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Prep Girls Golf / Roundup

Hall headlines Lassies’ late season charge

The Kelso girls golf team picked up a big win and some much needed momentum on Thursday with a victory over Heritage on the low side of the Cowlitz River at Mint Valley Golf Course.

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Prep Girls Tennis / Roundup

Lassies celebrate 16 seniors by pummeling Plainsmen

The Kelso girls tennis team had plenty to celebrate on Wednesday after turning in a 6-0 sweep over Evergreen at home in 3A Greater St. Helens League play. The victory arrived on Senior Night, with 16 Lassies earning recognition for their sustained efforts and veteran leadership.

That effort was just the latest in an impressive string of performances by the K-Town racket brigade.

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Prep Girls Tennis / Roundup

Lumberjills notch win over Centralia

After 10 days off the R.A. Long girls tennis team was rust free on Monday in its return from spring break, defeating Centralia 4-2 at home in a non-league match with a District IV foe.

“Got a late start because we had a down pour right before we started and had to dry the courts off,” RAL head coach Rally Wallace said

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Prep Girls Tennis / Report

The spring tennis season got off to a comfortable start on Thursday when the Kelso girls team came across the Cowlitz River to play Mark Morris at the Mint Valley Tennis Center.

The season-opening cross-river rivalry match was originally set to be played on Wednesday in Kelso, but pervasive rains forced the contest across the bridge and inside. And the delay proved to be worth the wait as the contest wound up tied 3-3 at the end of match play, with the Lassies prevailing 52-47 in the tiebreaker count based on total games won.

“It was a close match,” Kelso head coach Mary Chennault said.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

TACOMA— Jordyn Robarge stepped up to the plate for the Kelso Lassies at the WIAA 3A State Championship Meet. The junior Hilander hurled the shot put a mark of 40-07.25 to take home second place at state, the best placement an athlete from Kelso or Longview earned at Mount Tahoma High School last weekend.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

YAKIMA— A small contingent of the stands at Eisenhower High School clad in Rocket red rose to their feet just in front of the finish line as Castle Rock senior Casie Kleine surged away from the competition to claim her third 1A girls 400-meter State title on Saturday.

And then, that same contingent sprung up in similar jubilation a few hours later as Kleine added a second state title for good measure, this time in the 200 meters.

The first title, of the 400-meter variety, came as gusting winds blew in the face of competition on the final 100-meter stretch.

But Kleine’s fast start and closing surge pushed her nearly a second ahead of second-place Allison Eggers of Bellevue Christian at 59.33.

“I got out and then the wind hit me. That pushed me back,” Kleine said. “I was trying to stride through it on the back stretch. I tried to pick up my pace a little bit and the last 100 meters hit it as hard as I could.”

Kleine knew she had to fuel up to try and gain another State title in the 200 meters. So, naturally, she headed inside the Eisenhower gym and fell asleep.

The strategy worked, as she set a personal-best while pulling away for the 200-meter title with a 25.15 mark. That time, the wind was more helpful as it had changed directions around lunch time.

“One thing is the wind, that was pushing me,” Kleine said. “Another one was, I was trying to fuel a lot after my 400 to get ready for this race, so I took a nap in the gym and then I just hydrated and stuff so I think my body was well-prepared for this race.”

Kleine bookended her day with a morning sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash at 12.83 and joined Jasmine Schatz, Ellie Powers and Myah Manzano in a 4X400 relay where the senior passed three competitors in the final leg to give the Rockets a fifth-place finish at 4:11.96.

All told, the Rocket girls scored 27 points to take home seventh place in the team competition.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media

High School Track and Field

YAKIMA— June Miller raised her tired arms in relief and celebration as she crossed a blustery finish line Saturday afternoon.

That’s because the Naselle freshman had just taken home the state title in the 1B girls 400-meter race at the WIAA 1B State Track Championships with a victorious 1:01.19 mark.

“It was really good. I’m so happy that I got first,” Miller said. “The wind was a huge, major effect on my 400 meter. It wasn’t my best time, but it was still a good time due to the wind.”

Miller’s State title was just one part of the 44.5 points that the Naselle girls put together to take home a fifth-place finish in the state meet.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media

High School Track and Field

YAKIMA— Treyton Marty admitted that a couple hours before his final 3,200-meter race at the 2B State Track and Field Championships Saturday, the emotions of realizing this was his final high school race were making their presence known.

