By Greg Farrar
Carlyn Schmidgall (right), Liberty High School junior, races neck and neck in the final turn against Alexa Shindruk, of Lynden, in the 2A 3,200-meter championship May 30 in Tacoma.

The Patriots qualified in eight events for the May 28-30 meet at Mount Tahoma High School, and won a total of six individual medals and three relay medals to finish behind champion Shorewood (57 points), Sehome (55) and Pullman (44).

Senior Kelley Johnson was the Patriots’ leading point scorer. She earned podium finishes in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, and also contributed to a third-place effort in the 4×100 relay (49.42 seconds) and a fourth-place finish in the 4×400 relay (4 minutes, 8.76 seconds).

Johnson, who is continuing her athletic career next year when she joins the women’s soccer program at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, put an exclamation point on her track career. She captured third in the 300 hurdles (45.98) and seventh in the 100 hurdles (16.08).

Going out on a high note was something Johnson thought about as she entered the state meet.

“It was a really big deal for me — I’m playing soccer next year, but I don’t get to run track, and I love track,” Johnson said after the May 29 preliminary heats of the 300 hurdles, in which she finished sixth overall in 47.15.

“I’ve complained about it a lot, but I absolutely love it.”

Johnson also played key roles on two of the Patriots’ three medal-winning relays. The 4×400 performance, she said, was particularly impressive considering she didn’t began running with Sophie Wartena, Marissa Mills and Kaiah McLaren until just prior to the District 2 meet. A different foursome helped the Patriots make it through the KingCo Conference meet.

“My senior year, it’s awesome that we can do this kind of stuff,” Johnson said. “All the relays, all the girls, we just meshed so well together, and I’m so happy it worked out.”

Liberty’s 4×200 team of Shanell Thompson, Wartena, Danielle Demps and Cherelle Demps finished in third place (1:43.73).

Wartena, a sophomore, joined Johnson on the podium for the 300 hurdles, finishing sixth (47.24).

Cherelle Demps, a senior, grabbed a third-place finish in the 100 meters (12.53). She won three individual state medals and five relay medals during her Liberty career.

The Patriots also scored points in the long distances as junior Carlyn Schmidgall took fourth in the 3,200 meters (11:15.83) and sixth in the 1,600 (5:12.95).

The Liberty boys team had only four qualifiers to the state meet, although the Patriots won three medals, two of them from senior Trevor Sytsma.

Sytsma took fifth in the 1,600 (4:22.89) and seventh in the 3,200 (9:32.51), while junior Nate Solly was seventh in the 300 hurdles (40.73).

Hazen

The Hazen track and field team ended the weekend with two medalists.

Senior Jesus Vargas finished eighth (1:55.40) in the 3A boys 800-meter race, while Parker Trewet earned eighth place in the 3A boys shot-put.

The Highlanders also sent Kate Lilly, Sarah Hart, Plamedie Masiala, Sablena Milinganyo, Amy Warmenhoven, Alexis Rogers, Alicia Nguyen, Michelle Lilly, Alex Fortescue, Aaron Rothlisberger, Dario Cirlincione, Saivon Johnson and Rhyan Denile to state, but none of them reached the podium.

Reporter Christina Corrales-Toy contributed to this story.

By Greg Farrar
Freshmen varsity athletes (from left), swimmer Sydney Hartford, cross country runners and twin sisters Brigette and Kelsey Takeuchi and football player Noah Pritchett, stand by a poster in the Liberty High School commons proclaiming the motto of Patriot athletes and their student body fans, ‘We Are One.’

Less than a year ago, Brigette and Kelsey Takeuchi, Sydney Hartford and Noah Pritchett roamed the halls at Maywood Middle School.

Fast forward to their first year at Liberty High School. Three of them have competed among the top athletes in the state, while the fourth has found a place on a varsity squad that rarely makes room for freshmen.

Liberty sports teams found a lot of success this fall, due in no small part to these budding stars.

Brigette and Kelsey Takeuchi — cross-country

Liberty coach Mike Smith knew of the talented twins on Maywood’s cross-country team, he just didn’t know what sport they would choose in high school.

