Before I get started, I’d just like to say that there will be things I have unintentionally left out. Keep in mind that I have seen hundreds of games, matches, meets, tournaments and practices in my near two years at The Marysville Globe and Arlington Times.

But all things come to an end, and so does my time here. I am off to the University of Washington to pursue my master’s degree.

I thank all of you who have let me report on your lives for the past two years, and I’d just like to share some of the highlights of my time here.

I think my most vivid memory of what I’ve reported on will be watching Marysville-Pilchuck’s Austin Denton run the football in 2009. There are a number of elite football players in the Washington state prep ranks, but Denton was maybe the best at what he did. The way he ran defied what I had seen covering football because he wasn’t the fastest on the gridiron, or even near the biggest, but tacklers were just run over. And I would never see him very often, as he broke so many long runs that the game was out of reach by the second quarter and he was taken out.

When my memory scans back to this time, the next instance to pop up will likely be Lakewood girls soccer. However unfortunate once the playoffs have hit the past two years, the Lady Cougars have been dominant in the regular season — and I love watching good soccer.

Every once in a while a team has such good chemistry that it searches out people beyond the court and draws in a community. That happened with Arlington basketball this season. I can only remember one other time I saw a team with such a bond, and that was the Class 2A state champion Lynden Lions in 2007. It was a similar situation where the team hadn’t seen success in a while, but there was something special about that year that just brought the town in and shared in its success. That is a rare thing.

Those three will probably be the first memories I recall, but there are also a few things that I will be gloomy about not covering the next year or so, starting with the beginning of Getchel athletics. This rivalry is likely to be intense from the start, judging by the fight it took to get green and gold on the field alone this year.

I think Arlington football is going to have a special year in 2011. Even with all of the injuries last season, it was easy to get the sense that this coming winters Eagles fans may have the chance to see their team play in December.

Also, I’m interested to see M-P swimmer Hannah Taylor’s progress next fall, and if the Tomahawks will make a run at state in baseball, softball and boys soccer in just a month.

I’m sure I’m forgetting more than a few things, but I’ll have to stop here. Even though I’m no longer covering your sports, I’ll be watching these kids move on to championship games and all-conference honors — and maybe if you look around at state, you just might find me seeing firsthand if any of these predictions come true.