Martin: These were the 25 best moments of the 2024-25 season

Posted

The sun may be visible for longer as the days draw deeper into summer, but it has set on the high school season. Graduations are into high gear as the Class of 2025 moves on to greener pastures while the Class of 2029 readies to embark on their journey.

As we close another chapter on prep athletics in Lewis and South Thurston County, let’s countdown the top 25 moments of the 2024-25 season in descending order.

No. 25 – Tumwater, Napavine show out in Week 1

It didn’t take long for the two best teams in the area to start the season on a strong foot. The Thunderbirds obliterated Class 4A Puyallup 56-6 and the Tigers trounced 2A Hudson’s Bay 47-7. It should have been no surprise these two would end up back at Husky Stadium.

No. 24 – Treyton Marty finally captures district title

The top boys runner in the area needed until his senior year to secure a Class 2B District 4 individual title. After two consecutive runner-up placements, Marty crossed the finish line in 16 minutes, 44 seconds to be the top runner in the district.

No. 23 – C2BL Volleyball regular season chaos

The top of the league was locked with Adna, but the middle and bottom of the C2BL came down to the wire. Morton-White Pass upended Toledo at home in a five-set thriller to solidify a spot in the district tournament and the Riverhawks nabbed the final spot thanks to beating Napavine.

No. 22 – Week 8 turned out to be blowout city

Much of us in the sports department were billing Week 8 as the best week of the prep football season with league-title implications between Tumwater and W.F. West plus Toledo facing Onalaska. The Thunderbirds and Loggers proceeded to dismantle their opponents in one-sided matchups.

No. 21 – Tenino’s boys basketball turnaround

From potentially being a top-five team in Class 1A to all of a sudden staring at 2-9 entering league play, the Beavers leaned on their MVP and senior leader Austin Gonia to place second in the league and return to Round of 16 in the state tournament.

No. 20 – Daniel Rodas honored by Seahawks

Oakville senior and star multi-sport athlete Daniel Rodas was recognized by the Seattle Seahawks as its Latino Youth Honors male nominee of the program in September. Rodas put together a record-breaking season for the Acorns with over 1,400 receiving yards in leading them to a crossover.

No. 19 – Karsyn Freeman reaches 2,000 career points

Likely won’t be the only mention of the Adna star in this story. Freeman hit the milestone with a free throw in a non-league game versus Olympia in December. She became the first Pirate to ever get to 2,000 points in leading them to a regular season league title.

No. 18 – Centralia softball takes 2-of-3 versus W.F. West

Despite the Tigers not making the postseason, perhaps they can take some silver lining since they beat their top rivals twice in three league matchups. Hollynn Wakefield kept Centralia in the games with clutch pitching and the bats did just enough to win the season series.

No. 17 – State championship coach says The Chronicle is the best

The current sports staff of Sports Editor Dylan Wilhelm, sports/news reporter Dylan Reubenking – who still has never made an appearance on Sports Dump – and I were told by Adna softball head coach Bruce Pocklington the three of us are the best batch of reporters this fine paper has ever had. Take that, AVT!

No. 16 – Rainier volleyball’s upward trajectory

Under the direction of Carrie Ooms for three years, the Mountaineers have gone from inconsistent to consistent in leaving Yakima with trophies. They picked up back-to-back four-set wins on the last day of the Class 2B state tournament to garner fifth place and a trophy for the second consecutive year.

No. 15 – EvCo boys basketball like a rollercoaster

It has been, for much of the last half-decade, a three-team race for the top between Black Hills, Tumwater and W.F. West. The Wolves ended up on top for the first time in five years, but it was far from easy. They split with Tumwater and it went 1-1 against W.F. West. Black Hills beating the Bearcats twice ended up as the primary difference.

No. 14 – Some dominant spring pitching

Southwest Washington was home to plenty of top pitching in both baseball and softball. Arms like Ella Ferguson (Tumwater), Layna Demers (Rochester), Taylor Tobin (W.F. West) and Avery LaFontaine (Adna) honed in plenty of masterpieces in softball. And in baseball, the top pitchers ranged from Liam Smaciarz (PWV), Cameron Nakano (Adna), Hayden Rooney (W.F. West), Cal Bullock (Napavine) amongst others.



No. 13 – Mossyrock girls rise to return to state tournament

Back in Class 2B for the first time in four years, the Vikings’ girls basketball program rebounded from a first round district tournament loss all the way to the Round of 16 at state behind a defensive-first identity. While the final scores were never pretty, first-year head coach Nick Rashoff made it work to get the most out of a young bunch of players.

