Contributed
The Liberty High School drill team surrounds its new hardware after winning two state titles at the 2015 state championship March 27 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The Liberty High School drill team went into the March 27 state competition with few expectations.

Sure, they thought, it would be nice to place in the top two of the military and kick categories, but realistically, they hadn’t seen many of their competitors, so the squad was unsure where it stood in the pecking order.

After a tumultuous three years that saw three different coaches filter in and out of the program, the Liberty drill team gave what captains called their “best performance ever,” capturing two state titles in the March 27 competition held at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The performances weren’t perfect, junior captain Amanda Roberts admitted, but it didn’t take away from the thrill of hearing the Patriots’ name called twice.

“We had just won not one, but two state titles, something that I’m pretty sure has never happened in Liberty history,” she said of the moment the awards were announced. “We all were incredibly proud of ourselves and filled with joy.”

Liberty took first place in the kick category with a “superior” rating of 271.7, while a score of 240.15 was enough to capture the 1A/2A military title.

The trip to Yakima was an amazing experience, made more so by a team that is closer and more polished than ever, senior captain Mikayla Nudelman said.

“Knowing that all our hard work and the time we’ve put into drill has paid off is an unexplainable feeling,” Nudelman said. “Each girl has sacrificed a lot for the team, so getting these two trophies just makes all the ups and downs worth it.”

Nudelman said the team’s performances were “disciplined,” leading to some of the highest scores in school history.

“Our Cheshire cat-themed kick routine was high energy, exciting and honestly, pretty adorable with our cat ears and tails. Our military routine was intense, difficult and had lots of tricks and lifts,” Nudelman said.

Hard work, sacrifice and dedication defined this year’s 18-member drill team, Roberts said, thanks mostly to the positive influence of coach Lindsay Starr, who along with assistant coach Sydnee Williams, led the squad to its historic year.

“She pushed us to our limits and made us feel like a real, united team,” Roberts said of Starr. “These wins were just the cherry on top of an amazing year that has shaped a completely new drill program that will lead us into the future.”

Nudelman agreed, crediting Starr for bringing the team together.

“Starting the year off with a new coach, we were headed in a completely different direction, and we trusted her to lead us to where we are,” Nudelman said. “Between summer to now, our team has transformed into a unified entity, something we have never been before.”

The Liberty High School community is known for the passion it displays toward its extracurricular teams and activities, but for some reason, it hasn’t similarly supported the Patriots drill team, Roberts said.

She’s hoping a little hardware will change that.

“For years, the Liberty community and students have never really thought much of drill. We were always just kind of there,” she said. “We were always put as last priority for practice space and things like that.

“Finally, these wins show people that we are a Liberty sport to pay attention to. We are hoping to get the respect that we deserve for working so hard.”

Leilani Bruce, Lilli Donahoe, Hannah Fadler, Emily Rutherford, Sami Galluzzo, Alex White, Lindsey Williams, Riley Wigen, Hanna Warmenhoven, Zoe Herrild, Madison Brenden, Erika Kahler, Theresa Nguyen, Laura Suddock, Ali Whittles, Nudelman, Maddie Lam and Roberts make up the 18-member drill team.

Nudelman, Roberts and Nguyen are captains.

Hazen comes up short of four-peat

Contributed
The Hazen High School drill team gathers for a group shot after performing at the 2015 state championship March 27.

For the first time in three years, the Hazen High School drill team returned home without a state title, but you won’t find the Highlanders hanging their heads.

They put up some of their best scores of the year in Yakima, and even though it didn’t result in the top spots, co-coach Victoria Hupf said she was proud of the improvement her team showed.

“In both routines, you could tell the girls gave their all, and they felt really good about themselves and the performances they put on when they stepped off the floor,” she said.

Hazen competed in both the 3A pom and military categories. The Highlanders earned third place in pom with an “exceptional” score of 254.3.

Driller My Nguyen earned some individual recognition, after placing third in the drill down competition, beating out a loaded field of her competitors.

“This young lady, after an extremely long and hard day, was able to go out there and focus 100 percent on the task at hand,” Hazen co-coach Evelyn Turner said. “She exercised the discipline and handwork that Hazen Drill stands for and for that, I could not be more proud.”

