Kent 2023 high school sports spring preview

The 2023 spring sports season is upon us. Here is a preview of what each Kent school did last season.

Baseball

Kentlake Falcons: The Falcons had a difficult season over the 2022 year. Kentlake had a strong end to the month of April, having their longest win streak of the season, getting them into the postseason. The Falcons took on Prairie in the first round and lost their opening round game.

Kent-Meridian Royals: The Royals didn’t have their best season last year, going 1-19. It has been a hard go of things for Kent-Meridian over the past 13 years — the Royals have only won three games just twice during that span, 2008 and 2018.

Kentridge Chargers: Kentridge’s season was cut short in the postseason, and after a great regular season, Kentridge finished 15-8. In the postseason, the Chargers lost to Curtis in 11 innings by a score of 3-2, then fell to Skyview in the next round, 1-0.

Kentwood Conquerors: The Conks went on a 10-game win streak from March 29 to April 20, their longest win streak since 2017, when they won eight games from April 22 to May 13 that season. In the postseason, Kentwood entered as the 11 seed. The Conks beat South Kitsap, 2-1, before falling to Tahoma in the second round.

Softball

Kentlake Falcons: Kentlake had a season to forget, only winning just a single game last year. The one win was a 26-3 victory over Kent-Meridian. The last time Falcons finished a season with a record over .500 was 2016 when Kentlake was 15-12 that season.

Kent-Meridian Royals: Kent-Meridian is approaching five years since their last softball win, which was back on April 5, 2018, over Tyee by a score of 16-6.

Kentridge Chargers: The Chargers finished fourth in the 2022 regular season with a 8-8 record. Half of those eight wins came over the first four games of the season. Kentridge advanced to the district playoffs, but lost their opening round match to Graham Kapowsin, 1-0.

Kentwood Conquerors: Of the four schools in the city of Kent, Kentwood had the best season a year ago. The Conks finished the season 21-2 and went 3-0 against their fellow Kent schools. The Conks also took home a district title, beating Skyview 6-0 in the championship game. At the state tournament, Kentwood took down Hanford 6-0, but lost in the next round to Redmond 5-1.

Soccer

Kentlake Falcons: The Falcons did not have their best season last year, going 1-11 on the pitch. The one win for Kentlake was a home victory over Auburn by a score of 5-3. In fact, 2018 was the last time the Falcons won more than a single game in a season.

Kent-Meridian Royals: The Kent-Meridian Royals have now improved their win total three seasons in a row. Over the past three seasons, the Royals have gone from six wins to eight wins, most recently in 2023. Kent-Meridian made the postseason last year as the 11 seed. The Royals caught fire in the district tournament, beating Heritage 5-0 and Silas on penalty shots 2-1 (9-8). The Royal fire was put out by Bonney Lake in Kent-Meridian’s first winner to state game, then Central Kitsap crushed the Royals’ state tournament dreams.

Kentridge Chargers: Kentridge just missed out on the postseason last year. Over their first six games, the Chargers only lost one game. But over their final eight games of the season, the Chargers went 3-5. They lost to Mount Rainier in the final game of the season, which would have moved the Chargers into the playoffs.

Kentwood Conquerors: The Conks had a brutal stretch to start the season, losing their first four games, and were outscored 12-5. But from March 28 to the end of the season, Kentwood only lost twice, tied twice and won nine games. Kentwood advanced to the district tournament in that stretch, and faced Puyallup in the opening round and lost 1-0. Following that loss, Kentwood would then lose to Tahoma to end their season.