This Weekend Big For Valley Seniors

Class of ‘99 Special graduation edition

The school year is ending the way it began for University High School seniors Kris Martin and Ian Johnson.

Last fall, they helped the Titans defend their State 4A cross country championship. This weekend in Tacoma, they’ll have to play major roles if the Titans are to defend their State 4A track championship.

The two are among myriad seniors, including Central Valley football player-wrestler Tyree Clowe and Freeman distance runner John Russell, whose memorable high school careers are closing this year.

Clowe stamped himself one of the Greater Spokane League’s top all-time athletes. He obliterated football rushing and scoring records and won the state 215-pound wrestling championship.

Martin is a two-time top-six cross country placer and last year’s 800 meter track champion who competed his entire career at U-Hi. Johnson, who won the state cross country race, transferred here this year.

Both are two-event qualifiers in this weekend’s state track meet.

Russell won the State A cross country race and will compete in three events in track.

They are among 100 or so local athletes who are ringing down another eventful sports year with spring state appearances.

This past year also marks the Frontier League swan song of East Valley High School, which left its mark by winning 11 of 17 possible league championships and finishing second in four others.

The Knight softball team won its first-ever regional championship and will be competing this weekend in the State 3A tournament in Tacoma.

It features three girls - Rebecca Triplett, Malea Schumacher and Ashley LeGrant - who attended EV schools for 12 years and have been playing sports together since they were eight years old.

They were members of the two-time regional qualifying basketball team as well and were apart only in the fall when Triplett and LeGrant played on the regional volleyball qualifier and Schumacher led scoring on the state-qualifying soccer team.

Careers are ending for seven state-bound West Valley track athletes who were members of four straight league track championships. Included is three-event qualifier Brad Groh, a football all-leaguer also led WV to the state basketball tournament.

It ended for three-year CV basketball players, Courtney Phinney, Tori Bragdon, Marisa Liepman and Peggy Coyle, who played on two state-placing teams.

Freeman dominated the Northeast A track league. Boys teams also qualified for state in football and basketball and the girls in volleyball and softball.

Liberty, led by four-event state qualifier Jeremy Engle, joined by fellow senior Brad Wiman and the Holling brothers, Jake and Ben, not only are off to state in track, but also played for state football and basketball teams as well.

Last Fall, Valley athletes won four state cross-country titles as East Valley junior Melanie Frostad became a two-time winner and Freeman sophomore Laura Halverson won her first.

University’s girls soccer team made state and CV and University football teams reached post-season.

During the winter, the Valley Christian boys, who finished fifth, and Central Valley girls, who placed eighth, reached state basketball tournaments, along with the CV and WV boys.

Four Valley wrestlers brought home state titles: seniors Clowe and Blair Alderman from CV, and Reggie Lee and sophomore Tom Owen from U-Hi.

Central Valley gymnast Emily Roberts finished eighth all-around at state and seventh on vault. That plays nicely into track and field where she’s the state prep pole-vault record-holder at 11-feet and a state participant this weekend.

The spring has been a continuation of past successes.

Defending track champion U-Hi won its first Greater Spokane League championship and was last weekend’s regional champion. Central Valley’s girls were GSL champions as well.

WV’s boys and EV’s girls were regional titlists, Valley Christian boys and girls won district championships together for the first time.

Like East Valley, University’s softball team won regionals. It was the the third regional title for the Titans, qualifying them for a fourth straight state tournament.

Tennis athletes to state include CV’s Aaryn Volkmann, the EV doubles team of Buchanan and Kirsch, Freeman’s doubles team of Andy Duncan and Dan Irish, girls singles players Heidi Zuber and Marissa Dahmen. Earlier this week, CV seniors Stuart Ward and Michelle Grafos, four-time qualifier Brian Miacolo of EV, three-time qualifying junior Amy Wieber and her WV teammate Jennifer Miner all played in state golf tourneys.

But for every memory made by state tournament qualifying, there are those for who were simply glad to be part of a team.

For graduating seniors, that is where the majority of memories were made.