Luckily for him, the Takeuchis, of Newcastle, chose cross-country instead of soccer. They were integral parts of the Liberty team that finished sixth at state.

Brigette became the school’s first cross-country state medalist when she took fourth overall with a time of 18 minutes, 31.79 seconds.

“It was really fun, because everyone supported each other no matter how they did,” Brigette said. “I also really like the course.”

It’s a good thing, too, because if the Takeuchis have their way, they’ve got three more visits to the state competition in their future.

Kelsey completed the state course in less than 20 minutes, putting her among the state’s top 30 runners in the 3A division.

High school cross-country is different than anything she saw at Maywood, Kelsey admitted, but it’s a lot more rewarding.

“We used to think that our 2-mile runs were really long, but we don’t even do 2-mile runs anymore,” she said.

Smith said he’s excited about the girls’ potential.

“We look at increasing pace, mileage and leadership every year, so over the next couple of years, they’ll hopefully have progressively faster times and serve as role models for the other runners,” he said.

Brigette, in particular, has the talent to compete on a national stage, Smith said. He added that the Takeuchis’ work ethic and parental support separate them from the pack.

“How you do in cross country is based on how hard you work,” Brigette said. “So, if you put in a lot of hard work, then you will be more successful.”

Both girls said they hope to continue to drop times as their careers progress, with the ultimate goal of running in college at a place with warm weather, such as California or Hawaii.

Sydney Hartford — swimming

Sydney Hartford, of Newcastle, feels at ease in the pool.

“I love swimming because I’m actually more graceful in the water than I am walking or running,” she said.

There is no doubting Hartford’s prowess in the water, where she was a member of Liberty’s state-medalist 200 freestyle relay team. That team took fifth place and Hartford recorded a season-best split.

Liberty coach Kris Daughters, who knows a thing or two about top freshman swimmers after the early successes of Mackenna Briggs, Lauryn Hepp and Ellie Hohensinner, said she was pleasantly surprised about Hartford’s contribution to the team.

“Sydney has competed on a club team for the past few years, so she comes with more experience and endurance than most ninth-graders,” she said. “She is also very tall and lean, and that makes a difference in swimming.”

Hartford admitted she was a little nervous joining the Patriots squad, but she was quickly welcomed by her teammates.

“I was blown away just by how much they accepted the freshmen into the group,” she said. “On the first day, I had multiple people walk up to me and introduce me to other people on the team.”

Hartford likely isn’t done growing, Daughters said, which helps in a sport where height is valuable.

“I loved seeing her get more confident this year,” Daughters said. “I’m not sure she knew she would have the impact she did when the season began.”

Hartford said she isn’t sure if she wants to purse swimming in college, but her goal is to make it to state in an individual.

Noah Pritchett — football

It’s rare for a Liberty freshman to crack the football team’s varsity roster, let alone start; if he does, he must be pretty special.

In coach Steve Valach’s 15 years at the school, he said he can count the number of freshmen to start on varsity on one hand. One of those is ninth-grader Noah Pritchett.

“Noah has size, strength and aggression,” Valach said. “He’s also a humble kid who’s willing to work hard and be coachable.”

Pritchett is a soft-spoken lineman, with an unrivaled determination and work ethic. He began training and watching film last year, hoping to make varsity.

“I went to the summer workouts and I would walk to Liberty if I couldn’t get a ride,” he said. “I’d also go in the weight room in my free time at home.”

When not at school or doing homework, he’s working out, even in the offseason, with an eye toward getting the chance to play in college.

Like most Liberty football players, Pritchett got his start in the Five Star football program. It was quite a leap, he admitted, from the youth leagues to KingCo.

“The game speed is a lot faster in high school football, but after a few games I got used to it,” he said. “I’m getting the hang of it.”

Valach said he’s eager to see how Pritchett develops in the next few years, but he knows that effort will never be an issue for the freshman.

“Noah has tremendous potential, and I am excited to see how a year of varsity experience and an offseason in the weight room impacts his play on Friday nights,” he said. “Hard work in the weight room and game experience do so much for a player’s confidence.”

Pritchett is rather humble about his lofty accomplishment in seeing the field at such a young age, but more than anything, he said he is extremely grateful to Valach for giving him the opportunity to play for the Patriots.

