted Snohomish pitcher Derek Jones, leading the Tomahawks to a 2-1 win.
The Wesco North rivals split their series with the win two nights after a 1-0 loss at Snohomish.
Kizer teammates Kyle Bottin and Kyle Mallory helped secure the contested league game. The seniors each had two hits, and Bottin hit a double. After Snohomish took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, Marysville answered in the bottom of the fifth with their two runs.
The win improved Kizer to a 2-0 record in games started, a winning streak he would extend to seven games for a perfect regular season. It was the right-handed pitchers first season as a starter, after pitching in relief as a junior.
M-P secured the third playoff seed out of Wesco North. Kizers perfect record finally fell in the Tomahawks first playoff game against a state-ranked Edmonds-Woodway team. Marysville lost 6-3 in the May 5 game at Edmonds-Woodways diamond.
With a 4-2 win at Mountlake Terrace, the Tomahawks extended their season another day, losing 14-2 to Stanwood at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The Tomahawks graduated top pitchers Kizer and lefty Ricky Holm, two of several M-P graduates to continue their baseball careers at Everett Community College where they play for coach Levi Lacey.

April

M-P mines talent
in the javelin

The home team meant business when they hosted the Tomahawk Classic track meet.
Athletes from M-P won six events perhaps most notably among them, rookie Kenny York stepped up to some formidable state competition to win the javelin with a throw of 171-11.
Other winners included the boys 4×100 relay, junior Jade Hanson in the high jump, sophomore Fono Vakalahi in the discus, senior Duane LaPeyri in the high jump, and freshman Cali Cull in the triple jump.
Only LaPeyri and the 4×100 relay were among that days victors to join York at the state track meet in Pasco.
York continued to improve as the season went on, breaking and re-breaking the school record, which was finally set at 186-11, a mark he threw at the Wesco North championships May 11.
In just his first year on the track team, the senior qualified for state in the javelin. He ended the first day of the meet with a throw less than a foot behind eventual state champion Aaron Mettler of Walla Walla. York was awarded the meets silver medal, finishing second with a mark of 185-9.
York plans to continue studying the javelin at Western Washington University where he is a freshman.


May

Caldwell vaults to new heights

After breaking the schools pole vault record as a sophomore, M-P junior Michaela Caldwell did it again at one of the most crucial times in the track season.
In 2006, Caldwell jumped 10-7 to break the school record but failed to qualify for state at districts. Teammate Robin Mueller represented the Tomahawks at state during their sophomore campaign.
This year proved Caldwells year. At districts in Shoreline, she improved by a foot on earlier season jumps, finishing second to Kamiaks Taylor Fjeran. Caldwell jumped 10-9, and earned a chance to compete in the state track meet at Pasco.
Caldwell was unable to clear that height again at the state meet May 25, finishing in 14th place with a 10-6 jump.
Cougar fastpitch has breakthrough season

Despite a 13-7 season, the Lakewood fastpitch team lost a play-in game against Lynden 6-2, ending their hopes of a class 2A playoff appearance.
A strong core of juniors brought the team to a new level, according to coach Steve Barker, improving on the Cougars typical six- or seven-win seasons of the past.
Though Lakewood lost to Lynden, their accomplishments during the season didnt escape the notice of Cascade Conference coaches. Four Cougars were named to the leagues all-conference list, led by junior Becca Bean.
The catcher, who shattered the schools previous season batting average with a .493 was the leagues only athlete nominated by coaches as both offensive and defensive player of the year.
She was joined in kudos by freshman shortstop Kahlee Barrio, DH Emily Burkholder and pitcher Kally Behen.
Behen left her mark on Lakewood history as well, tying a school record for strikeouts in a season (129) and breaking the mark for wins by a pitcher with 12.


June

Strawberry Festival brings out the kid in trike racers

Athletes of a different kind turned out for the festivities of the Marysville Strawberry Festival.
Teams put up by local businesses vied for the title in three categories of the Trike Race, a Marysville original event that involves relay teams of four navigating different obstacles, ultimately culminating in a dive into a pool full of Strawberry Jell-O.
Teams from Kelly Peterson DDS, Roy Robinson and perennial contenders Golden Corral each had a winning team.
The festival provided more conventional outlets for athletic competition as well, hosting the 5k Berry Run and the Strawberry Festivals golf tournament.