Drill is by no means an easy sport, Hupf added. Hazen practices and competes nearly year-round.

In addition to early morning practices held almost daily, they also perform at school events and find time to give back to the community, as they did when they volunteered at the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure.

“Every day, I am in awe of what these girls have been able to accomplish over the course of the year,” Hupf said, “and it has been an absolute privilege to have had the opportunity to help coach them this year.”

Hazen drillers make it three in a row

Contributed
The Hazen High School drill team and coaches show off their third consecutive first-place trophy after the Dance and Drill State Championships March 29 at the Yakima SunDome.

If Kristin Sargent’s career as the head coach of the Hazen drill team was written as a book, it would have the perfect fairy tale ending.

The preface would note that her Hazen roots run deep. She was a member of the Liberty High School drill team before coming to Hazen, where she was the drill team captain in 1999.

The body of the story would detail her seven years as the Hazen drill coach, a golden era of sorts, as she led the Highlanders to several state titles.

The best part would be the ending, though, when Sargent’s team captured its third consecutive state title, in the same year she announced it would be her last.

That’s what happened March 29 as the Hazen drill team added to its overflowing trophy case with another great showing at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Dance and Drill State Championships in the Yakima SunDome.

The Highlanders took first in 3A pom with a score of 252.3.

Liberty goes from 3A to 2A

Liberty High School sports teams went from 3A to 2A beginning in the 2014-2015 school year.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association released enrollment numbers showing Liberty, at 891.8, is the size of a 2A school. Schools with less than 990.8 students, but more than 472, are considered 2A.

In the recent past, the Patriots had opted up to the 3A level, despite its stature as one of the state’s smallest 3A schools, but this time around, administrators decided to test the 2A waters.

Former Liberty Athletic Director Stark Porter said he looked at the move as a two-year experiment, after which the school would re-evaluate things.

Hazen’s basketball star signs with ASU

With the swift stroke of a pen, Hazen High School senior Dominic Green made a permanent decision about the setting of his life’s next chapter Nov. 12.

The Hazen basketball star signed his national letter of intent to play at Arizona State University next year, officially making him a Sun Devil.

Green, a small forward, chose Arizona State over offers from schools such as Washington State University, Portland State University and the University of Montana.

Green is the first Hazen boys basketball player to sign with a Division I school since 1992, when Jason Hamilton began his career at San Diego State University before transferring to the University of Washington. Hamilton now serves as a radio analyst for the Huskies’ basketball team.

Patriots win first swim title

By Greg Farrar
The Liberty High School swim team cheers Nov. 15 as the 400-yard freestyle relay team wins the final event and the Patriots run away with their first-ever team state swimming championship.

The 2014 Liberty girls swim team won the program’s first state championship in a devastatingly dominant fashion. The Patriots won seven of the meet’s 12 events and left the King County Aquatic Center with a 2A record final score of 348 points.

To put that score in perspective, second-place finisher Sehome, coincidentally Liberty coach Kris Daughters’ alma mater, had 188 points.

“That was one of the most fun nights of my existence,” a beaming Daughters said at the end of the meet.

Senior Mackenna Briggs led Liberty swimmers with two individual wins, capturing the 100-yard butterfly with a 2A meet record time of 55.65 seconds, and cruising to victory in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.78. Briggs, a University of San Diego commit, also won the Swimmer of the Meet Award.

Hazen, Liberty wrestlers shine at Mat Classic

Malik Haythorne’s senior season of wrestling was emblematic of his entire Hazen High School team — growth was evident.

A year after failing to win a match at the state championships, Haythorne nearly wound up capturing a 3A state title. He settled for second place at 152 pounds as the Mat Classic XXVI wrapped up Feb. 22 at the Tacoma Dome.

Haythorne’s runner-up finish topped the Highlanders’ six-athlete contingent at the Mat Classic. Raven Svenson, a freshman who took seventh in the 155-pound girls division, was Hazen’s only other medalist.

On the Liberty side, three Patriots reached the medal podium.