“I’m really fortunate to be able to play on this team and I’ll do anything I can to help the team,” he said. “I’m going to work out and just try to be the best lineman I can be going forward.”

That’s what it means to be a Liberty High School cross-country participant, where the expectations are high, but certainly attainable, Patriots coach Mike Smith said.

By Mike Smith
Brigette Takeuchi, Liberty High School freshman, runs alone on the way to her fourth place finish in her first state championship Nov. 9.

The Liberty girls cross-country team was determined to finish in the top four at the 2013 state competition in Pasco on Nov. 9. The Patriots had a good chance, too, given they were ranked third in the state coming into the meet.

As a group, the girls ran faster than last year, shaving about 20 seconds off of the 2012 squad’s team average. That team finished fifth at state, but the 2013 team, despite its improvement, finished sixth.

“They ran better than the year before by a whole bunch. It’s just that everybody else ran better, too,” Smith said.

The Patriots celebrated their first ever medalist, though, as freshman phenom Brigette Takeuchi took fourth overall with a time of 18 minutes, 31.79 seconds.

Only one other underclassman, freshman rival Sophie Cantine, of Lakeside, finished ahead of her. Cantine, from Sammamish, and Takeuchi competed against each other as middle school students, Smith said, so the two are very familiar with each other.

“She really wanted to compete with Sophie, so she’s kind of been beating herself up about it,” Smith said. “But I told her to enjoy it, you got a medal at state.”

The performance earned Takeuchi an invite to the 2013 Nike BorderClash in Beaverton, Ore. The race, at Nike headquarters, pits the top runners from Washington and Oregon against each other.

Two other Liberty girls finished the Pasco course in less than 20 minutes. Sophomore Carlyn Schmidgall crossed the finish line in 19:26.18, and Takeuchi’s twin sister Kelsey finished in 19:34.43

Senior Amy Broska had a time of 20:25.77, while sophomore Anna Malesis finished just behind her in 20:26.08. Juniors Jordan Raymond and Sarah Bliesner rounded out the Liberty finishers.

Liberty was hit by the injury bug at the worst possible time, when the Patriots’ No. 2 runner Bliesner came up limping.

The nagging injury affected her district performance the week before, but she powered through it to compete in state, Smith said. She felt good through the first mile of the state race, but Smith said he could tell she was in pain after that.

“You could tell pretty quickly that it wasn’t going to be something she could force her way through,” he said.

Bliesner was the seventh and final Patriot girl to cross the finish line, in 20:46.37.

The Patriots ended with a team average of 19:41.5, and despite what they call a disappointing finish for 2013, the future certainly looks bright for Liberty.

Of the seven finishers, Liberty will see six return, and is set to reload in 2014, thanks to a solid Maywood Middle School program, Smith said.

“It took a long time for our program to get there, but the kids now understand the commitment it takes,” he said. “The level they want to be at required a great amount of work, and they did it.”

Liberty boys relish first state appearance

The Liberty boys squad proved it was one of best teams in the state, capturing ninth place in its first ever state appearance.

The Patriots’ road to state wasn’t an easy one, Smith said, and the boys had to give a historic performance in the district meet a week before just to qualify.

They made it by the skin of their teeth, as the fourth and final team to qualify for state from the Sea-King District.

“We pushed them very hard to give us their best race at districts, because we knew there was absolutely no way we were going to make state otherwise,” Smith said.

The team used up so much emotional and physical energy just to make it to that point, Smith said, that it might have affected their state performance.

“That was really hard for them just to calm down from the high of the district meet, and settle back into training,” he said.

Liberty finished with a team average of 16:41.5 in Pasco. Senior Aaron Bowe was the top finisher, placing 19th overall in 15:55.59. Fellow senior Collin Olson came up eight spots later, crossing the finish line in 16:06.88.

Junior Trevor Sytsma had a time of 16:48.53, while sophomore Andrew Cooper followed just a few seconds later, crossing the finish line in 16:53.75. Senior Mason Goodman, sophomore Michael Daly and junior Nick Bliesner rounded out the rest of the Liberty finishers.

