Quick hits
The season seems to have just begun, and now it’s hurtling toward its conclusion. Only two weeks remain of the regular football season. All other sports – cross country in particular – begin jockeying for state berths this week.
Deer Park Golf Course is the site of district and regional meets Friday and Saturday that qualify teams and individuals to next weekend’s state meet at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Previews of the meets will be in Friday’s Spokesman-Review.
Other sports are completing district or beginning regional play.
Soccer playoffs complex
With three State 4A girls soccer berths instead of four – as has been the case for the past few years – this year’s playoffs with the Big Nine Conference have been altered.
Instead of being a part of the state round of 16 as in seasons past, some matches become preliminaries to state. Both Richland, the Big Nine district champion for the fifth straight year, and GSL district champion Gonzaga Prep are in the state round of 16.
The two champs play Tuesday in Spokane for state positioning. The winner hosts the region No. 3, while the loser travels to play the No. 2 team from Districts 3-4.
That makes the biggest Tuesday match the one in Kennewick, pitting either Kamiakin or Southridge against the GSL No. 2., University. The match will determine the region’s third state entrant, while the loser’s season is done.
The eight-team 3A regional pitting GSL and Mid-Valley League squads begins Saturday. District champion Cheney and runner-up East Valley play matches for two of three state berths. The Blackhawks host West Valley-Yakima, EV is at Selah.
Losers drop into a loser-out bracket that determines the third entrant from six remaining teams. WV-Spokane, which hosts Prosser on Saturday, is already a part of that loser-out bracket and will need three wins to reach state.
Selah, WV-Yakima and Hanford all tied for first in the Mid-Valley.
The Great Northern League ends tonight. Pullman and Riverside are the top two seeds into the 2A playoffs.
Deer Park, Lakeside, Medical Lake and Colville are other district qualifiers vying for two state berths.
District volleyball begins
Tonight is the first round of District 8 4A volleyball, with University at Shadle Park and Gonzaga Prep at Mt. Spokane. Mead and Lewis and Clark await the winners at home on Friday. All matches begin at 7 p.m.
The double-elimination tournament concludes with four matches Saturday at Mt. Spokane, beginning at 1 p.m. The district championship match is at 5. Four of the six teams advance to the regional, from which three will qualify for state.
Also Saturday, North Central hosts the District 8 3A tournament which advances three teams to the regional. The Indians and East Valley play for top seeding. West Valley and Clarkston meet for the third berth. Matches begin at 11 a.m.
League matches end tonight for Class 2A, 1A and some B schools, with league and district playoffs to follow beginning this weekend.