Conner Small took third at 160 pounds, Romney Noel was sixth at 170 and Joanna Moreira took sixth in the 137-pound girls division.

Patriots put together big fall at 2A

In its first sports season at 2A, the Liberty Athletic Department put together an impressive 2014 fall postseason.

In addition to the swim team’s 2A state title, other teams took home hardware, too.

The Liberty boys and girls cross-country teams each earned third place at the state championships in Pasco Nov. 8, taking home the first state trophies in program history.

The Patriots’ volleyball team also made history, making its first state appearance and earning an eighth-place trophy.

Hazen senior named a Sea Gal

Hazen High School 2014 graduate Errin Mekel was selected as a member of the Seattle Seahawks dance team, the Sea Gals, for the 2014-2015 season.

Mekel, also a member of the state-champion Hazen drill team in 2014, competed in a marathon of workshops, tryouts and auditions to be selected as a Sea Gal.

She used her athleticism, knowledge of choreography and passion to win over judges in the selection process. Out of the hundreds of women who try out, only between 24 and 32 are selected for the squad.

Liberty tennis star goes out on top

A year after Liberty High School tennis player Jenny Adams teamed up with Kristy Braunston to take second at the 3A state doubles tournament, Adams went solo with almost as much success.

She placed fourth at the 3A state tennis singles tournament May 31.

Adams, who graduated in 2014 as one of Liberty’s best tennis players ever, defeated Shadle Park’s Audra Spargo in three sets to win the fourth-place medal.

Hazen coach steps down to lead alma mater

The Hazen High School football team began spring 2014 practices under new leadership after head coach Drew Oliver stepped down to take over at Newport High School, his alma mater.

Oliver took over the program in 2009, and under his direction, Hazen returned to the state playoffs during the 2011 season, for the first time since 1993.

Oliver, who grew up in the Newport Hills neighborhood, coached at Newport prior to accepting the job at Hazen.

David Kilpatrick-White took over for Oliver. The 2003 Bothell High School graduate came to Hazen via the Bothell program, having coached freshmen wide receivers.

Hazen finished 4-6 under the first-year coach.

The preface would note that her Hazen roots run deep. She was a member of the Liberty High School drill team before coming to Hazen, where she was the drill team captain in 1999.

Contributed
Hazen High School drill team and coaches show off their newest state championship trophy at the Yakima SunDome March 29. Hazen placed first in 3A pom.

The body of the story would detail her seven years as the Hazen drill coach, a golden era of sorts, as she led the Highlanders to several state titles.

The best part would be the ending, though, as Sargent’s team captured its third consecutive state title, in the same year she announced it would be her last.

That’s what happened March 29 as the Hazen drill team added to its overflowing trophy case with another great showing at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Dance and Drill State Championships in the Yakima SunDome.

The Highlanders took first in 3A pom with a score of 252.3.

“I told the girls, leaving with them is the exclamation point at the end of this job because it’s just been a great team,” Sargent said.

This year’s team was disciplined and hardworking, Sargent said. Drill is a huge time commitment. The girls practice for nearly 10 months of the year, rarely stopping for holidays, vacations or school breaks.

Academics are important to the squad. The drill team is held to a higher grade point average standard than other sports teams, Sargent said.

For the first time since Sargent had been at Hazen, a Hazen drill team member won a special WIAA academic scholarship at this year’s state event. Christine Ta, a senior, came away with the award.

“That was so special,” Sargent said. “She worked so hard and she’s an amazing student.”

Ta wasn’t the only Hazen driller to receive an individual honor at the state championship. Hazen senior Josie Fenske placed in the top six in the individual drill down competition that attracts hundreds of participants.

“There are about 400 or 500 kids on that floor, and Josie was one of the best out there,” Sargent said. “She’s always been really strong, but this is the farthest she’s ever made it.”

Sargent is now stepping away from the sport to take time to be with her kids. She doesn’t plan to stay away completely from the team, but she no longer has time for the commitment drill requires.

Her departure made her third consecutive year winning a state title a little bittersweet, she said, but she was glad to leave on a high note.

“It’s going to be OK. I’ll still be around, but this definitely feels like it’s the exact way I would want to go out,” she said.