Hazen sends one to state

The Hazen High School cross-country team sent a lone representative to state this year in senior Luis Puga.

Puga, who also plays soccer, finished 120th, crossing the finish line in 17:55.71.

By Greg Farrar
Liberty High School teammates (from left) Ashby Brown, Hiron Redman, Romney Noel and Alex Olobia link arms and display their 4×400-meter relay medals after winning second place with a time of 3 minutes, 20.42 seconds during the 3A state track and field championships May 25 in Tacoma.

Immediately after Liberty track stars Alex Olobia and Hiron Redman competed in the last race of their high school careers, the seniors embraced as they shook off the disappointment of a second place finish in the 4×400-meter relay at the state track and field championship.

“Bellevue had just that much more, just a little bit more,” Redman said. “He just got me by a 30th of a second. That’s it.”

The Liberty relay team of Olobia, Redman, Romney Noel and Ashby Brown took second with a time of 3 minutes, 20.42 seconds, good enough to break the school record, but just short of conference foe, Bellevue.

That’s quite an accomplishment considering that there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the 1600 relay team at the start of the season, Redman said.

“We came into the beginning of the season just scared. We didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I mean we had a sophomore on the relay team and we all just dug really deep and we did it.”

That sophomore is promising underclassmen Noel, who, like his teammates, sported an impressive mohawk during the May 23-25 championship at Mount Tahoma.

The Liberty boys track and field team placed fifth in overall scoring at the state meet, thanks to impressive performances from both Olobia and Redman.

Olobia took home three medals, including the one he secured with the Liberty relay team. He earned second place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.85, just short of Bellevue’s Budda Baker who won with a mark of 10.77. He also took third in the 200 meter, finishing that race in 22.29.

“I’ve had to go through a lot of adversity with injuries, but I think overall, even though I didn’t come in first, I enjoyed the journey, and that’s what it’s mainly about,” Olobia said. “I’m just really proud that I got here.”

Redman, a standout on the school’s cross country team, reached the podium for the third consecutive year in the 800-meter event, placing sixth with a time of 1:55.02. Aaron Bowe broke the school record in the 3200 with a time of 9:21.87, good for seventh place.

Senior Sean Campbell captured Liberty’s first medal of the meet with his sixth place toss in the javelin, at 165 feet, 10 inches. Campbell took up the sport for the first time this season, along with his twin brother, Matt.

The Liberty girls did not fare quite as well, narrowly missing the podium in several events.

Megan Chucka took ninth in the 1,600-meter; Sarah Bliesner placed 11th in the 3,200-meter; and Anna Frodsham finished ninth in the javelin.

Hazen boys place 20th

After three long days of competition, Hazen High School junior Mason Jacobs felt fatigued as he prepared to compete in the 4×400-meter relay.

It was hard to notice, though, as Jacobs, Devin Nguyen, David Phan and Travis Lilly ran the race in 3:23.85 to capture fourth place.

“It felt good. I thought I had a good start. I was just so tired from all the day’s other events,” Jacobs said. “It was tough, but we pulled it through and I was happy about that.”

The chemistry on this year’s team was particularly good, leading to what the teammates consider a successful season, Phan said.

“We run for each other. We are family,” he said. “That’s what got us here.”

In addition to his relay medal, Nguyen earned an individual honor when he ran the 400-meter in 51.43 to take eighth place.

Hazen senior Spencer Shear was the school’s top finisher, taking third place in the pole vault.

The Highlanders had several athletes make the finals, only to miss the podium.

Bahari Watkins and Jacobs each competed in the long jump, while Michelle Lilly did the same on the girls’ side. Emma Tuschhoff battled in the triple jump and Daniel Karpman came up short in the 1,600.

“We did pretty good, not super spectacular,” Jacobs said. “I’m just a junior, so hopefully next year we can pull out more medals.”

The twins find themselves at home on the basketball court, at track and field events, and in the classroom.

By Greg Farrar
Matt Campbell (left) and 2-minute-older twin brother Sean, Liberty High School seniors, pose with their javelins.

