Soccer team wins; other clubs getting ready for postseason

The South Whidbey High School soccer team got the Falcons’ postseason party started by thumping visiting Mount Baker 10-0 in the first round of the district tournament Monday.

The other South Whidbey spring teams will soon join the soccer team in the postseason as the playoffs start to heat up.

Soccer

With the win, the Falcons (9-5-2) will now take on the No. 1 1A seed from the Northwest Conference, Meridian (7-8-1), Wednesday, May 2, at Meridian High School.

That winner will face the winner of Lynden Christian (5-10-2) and King’s (11-2-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at Sultan for the district title. Both teams in the championship game will advance to the bi-district.

The loser of the South Whidbey/Meridian game faces Cedar Park Christian (6-10) in a winner to bi-district, loser-out match at 11 a.m. at Sultan.

Michael Lux scored four goals and Silas Batiste two in the first half of the Mount Baker rout.

Graham Colar, Aidan Donnelly and Andrew Curtis tallied in the second half.

Coach Emerson Robbins wasn’t sure if Donnelly or Reilly McVay scored the other goal.

Nevin Daniels, Joey Lane and Colar each had two assists; Batiste and Aiden O’Brien had one apiece.

Robbins emptied his bench in the second half, and, at one point, had six freshmen on the field.

Lake Smith, Ari Rohan and keeper Julian Inches anchored the shutout defense.

Smith and Rohan “kept cleaning up anything that looked at all dangerous,” and Inches preserved the shutout with an “incredible, highlight-film” save, according to Robbins.

Track

The Falcons begin their postseason run with the Cascade Conference Championships at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Cedarcrest.

The district meet is May 10 and 12 at Sultan, followed by the bi-district meet May 17 and 19 at King’s.

Eastern Washington University hosts the state meet May 24-26 in Cheney.

Coming into this week, South Whidbey had a handful of athletes with marks ranked in the state’s 1A top 10.

For the boys: Matthew Simmons, 10th, 100, 11.45; ninth, 200, 23.35; Kristopher Dixon, third, 110 hurdles, 15.8; fourth, 300 hurdles, 41.54; 4×100 relay (Carlhenri Chapman, Simmons, Issiah Gonzales, John Bartel), fourth, 44.57; 4×400 (Simmons, Bartel, Chapman, Max Dodd), sixth, 3:37.67; Romey Rodhe, 10th, pole vault, 12-06; and Cameron Jensen, fifth, long jump, 21-0.5.

On the girls side: Elizabeth Donnelly, eighth, 800, 2:23.65; Kaia Swegler Richmond, 10th, 1,600, 5:20.31; Sophia Nielsen, second, 100 hurdles, 15:47; fifth, long jump, 17-01.25; fifth, triple jump, 35-02.5; and the 4×400 (Mallory Drye, Alexandra Kurtz, Donnelly, Lila McCleary), 10th, 4:20.77.

Baseball

South Whidbey begins the eight-team, double-elimination district tournament at noon Saturday, May 5, at Sehome High School in Bellingham against the second-place team (Overlake or University Prep) from the Emerald City League.

The South Whidbey/Emerald City No. 2 winner meets the Meridian/King’s winner at 4 p.m. Saturday at Joe Martin Stadium. The losers play at 4 at Sehome.

The district playoffs continue Saturday, May 12. The top three teams advance to the state tournament.

Boys Golf

The Falcons, who finished second in state last spring, compete in the Cascade Conference Medalist tournament at 8 a.m. Monday, May 7, at the Snohomish Golf Course.

The district tournament is 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at the North Bellingham Golf Course, which will also host the bi-district tournament at noon Tuesday, May 15.

The state tournament is slated for May 22 and 23 at the Liberty Lake Golf Course outside of Spokane.

Girls Golf

The defending state champion Falcons get the postseason started with the Cascade Conference Medalist meet at 8 a.m. Monday, May 7, at the Snohomish Golf Course.

North Bellingham is also the home of the girls district (1:30 Thursday, May 10) and bi-district (10 a.m. Tuesday, May 15) tournaments.

The state finals are May 22 and 23 at Spokane’s Hangman Valley Golf Course.

Tennis

South Whidbey hosts the district tournament at noon Thursday, May 12.

The bi-district meet is May 16-18 at the Amy Yee Tennis Center in Seattle.

The state tournament is set for May 25-26 at the Yakima Tennis Club.

Softball

Sedro-Woolley’s Janiki Fields will be the home of the district softball tournament May 14-20. State will be played May 25 and 26 at Richland’s Columbia Playfield.

Aidan O’Brien works to escape from a swarm of Mount Baker defenders. (Photo by Matt Simms)

Aidan O’Brien works to escape from a swarm of Mount Baker defenders. (Photo by Matt Simms)

Ari Rohan protects the ball in the win over Mount Baker. (Photo by Matt Simms)

Ari Rohan protects the ball in the win over Mount Baker. (Photo by Matt Simms)

Thomas Simms fights for possession Monday’s match.(Photo by Matt Simms)

Thomas Simms fights for possession Monday’s match. (Photo by Matt Simms)