In brief: Junior team adds Mead’s Olgard

Volleyball: Mead’s Alexis Olgard, an alternate on the USA Volleyball Junior National Team, has been added to the first team and will play in the World Championships in Mexico during July.

An injury to a player opened a spot on the national team and the middle blocker will play in the worlds in Tijuana and Mexicali.

She was originally going to Europe with the second team to train with the Swiss nationals before playing in Croatia. Her mother, Sandra, said Alexis will now spend 10 days training with the first team in Chula Vista,, Calif., beginning July 6, then compete in the World Games from July 16-24. After that she will attend a three-day camp at the University of Southern California.

Olgard will be a senior next fall at Mead. She is already committed to play for USC.

“Last year I was disappointed in myself because I don’t think I played as well as I could have,” Alexis said of her first tryout for the national team. “I worked hard this year and think I’ve improved. When I heard I was an alternate again, I was mad.”

She said she was looking forward to playing in Europe, but is excited to be on the national team.

“It’s the World Championships and I’ll never get to do this ever again,” Olgard said.

Mike Vlahovich

Mead, SJE win Cup awards

HIGH SCHOOLS: Mead and St. John- Endicott are 2009 winners of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and Wells Fargo Bank Scholastic Cup.

Mead’s Panthers compiled 1,355 points based upon athletic achievement and academic state championship program awards in 24 areas overall. They finished 170 points ahead of Richland.

Boys earned 100 points each with state cross country and track and field championships, as well as by winning academic honors in boys and girls tennis, choir and drama.St. John-Endicott finished with 855 points in 1B, 30 ahead of Mount Rainier Lutheran.

The Eagles were academic champions in baseball, boys basketball and boys cross country, second in boys golf, boys track and field and cheerleading and finished second athletically in girls basketball.

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