July

Stilly Valley Little League enjoys dream season

The skies clouded up over Vancouvers David Douglas Park on as two young fastpitch squads took to the fields. Rain appeared imminent but held out until the state final concluded.
The only thing left standing between Stilly Valley and an 11- to 12-year-olds state championship was six innings against a Redmond team they dismissed two days earlier, 7-6. Stilly left little doubt the second time around, pelting Redmond 17-2 behind the hitting of Veronica Ladines and Alexa Blakey and all-around stellar defense that left Redmond dazed.
Blakey finished the afternoon 4-for-4 from the plate with a triple and 5 RBIs. Ladines went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Those two performances stood out on a day where nearly every Stilly hitter scored or drove in a run.
The team faced off at the regional finals July 28 through Aug. 5.
At regionals, dubbed Team Washington, the Stilly Valley squad met Team Oregon July 29, routing them 10-0. The girls went on to defeat teams Idaho, Alaska and Evergreen with shutouts thanks to their strong pitching rotation.
On Aug. 5, Team Washington met a tough San Marino, Calif. team, falling 6-5 in a close match to end their dream season.


August

Marysville soccer hosts Strawberry Classic

Intramural and select teams from around the state descended upon Marysville to compete in the three-day Strawberry Classic soccer tournament.
The tournament has doubled in size since its inception 13 years ago, estimated tournament organizer Corey Elwell. It accommodated athletes ages 10 to 18 with brackets divided by age and experience.
Approximately 20 teams from the Marysville area competed in the tournament of about 90 teams.


Tulalip hosts 3-on-3 tourney

In spite of construction on the hotel near Tulalip Casino, the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club hosted 175 teams for one of the states largest 3-on-3 basketball tournaments. The tournament hosted 19 different brackets and four Marysville-area teams took their division title.
In the mens gold division, the Walkers Coffee Company team took first, led by Everett Explosion players Darrell Walker and Corby Schuh, and Everett Community College player Luke Ande.
The Marysville Tomcatz fifth-graders Ryan Alford, Cole Grinde, Tristan Perez and Michael Painter won their division, while the high school silver category was won by the TCBA Elite team of Troy Toler, Brian Duda and Matt McDougl.
Dacia Heckendorf, whose Marysville Ladyhawks team won the ninth-grade girls division, is playing off the bench for the M-P varsity basketball team. She was joined in victory by Shelby Beyer, Andi Adams and Emily Enberg.


Galdes Gang wins citys first kickball league

By a three-run margin, local team Galdes Gang won the citys first-ever kickball tournament.
It was a summer of firsts for citys parks and recreation department, which also introduced a city-wide track meet for athletes of all ages.
The kickball season kicked off June 19 at the softball fields of Marysville-Pilchuck High School with four teams. By the seasons end, the eventual champions had assembled a 7-1 season to take home the leagues trophy one topped by a deflated kickball in the spirit of the sports off-beat nature.



September

Tomahawks win
homecoming game
with big rally

The Tomahawk football team demonstrated their heart and guts as they came from behind in the final minutes to defeat a 4-0 Lake Stevens squad, winning their homecoming game 20-13.
After back-to-back two-win seasons, the Tomahawks under new head coach Brandon Carson entered the late September game with two wins already under their belts. But their Lake Stevens opponents had height and the swagger of a team that finished second in conference to the eventual 2006 state champion Oak Harbor team.
Lake Stevens looking domineering as they built a 13-0 lead by early in the second quarter, but M-P kept its poise, putting 12 unanswered points on the board by the end of the third quarter.
Though momentum was in their favor, time was not, and with less than five minutes in the game, Marysville found itself facing fourth and 10 and trailing by one.
Carson called a fake punt. The ball was snapped to junior Devin Peterson, who connected downfield with senior Justin Freeman. The fourth-down conversion set up a pass by quarterback Denay Stell to Caleb Posey for the game-winning touchdown with about three minutes left in the game.
The win gave the Tomahawks their third win and built confidence in a shaken program.
Including a 40-0 win over Jackson in the postseason North-South crossover game, the Tomahawks went 5-5 for the season. Ultimately, it was a Lake Stevens loss to Everett that ended M-Ps hopes of a tiebreaker for the third seed out of Wesco North for the district playoffs.
Four Tomahawks were named to the first-team all-conference list: senior center Michael Pfeiff, senior defensive lineman Jamie Cruz, senior offensive linebacker Brett Preheim and senior defensive back Freeman.