The twins come from an athletic family. Their father William and their mother Arleen are both swimmers; their sister Rebecca plays basketball as a high school junior, as does the younger sister Alissa as a freshman.

The twins started with basketball by playing pig and horse with their father as young boys, but got competitive about basketball in the seventh grade at Maywood Middle School.

“Our coach, Miss Takotta, was the first one who told us, ‘You have the height, so play basketball. Put more work into basketball, and you can continue on into high school.’”

“Another real influence to play basketball was this guy named Donnie Gilmore.” Matt said. “He has a son who played basketball as well.”

When they got to high school, their mother encouraged them to keep with basketball, since they are both 6 foot 5. Sean says Matt is taller by an inch, but he rounds his height up to 6 foot 5.

“We’re identical, so I don’t know why I’m an inch taller,” Matt said. “It must have been that I drank more milk.”

Sean and Matt agree they are both very competitive, even against each other, whether in sports, grades or girls. They claim they don’t date the same girls.

“I’m dating another twin and people say my brother should date her sister,” Matt said. “It’s funny, but no.”

The twins have gone to Liberty all four years. Matt has played basketball all four of them. Sean sat out his junior year, though he did play baseball that year.

“I wanted to focus on grades and think into my future more,” Sean said. “I didn’t really see sports there.”

He came back to play basketball his senior year.

The twins had three basketball coaches their four years at Liberty. They said this was Omar Parker’s first year and they rate him as the best. They said he motivated them, started fundraising more and helps out in the community.

“He is even helping out the girls’ team,” they said. “He is a great guy, and we hope the team does well next year. This year, we went to district for the first time in six years.”

If Sean dropped out a year to focus on studies, the academics must be important.

“I’m into math and science,” Sean said. “I’m taking college math and looking at engineering of some kind.”

Both boys are student athletes, each maintaining a 3.6 grade point average.

“School is real important,” Matt said. “At first, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get school and sports balanced, but I got better at time management.”

He plans to go to Gonzaga University in Spokane, and sees high school as the end of his basketball. He said in college he will focus more on academics with an accounting degree in mind. He chose Gonzaga because “it has a community feel, family members went there and I like Spokane.”

Sean said he plans to go to Washington State University in Pullman, and he also sees high school as the end of his basketball career.

Track and field coach Michael Smith, however, wasn’t going to let them get away without at least a season under his coaching.

Matt said when Smith approached him about coming out for track, he thought it just involved a lot of running, and he got plenty of that in basketball. To make sure he wouldn’t have to do a lot of running, he asked, “If I go out for track, can I just do what I want?

“I’m kind of athletic, and I didn’t want to be pulled into some areas where I didn’t want to be pulled into,” Matt said.

“He said, ‘Just come out and try out for what you want. I won’t say anything about running.’ So, I tried out, and this is awesome and fun, but my brother here was just a little more tentative. We got him out after a couple of weeks and he liked it.

“I like track. Basketball is a team sport, and track is more individual, so what you put into it is what you get out of it.”

Sean throws the javelin and does the triple jump, while Matt throws javelin and does the shot put. They both confess to running a couple of laps for warmup when they practice.

When asked what he had gotten from high school sports, Sean said, “One thing is the social aspect. I have made many friends. It has instilled competitiveness. I’m not accepting an F on a test. I want an A in everything I do. I want to do the best I can.”

Matt said, “A lot of the stuff you do in sports, you also take into the classroom.  If I want to get an A, I have to study. If I want to throw further, I have to work on my leg strength. If I want to make free throws, I have to practice. It is the same in the classroom. If I want to get better quiz scores, I have to do homework more often. Sports and school are applicable to each other.”

Idaho sophomore Andrey Levkiv won the 3A shot put title for the Highlanders his senior year at the school.

“We feel really good about our group,” Idaho director of track and field/cross country Wayne Phipps said. “We had two more who had qualified but were unable to compete, so for us to have 15 who qualified, and 13 who will be competing is very good for us as a program.”

By Spencer Farrin Andrey Levkiv starts an attempt in the shot put at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on May 11. Levkiv won the conference title with a throw of 56 feet, 5.75 inches.

Levkiv is a first-time NCAA qualifier this year.