But he used those emotions to fuel himself to a second-place finish in the event after finishing third in the 1,600 meters earlier in the meet to help spur the Toledo boys to a sixth-place team finish at state.

Marty ran a 9:51.07 in the 3,200 to conclude his career, only getting bested by Liberty Bell star Dexter Delaney Saturday.

“It’s emotional. I was crying a couple hours ago, knowing this was my last race,” Marty said. “It hit me so quickly and I was like, ‘oh crap, I have one left.’” Now I have none left. It’s very emotional.”

But what was likely more special to Marty was the fact that a group of five “Dirt Track Warriors,” as the team dubbed themselves as an ode to the fact that they are one of a select few schools in the state still honing their skills in dry mud.

“Every single Toledo athlete that entered and competed medaled, placed top eight and scored the team points,” head coach Don Schaplow said. “We really bill it as a team sport and sell it as a team sport, and I would say that was the highlight for all of them. The team aspect of that was huge for both the boys and girls and how we view our team.”

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media

High School Track and Field

YAKIMA— By her own admission, Winlock junior Victoria Sancho wasn’t thrilled with her performance in the 2B girls 200-meter prelims at the WIAA State Championship Meet.

So, what did she do about it?

Sancho went out Saturday and set a personal best mark of 25.36 seconds en route to a State title in the event to give Winlock an individual state champion.

She also shattered a 47-year old school record in the process.

“I’m pretty excited about it, and surprised a bit,” Sancho said. “Yesterday was not my best run, but I definitely felt I could do better today.”

It wasn’t the only hardware for Sancho Saturday, as she also took second in the 100-meter dash at 12.67 seconds.

Her performance, which only added to a weekend that also included a third-place finish in triple jump, brings several medals to a small town she said has supported her every step of the way as the lone representative of the Winlock girls at the State Championships.

“It means a lot to me,” Sancho said. “I have a lot of supporters and my small school that does support me a lot and all my teammates and family, I’m really happy for them (because) they helped me to get here.”

Sancho’s point totals allowed the Cardinals to finish 10 th in the team point totals at 24, a sum she earned by herself.

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TACOMA — The 3A/2A (and 4A, if you’re into that sort of thing) State Track and Field Championships wrapped up on Saturday at Mt. Tahoma High School, and Blast Zone area athletes were pushing their marks forward and lowering their times in their final efforts of the season.

Several area athletes made a strong push for a State title in Tacoma, but wound up just short of the top step of the podium. Elsewhere, multiple Blast Zone area athletes were able to earn gold medals for their efforts.

Below the paywall you will find a full gallery of images from the today’s early action in Tacoma.

Blast Zone Media was also on site in Yakima for the 1A/1B/2B State Championships on Saturday, and kept an eye on Eugene for the grand finale of the OSAA State Championships.

Be sure to check back to BZM for full reports and additional photos from the State competitions.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

YAKIMA—Many athletes around the Pacific Northwest no doubt entered team dinner restaurants a few shades pinker in the skin Friday after the blazing sun bore down with a season-best showing on the thermometer during the second day of State Track and Field Championship meets in Tacoma, The Palm Springs of Washington (see: Yakima), and Eugene way on down in Oregon Country.

Peeking through the sunglass-tinted lens which area athletes got medals and which racers advanced to final competition tomorrow. Squint a little harder, and some fascinating storylines begin to emerge.

For updates on all of the athletes from The Blast Zone who found themselves in the throes of competition, Friday, keep reading below the paywall.

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Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

TACOMA — The 3A/2A State Track and Field Championships are back in action Friday at Mt. Tahoma High School, and Blast Zone area athletes continue to represent our region well on the big stage.

Below the paywall you will find a full gallery of images from the today’s early action in Tacoma.

Blast Zone Media will continue to be on site in Tacoma, as well as Yakima for the 1A/1B/2B State Championships, through the rest of the week. Be sure to check back to BZM for full reports and additional photos from the State competitions.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

State track championships got underway for Blast Zone-area teams Thursday, with several field and distance championships secured while final race spots were notched elsewhere.

A look around the Pacific Northwest reveals how each of the area’s peak athletes performed on the first of the three-day events in Tacoma, Yakima, Washington, along with Eugene, Oregon.

