They received steady pitching, and delivered air-tight defense, too.
The Kent/Auburn 10-11 All-Star fastpitch team also came through with clutch at-bats. Combine the three and the Kent/Auburn Stars were able to put together a flawless District 10 tournament last month at Federal Ways National Complex, winning three straight games to come home with the championship.
Adrienne Wilson’s opportunity of a lifetime proved to be a whirlwind two-and-a-half week excursion of ups and downs that the Kent transplant will never forget.
By the time it was complete, Wilson was able to celebrate the Fourth of July like never before – in a different country, with a title in hand, and with plenty of new friends.
Big challenges are nothing new to Kent’s Martin “Mitch” Mitchell.
Mitchell, 57, recently quit smoking, an addiction that spanned 40 years.
“It’s the hardest thing I have ever done in my life,” he concedes.
For an encore, Mitchell has signed up to ride in the Seattle to Portland Classic, a 200-mile cycling marathon slated for July 17-18. And he’ll be doing it for a good cause, too. To add motivation and increased incentive to the event, Mitchell has chosen to pedal to Portland for peanut butter.
The United States won the first IFAF Women's World Championship gold medal July 3 with a 66-0 victory over Canada at the Zinkensdamms IP Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden.
They were down, but far from out.
The Kent Little League Senior All-Stars got off on the wrong foot Wednesday afternoon, losing to Soundview/Steel Lake 16-1 in a third-round game of the District 10 tournament at Auburn's Brannan Park.
The Seattle Thunderbirds are excited to announce a new summer photo promotion.
Starting July 1 the T-Birds are encouraging fans to send the team photos of them wearing T-Birds jerseys, hats and t-shirts during the summer.
Today marks the last of the three annual honors we hand out here at the Kent Reporter.
Of the three – the Male and Female Athlete of the Year honors – the Coach of the Year was the most difficult to choose.
Why?
For beginners, it’s nearly impossible to choose one coach who guided his or her respective team to a state title over another coach who did the same thing. During the recent prep sports year, Kentwood’s Jon Aarstad (baseball), Michael Angelidis (boys hoops) and Ingrid Bakke (boys tennis) all led their programs to the top.
Clearly, it has been quite a year in the athletic arena at Kentwood High.
It’s hard to imagine that a high school baseball team would feel as though it had something to prove after posting a 17-4 record.
But that was exactly the position the Kentwood High baseball team found itself in at the beginning of this spring. When the Conquerors looked back, they didn’t see the wins from the previous season or their second-place finish in league, but instead the one glaring loss — a 13-7 defeat to Newport — in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
She grew up with dreams of qualifying for the Olympic games in track & field.
While that never quite panned out for Adrienne Wilson of the Seattle Majestics women’s football team, a second chance of sorts has materialized.
Ben Wadowski cashed in on opportunity Sunday morning at South County Ballfield Park in Federal Way.
Wadowski delivered a Herculean performance, belting two home runs and going the distance on the mound, leading Kent's 10-11 All-Stars past Auburn 7-2 for the District 10 championship.
Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Calvin Pickard was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, 49th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles June 26.
It rained. It poured.
But the fun didn’t stop for 2000 Kentwood High graduate Mike Karney on Saturday at French Field, where he played host to the third-annual Karney’s 44 Kids Camp. Roughly 140 youngsters between the ages of 8 and 16 showed up for the one-day event, which featured a handful of NFL players, including Seattle’s Owen Schmitt, St. Louis linebacker James Laurinaitis and kicker Josh Brown.
Kent will be taking on a decidedly Spokane feel later on this summer.
While the Gonzaga Bulldogs won’t be coming this way any time soon, the Showare Center parking lot will be host to the first 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Kent history. The tournament, which is being tabbed the Showare Shootout presented by Allied Waste, will follow the blueprint established by the Spokane Hoopfest, which takes place at the end of June each year and draws more than 5,000 teams and 25,000 players from around the nation.
Leslie Folsom is speechless.
Folsom, 42, continued what has been a magnificent run last week, edging Mimi Racicot 4-and-2 to win the Seattle Women’s Golf Association’s City Championship at Kent’s Meridian Valley Country Club. Folsom, who lives in South Seattle and plays out of Rainier Golf and Country Club, vaulted into some rare territory with the win, which was her third straight City title. Folsom joins Anne Carr and Ruth Jessen as the only golfers to ever win three consecutive SWGA titles.
GRAND SLAM BASEBALL CAMPS
Grand Slam Camps for baseball and fastpitch will be held at Petrovitsky Park from July 12-15th and at South County Ballfields Park from July 19-22. The camps serve players ages 7-14. The complete camp covers all aspects of the game and is held each day from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Skills Camp is held from 1:30-4 p.m. daily and provides hitting instruction as well. Campers select a defensive position to focus on as well as pitcher, catcher or infield. Since 1993, Grand Slam, a non-profit organization, has had the goal of providing quality instruction in a fun environment while exposing kids to positive role models. The camp staff is comprised of high school coaches and current or former college players. Each camp is $105. Discounts are available for military, siblings, and multiple camp sign-ups. Detailed information can be found at www.grandslam.com. Grand Slam Camps also can be found on Facebook.
Track wasn’t her first choice.
In fact, track wasn’t even among Jaclyn Onosko’s top three when she entered Kentridge High several years ago. Instead, the 18-year-old senior dabbled in fastpitch for a year, spent three more in basketball, and was a mainstay on the volleyball court.
Track?
Of all the years I have been in the newspaper industry and have selected a Female Athlete of the Year, I have to say this was the tightest race of all.
Kent-Meridian’s Melanie Vertrees took home last year’s honors with relative ease.
Kentwood’s Jessie Genger walked away with the award the year before.
This year?
KELSEY BUENO, Kent-Meridian
Grade: Senior.
Sport: Track.
ALEX STRAUS, Kentlake
Grade: Junior.
Sport: Track.
CHELSEA MUSKELLY, Kent-Meridian
Grade: Sophomore.
Sport: Track.
