GSL boys North Central is chasing a ninth straight State 3A championship – a feat that would tie the consecutive mark set by Mead under former coach Pat Tyson. NC returns state champion Tanner Anderson, Justin Janke (14th) and Andrew Vandine (17th). Coach Jon Knight shouldn’t have any difficulty filling out his lineup. His freshmen were city champs last year. “We have to bring some younger guys along,” Knight said. “There will be three or four guys on there that haven’t won a state title.” … John Dressel of Mt. Spokane finished third at state. The Wildcats took third and should challenge for a state trophy this fall. … The league title will come down to a showdown between NC and 4A Central Valley, which took third at state last year after winning the year before. The Bears return five state qualifiers: Briton Demars, Stephen Heintz, Caleb Nichols, Spencer Jensen and Colton Pegram, all seniors. “We’ve got a bad taste in our mouth,” CV coach Kieran Mahoney said. “Nobody was going to beat Gig Harbor (last year). They were national champions, but we should have been second.” CV hopes to challenge for the state title. “They’ve been talking about it since the bus ride home from state,” Mahoney said. “We want redemption.” … Two other returning state qualifiers are Patrick Miranne of University and Corbin Carlton of Mead. … In the preseason team rankings, NC was first and Mt. Spokane third. CV was rated second and U-Hi 10th.