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Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

TACOMA — The 3A/2A State Track and Field Championships got underway on Thursday at Mt. Tahoma High School, and area athletes were all up in the mix.

Below the paywall you will find a full gallery of images from the today’s early action in Tacoma.

Blast Zone Media will continue to be on site in Tacoma, as well as Yakima for the 1A/1B/2B State Championships, through the rest of the week. Be sure to check back to BZM for full reports and additional photos from the State competitions.

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

THE BLAST ZONE— It’s State or nothing now. Only the strongest remain in local track and field, where the top athletes punched their ticket to state meets at District competition last week.

Qualifying athletes from Castle Rock, Kalama, Toledo, Toutle Lake, Winlock, Ilwaco, Naselle and Wahkiakum are heading to the WIAA 1B/2B/1A State Championship Meet at Eisenhower High School in Yakima Thursday, May 29-31.

Meanwhile, the best from Kelso, Mark Morris, R.A. Long and Woodland will be at the WIAA 2A/3A/4A State Championship meet at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma the same dates.

And over in Oregon Country, the athletes from Clatskanie and Rainier’s peak will be at the OSAA State Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene

Here’s who is left standing heading into state competition this weekend.

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High School Girls Tennis

Anderson and Khlee refuse to lose (again) for Jills

A dynamic pair of Lumberjills made history last week when they became the first doubles tennis partners in documented school history to place at the State Tournament.

It was Alice Anderson and Lyle Khlee who sent the gatekeepers of history rummaging through the record books after they placed fifth in the 2A Girls Tennis State Tournament at the University of Washington on Saturday. The Lumberjills’ last players standing won four of five matches in the two-day tournament in order to reach the podium.

“Alice and Lyla had an incredible season,” R.A. Long head coach Rally Wallace said.

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By Matt Baide for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Girls Golf

TUMWATER — There will be two more championship trophies in the case at Mark Morris High School soon.

The first trophy will be for Mark Morris senior Jana Knapp, who carded a 7-over 79 in the second round for a 151 total to win the State 2A girls golf tournament on Wednesday at Tumwater Valley Golf Course in Tumwater.

And the second trophy will have all the Monarchs fingerprints on it.

Junior Jorie Langenbach shot a 14-over 86 to total 180 that left her in 21st place, and senior Sarah Stewart shot a 25-over 97 for a 186 total in the two day tournament to help Mark Morris bring home the team State title.

“It feels pretty good. It was pretty exciting, (and) a lot of fun,” Knapp said. “I think there were a lot of saves I had to make, a lot of longer putts I had to make to shoot the score I had.”

— Mark Morris’ Jana Knapp tees off during Round II of the 2A State Tournament, Wednesday, May 21, at Tumwater Valley Golf Course. / Video by Matt Baide for Blast Zone Media —

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By Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Track and Field

BLAST ZONE — The postseason has arrived for the best athletes this side of the unapproachable Johnston Ridge Observatory. Local track and field athletes competed in league championship and district action and will be competing for state meet berths this week.

Here’s a roundup of how every Blast Zone school fared in the last week and which athletes are moving on to state qualifying action this week.

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By Matt Baide for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Girls Golf

TUMWATER — Mark Morris senior Jana Knapp shot an even par 72 and held a four shot lead after the opening round of the state 2A girls golf tournament on Tuesday at Tumwater Valley Golf Course.

Knapp is set to tee off at 10:10 a.m., Wednesday, in the final group of along with Black Hills’ Ellie Johnson at 4-over and Fife’s Sofia Nguyen at 5-over par.

“I think I played pretty well,” Knapp said after her round. “I like the course. It’s pretty fair and they play us up pretty far but they can set the pins and make it play a little harder and so I think it is an even, nice course.”

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High School Girls Golf

No time to rest for MM’s Knapp

Kana Knapp of Mark Morris finished in second place with a total of 162 in the 2A District IV Tournament at Tumwater Valley Golf Course. She shot a 79 in the second round in order to claim the runner-up spot.

Ellie Johnson of Black Hills won the tournament with a two-day score of 153. She carded a 76 in Round 2 in order to run away with the title. Black Hills also won the team trophy.

The cut to advance to the state tournament wound up being 208, with 19 golfers advancing out of Districts.

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