“It’s an exciting and amazing accomplishment for anyone to be a repeat qualifier, and for us to have this many new people is a great sign for our program that we’re progressing and moving in the right direction,” Phipps said.

The NCAA Preliminary Round system replaced the Regional Championships in 2009. The nation is split between the East and West regions, with the top 48 athletes in each event advancing to the NCAA Preliminary Round, at which they compete in the opening rounds through the semifinals of NCAA competition, depending on the event.

The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the national finals, which will be held June 6-9 at Des Moines, Iowa.

“I like that everyone is on an equal playing field once you get there, but it does put a ton of pressure on each student-athlete to compete,” Phipps said. “There’s an incredible level of competition and there’s no room for error, whatsoever.”

Levkiv, a sophomore who now attends the University of Idaho, won a 3A state shot put title for the Highlanders his senior year. He jumped into Idaho’s all-time top-10 in the shot put at the Beach Invitational in Norwalk, Calif.

Andrey Levkiv

He hit 57 feet, 7.75 inches (17.57 meters), a 2-foot, 4-inch personal best, to extend his WAC lead to nearly a 4-foot margin. The mark is currently ranked 26th in the NCAA West performance list and moves Levkiv to ninth all-time at Idaho.

He also competed in the shot put at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., posting a toss of 54-2 ¹/2. Levkiv also entered the discus at both the Bryan Clay Invitational and Beach Invitational, posting marks of 149-5 and 151-1, respectively.

The athlete of the week award is Levkiv’s second of the season.

The run, for the fifth straight year, was the USA Track and Field National Road 50 Kilometer Championship.

More than 100 athletes from across the country finished the 50K race.

A newcomer to the      50-kilometer ultramarathon distance, Gray clocked a winning time of 2 hours, 56 minutes and 43 seconds, which is 1 minute and 41 seconds shy of runner-up Michael Wardian’s course record that was set in 2008.

Wardian, of Arlington, Va., came in second during this year’s event with a time of 3:02:55.

Wardian was the runner-up at the 2011 IAU 100 Kilometer World Championships and was named USATF’s Ted Corbitt Award winner for Ultra Runner of the Year, while Gray was last year’s USATF Mountain Runner of the Year.

Wardian was the defending champion in the event for the past four years in a row.

Gray and Wardian have announced their intention to continue their rivalry at the 2013 edition of the run.

Newcastle resident Joseph Gray, 28, was the overall winner of the Merrell of Huntington Village Caumsett 50 Kilometer Run on March 4.  The run, for the fifth straight year, was the USA Track and Field National Road 50 Kilometer Championship.

A newcomer to the 50 kilometer ultramarathon distance,  Gray clocked a winning time of 2 hours, 56 minutes and 43 seconds, which is one minute and 41 seconds shy of Michael Wardian’s course record that was set in 2008.

Wardian came in second during the event with a time of 3:02:55.

Wardian was the runner up at the 2011 IAU 100 Kilometer World Championships and was named USATF’s Ted Corbitt Award winner for Ultra Runner of the Year, while Gray was last year’s USATF Mountain Runner of the Year.

Wardian was the defending champion for the past four years in a row.

Gray and Wardian have announced their intention to continue their rivalry at the 2013 edition of the run.

Liberty High School junior Krysta Dawson finished 20th in the 3A state golf tournament in May with a two-day score of 175. By Greg Farrar

At the state track and field championships at Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High School on May 28, Hazen senior Kyle Martin took third in the pole vault with a jump of 14 feet. In the girls 100-meter dash preliminaries, senior Starr Williams took ninth with a time of 12.82 seconds.

Williams did not advance to the finals, finishing .05 seconds behind the eighth place finisher.

Liberty golfers Krysta Dawson, Alex DuVall and Molly Culwell took to the state golf tournament at Liberty Lake Golf Course in Spokane May 24 and 25.

Dawson shot an 86 on the par-70 course, taking 18th place the first day and advancing to the second round. DuVall and Culwell shot 96 and 97 to finish 50th and 52nd, respectively. DuVall and Culwell did not advance to the second round.

In the second round, Dawson shot an 89, bringing her two-day score to 175 for a 20th-place finish.