October

Clark breaks school
diving record

With two years left in her high school diving career, sophomore Sarah Clark hit a milestone many athletes never see.
Against Stanwood, a team without a diving program, Clark had the best six-dive performance in Marysville-Pilchuck sports. With a score of 261.70, Clark eclipsed the previous record of 259.05 set by former Tomahawk Brittany Berg.
Typically, divers throw six dives in a swim and dive meet and 11 in a strictly diving competition. While Clark bested the schools six-dive mark in 2007, she has yet to pass Bergs record for 11 dives.
Clark, who strung together a series of first-place finishes in diving during the regular season, was joined by junior Liz Kuljis to qualify for the state meet at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. The pair had high enough scores to emerge from first-day preliminaries Nov. 9. Clark finished in fifth place overall, while Kuljis took 13th.


With win over Monroe, M-P soccer gets
first-ever playoff berth

In a girls soccer season unlike any other in M-P history, the Tomahawks found themselves measured against Monroe.
After finishing seventh in the conference standings behind the Bearcats in 2006, many of the Tomahawks milestones in their winningest season ever, 2007, came against Monroe.
Though M-P boasted a veteran squad led on offense by seniors Kassandra Riozzi, Hannah Wood and Melissa Lauer, few expected the Tomahawks to pull off a second-place league finish under second-year head coach Geoff Kittle.
But after opening the season with losses to Snohomish and Everett, Marysville rebounded with wins against Stanwood and Lake Stevens. In their first meeting at Monroe, the Tomahawks trailed 1-0 going into the second period.
Kittle credited the teams gutsy performance that night, pulling off a 2-1 win, for setting the blueprint for their winning season.
When the teams met for the rematch at Quil Ceda Stadium Oct. 17, the Tomahawks were 7-3-2, with a lot of opportunity before them. A win would not only improve the Tomahawks to eight wins, matching the schools previous best record of 8-6 in 1995 and 1996, but assured M-P of its first playoff appearance in school history.
Riozzi, Lauer and senior Rebecca Muscatell each had a goal in the Tomahawks 3-1 victory.
M-P went on to win the rest of its regular season games for an 11-3-2 record, ultimately losing their playoff opener to Lake Stevens.


November

Tomahawk swimmers come up big at districts

In the M-P girls swim teams last chance to qualify for state, several swimmers stepped up to the challenge.
The Tomahawks 200 medley relay of Kami Girard, Melinda Blomberg, Amy Renslo and Michaela Caldwell, which had hovered around the state-qualifying time of 1:58.00, finally broke through in the district finals at the Marysville-Pilchuck pool.
In the 400 freestyle relay, Amanda Vincelette, Renslo, Jewel LeValley and Girard earned a berth to state as well, finishing in fourth place to take a wildcard slot.
At state, the teams finished in the middle of the pack, with the medley relay taking 19th and the freestyle relay finishing 18th out of about 32 teams.
Of the six state swimmers, the Tomahawks lose only Caldwell to graduation.


December

Tomahawks top
defending state champs

The M-P boys swim team has been strong out of the gate, with state-qualifying times in all three relays by their second meet. But perhaps the Tomahawks biggest achievement in the early part of their season was a defeat of defending state champion Snohomish.
With individual wins by Trevor LeValley in the 200 and 500 freestyle, Aaron Goff in the 50 freestyle, Taylor Gibson in diving and a team victory in the 200 freestyle relay, the Tomahawks roared back from a tough loss against Kamiak to win 99-87.
Though Snohomish won more events, the Tomahawks built their win by collecting second- through fifth-place finishes, all of which garner team points.
In addition to the Tomahawks three state relays, LeValley has qualified for state in the 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Spencer Girard first clocked a state-qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke against Kamiak, a mark he has improved upon in the two meets since.