Spring prep seasons have ended, with a number of Sequim High athletes earning distinctions for their play on the courses, diamond and soccer pitches.
Golf
Heard this one before? Sequim’s Alex McMenamin was named Olympic League MVP — her fourth in four years — as the Wolves capped a spectacular season with a fifth-place finish at the class 2A state tournament in Spokane.
Not to be outdone, Sequim High sophomore Blake Wiker was named league MVP on the boys’ side, and boys’ head coach Bill Shea was selected Coach of the Year.
McMenamin and teammates Sarah Shea and Samantha Smith earned berths in the class 2A state tourney. McMenamin finished sixth. Shea, who was named to the all-league first team, placed 22nd, and Smith — named to the all-league second team — tied for 43rd.
On the boys’ side, Wiker and all-Olympic league first-teamers Paul Jacobsen, Andrew Vanderberg and Josiah Carter, each qualified for the 2A state tourney. The team tied for ninth place overall. Vanderberg and Wiker tied for 26th at state while Jacobsen was 37th and Carter tied for 58th.
Laurie Shaw of Olympic was named the girls’ Coach of the Year and Klahowya took home the Sportsmanship Award. Port Angeles earned the boys’ Sportsmanship honor.
Sequim’s boys went 9-0 and won the Olympic League title while SHS’s girls were 8-1, second to Olympic.
Boys soccer
Their season ending a frustrating one win short of district tourney play, Sequim got a top-notch season from junior forward Liam Harris, who was named to the all-Olympic League second team after leading the squad with 13 goals.
Sophomore defender Rudy Franco was named to the all-league second team, helping lead a young defensive group who gave up a little more than two goals per game during league play.
Sequim finished 6-6 in league action and 7-8-2 overall.
Brady Vernik, a senior midfielder from Kingston, was named league MVP — one of seven Buccaneers on the all-league team. Randy Lund of Bremerton was named coach of the Year and Olympic took home the Sportsmanship Award.
Baseball
A host of top arms and big bats led Sequim to within one win of the class 2A state tournament. For their efforts, a quartet of Wolves were named to the All-Olympic League team.
Senior outfielder James Grubb and junior pitcher Ian Miller were named to the league’s first team. Grubb led the team with a .432 batting average, 33 RBIs and 19 stolen bases (in 24 attempts). Miller led the team with 43 innings pitched — nearly twice as many any other Wolf — and had five of the team’s 14 wins, going 5-2. He had a 2.61 earned-run-average and struck out 32 batters, second-best on the team.
Sequim infielders Gavin Velarde and Justin Porter were named to the second team. Velarde, a junior, was second on the team with a .420 batting average and led the team with a .523 on-base percentage and slugged .623, also a team-high. He was a perfect 18-for-18 in steals and had team highs in doubles (eight) and triples (three). Porter, a senior, was third on the team with a .417 average and struck out just five times in 60 at-bats. He had 13 steals in 13 tries, and had an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentages) of .970.
Junior Ryan Hekcer took home the league MVP award for the league champion North Kitsap Vikings, while North Kitsap and Port Angeles shared the league’s top staff honor. Kingston was awarded the Sportsmanship Award.
Sequim went 7-4 in league play — third in the Olympic League — and 14-7 overall. The Wolves went 2-2 at the district tournament.
Fastpitch
Despite finishing in a tie for second place in the Olympic League at 8-4, Sequim’s Wolves were shut out of the all-league first team.
Sequim saw two sophomores — pitcher Isabelle Dennis and second baseman Bobbi Sparks — named to the all-league second team.
The Wolves went 4-1 in district play to earn their seventh consecutive state 2A tournament appearance, and 14-12 overall.
League champion Port Angeles dominated the all-Olympic League team. Led by MVP pitcher Nizhoni Wheeler, the Roughriders put seven players on the all-league first team. They also won Coach of the Year (Randy Steinman) and Sportsmanship honors.
The ‘Riders went 12-0 in league play and finished second to WF Westat the class 2A state tourney.
