jeff graham, kitsap sun
·5 min read
After a third-place finish in 2022 and a second-place finish in 2023, North Kitsap's boys tennis team climbed the final step of the ladder Saturday, claiming the Class 2A state championship at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.
It's the first state title for Vikings head coach Jay DeVries, who's led the program for 23 years.
"Good teams make good coaches," DeVries said.
North Kitsap topped the standings with 26 points (runner-up Columbia River had 16) on the strength of its three doubles teams, which compiled a 9-3 record across 12 matches. Mason Repp and Justin Gallant finished in second place, winning three straight matches before falling to Anacortes' Sawyer Nichols and Andrew Van Egdom in the finals, 6-2, 6-3. Mason Chmielewski and Spencer Gillespie also finished 3-1, suffering their lone loss in the semifinals to Nichols and Egdom. Grady DeVries and Owen Wilkinson added a fifth-place finish, winning three consecutive matches after a first-round defeat.
On the girls' side, North Kitsap's Teegan DeVries placed second in 2A girls singles. Facing Sammamish's Taraneh Khalighi in a rematch of last week's district final, DeVries played quality tennis in a 6-3, 7-5 defeat.
North Kitsap softball tops Port Angeles for third place
North Kitsap's softball season didn't conclude with a repeat 2A title, but the Vikings did earn a top-three finish at Carlon Park in Selah on Saturday.
No. 2 North Kitsap (22-6) saw its bid for another title end in the semifinals with a 5-2 loss to No. 6 Tumwater. The Vikings rebounded with a 9-3 victory over No. 9 Othello, setting up a season-ending game with No. 4 Port Angeles for third/fourth place. It was North Kitsap's fifth contest of the season against the Olympic League co-champion Roughriders. The Vikings prevailed 18-11, finishing the spring 3-2 against Port Angeles.
West Sound's two other 2A state qualifiers for softball were No. 8 Olympic and No. 16 Kingston. Both teams lost in Friday' first round — Olympic fell 6-1 against No. 9 Othello and Kingston fell 9-3 against No. 1 Sedro-Woolley — to set up a loser-out game between the Trojans and Buccaneers. Olympic prevailed 9-8 in 10 innings to end Kingston's season with a 13-10 record. The Trojans were then eliminated with a 12-2 loss to No. 3 Aberdeen. Olympic ended its season with a 19-7 mark.
At the 1A state tournament on Thursday, No. 9 Klahowya (17-6) was eliminated in the first round after a 10-0 defeat to No. 9 Royal, while No. 20 Central Kitsap (8-17) was eliminated in its 3A state opener Thursday, falling 7-5 against No. 13 Auburn Mountainview.
North Kitsap boys soccer wins shootout for third
North Kitsap's boys soccer team earned a third-place trophy at the 2A state tournament after a 1-0 shootout victory over East Valley of Spokane on Saturday at Renton Memorial Stadium.
Harper Sabari netted the clinching goal and Justin Anderson made two saves to secure the victory for North Kitsap (20-2). Vikings head coach Greg St. Peter, who led the team to second place in 2023, praised the performance of Vito Sicchiero. With Mason Chmielewski unavailable to play due to his tennis tournament commitment, Sicchiero started in the midfield and helped the Vikings post their 11th shutout this spring.
State track and field concludes in Tacoma, Yakima
The Class 4A/3A/2A state track and field championships concluded Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School with the 4A girls discus and javelin champion, South Kitsap's Grace Degarimore, finishing out her career with a second-place finish in shot put. She topped out at 42-10.75. Teammate Lauren Laws placed fifth in the girls 800 (2:15.15) as South Kitsap's girls finished third overall in the 4A team standings. On the boys' side, South Kitsap's Isaac Benjamin placed third in the 3,200 (9:13.97).
In 2A, Bremerton had three placers: Cecelia Powell in the girls 400 (fifth, 58.45), Dallin Anderson in the boys 800 (third, 1:55.39) and Isaiah Cadengo in the boys 400 (third, 48.68). Anderson and Cadengo also helped the Knights' 4x400 relay team place fifth in 3:27.69. North Kitsap's Salix Wartes-Kahl placed sixth in the 2A girls 800 (2:20.51), while Calina Morgan took sixth in the girls 100 (12.88). Logan Sloman was seventh in the boys 100 (11:65). North Mason's Adrianna Tupolo, the girls 2A discus champion, placed sixth in javelin at 116-1.
In 3A, Bainbridge's Yafei Shou tied for third in boys pole vault by clearing 15 feet, while teammate Isaac Ellis tied for sixth after clearing 13-6. Claire Hungerford placed second in the girls 300 hurdles, running (45.40). Central Kitsap's Mana Voss set a freshman record in the 3A boys 800, running 1:54.30 to place sixth. Audra Palmer placed fifth in the girls 800 (2:14.70). The Cougars' girls 4x400 relay team placed eighth in 4:06.57.
At the 1A/2B/1B state championships at Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Crosspoint's girls relay team of Stella Crollard, Riya Tobosa, Alianna Gatlin and Libby Parker placed second in the 1B girls 4x400 (4:26.39). The Warriors also placed fifth in the 4x100 (53.01) and 4x200 (1:53.71).
Placers for Klahowya in 1A were Audrey Younger in the girls 100 (5th, 12.71), Natalie Oathout in the girls 3,200 (4th, 11:46.64), Maggie Keenan in the girls 100 hurdles (3rd, 15.42), and Tyler Larson in the boys 800 (8th, 2:03.69).
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: State roundup: North Kitsap boys tennis captures 2A team championship