No. 12 – Hoyt-Siler garners another state medal

Bowling may not be prominent in SW Washington, but one of the premier teams in Class 2A hails from Chehalis and led by coach Rich Bunker, the Bearcats have made it routine to compete for state titles. Top bowler Savanna Hoyt-Siler finished top-10 for the second straight state tournament heading into her final year leading W.F. West.

No. 11 – Derek Thompson’s postseason heroics

For the Evergreen Conference MVP, the Class 2A District 4 tournament is where he shined the most. Thompson capped an eight-run sixth inning with a go-ahead grand slam to lead Tumwater to a 9-5 win in the quarterfinals. Then in the title game, he launched a walk-off solo home run to upend W.F. West 5-4 in eight innings.

No. 10 – Rochester football wins first league title this century

In their first year down in Class 1A, the Warriors got the good vibes going with their first football league championship since 1999. They triumphed past traditional 1A power Montesano in a 16-12 slugfest at home then beat Hoquaim handily to secure the title.

No. 9 – Corwin brothers go out together with runner-up finish

Centralia’s star-studded duo of brothers Jacoby and Zander Corwin ended their lone season as partners with a runner-up finish in the Class 2A state tournament in Seattle. The two dominated all season long en route to sub-district and district titles. They pulled out two three-set wins to reach the championship match.

No. 8 – Another year of second place for Tumwater, Napavine football

While the ultimate goal of reigning supreme in football fell short, the Thunderbirds and Tigers both returned to Husky Stadium for the second straight season. Tumwater dropped a low-scoring heartbreaker to Anacortes while Napavine was blown out by Okanogan. Both teams return a good amount of talent in hopes of getting back for 2025.

No. 7 – Rochester softball makes history

“Championship expectations” was the phrase stated by head coach Joni Guerrero after the Warriors’ run in the 2A state tournament last spring came to an end. That carried into their first year in 1A where they reached the state championship game for the first time in school history. They fell to league rival Montesano, but behind an experienced group, left Richland with a second place trophy.

No. 6 – Luke Barrick resets state record book

The chance at a state record came down to the final attempt and Barrick, the Onalaska junior pole vaulter, came through in the clutch. He cleared the bar at 15 feet, 7 inches to break a seven-year Class 2B state record to win his first career Class 2B state title. He was one of several factors in helping the Loggers take third in the team race.

No. 5 – Sloane Kruger goes through senior season unblemished

One of the best girls wrestlers to come through South Thurston County, Kruger was literally perfect en route to a state title at 100-pounds in Class 2A. The Black Hills senior was a bonus point machine to the tune of 48 wins and zero losses. She was joined on the title-winning podium by W.F. West’s Kaylee Lehman and Rainier’s Chloe Willis.

No. 4 – Discus throwers were kings and queens of 2B and 1B

The top four throwers in Class 2B on the girls side all came from the C2BL. Onalaska’s trio were all top-five on the boys side. And the top 1B boys thrower came from the little town of Oakville. When the state meet came to an end, District 4 was where discus throwers were on top of the throne as Janess Blackburn (Rainier), Lewis Koser (Oakville) and Ethan Thayer (Onalaska) all claimed state titles. It was Koser’s second, Thayer and Blackburn’s first.

No. 3 – W.F. West’s senior group end basketball career with trophy

One of the most decorated bunch of seniors – Julia Dalan, Amanda Bennett, Grace Simpson and Ellie Clinton – ended their prep careers with their second state trophy of their careers, departing Yakima with a sixth place finish in Class 2A. Dalan and Bennett broke several school and state tournament records in their final journey together and the Bearcats won their second straight District 4 title.

No. 2 – Tucker Land ends senior season in glory

The W.F. West senior experienced plenty of heartbreak at three previous Mat Classics, but in his final time donning a Bearcat singlet, finally captured his first ever state wrestling championship with an 11-8, TB-1 victory at 190-pounds. Land finished his career with a 28-1 record and four state medals.

No. 1 – Adna softball claims first ever three-peat

It had been a trying girls athletics year for the Pirates, getting swept by Manson in the state title volleyball match and losing a late fourth quarter lead to NW Christian in the girls basketball championship game. All that heartache was swept away in Adna’s quest for a three-peat in softball that came to a thrilling end in a 10-6 win over Freeman. The Pirates became the first 2B team to ever win three softball titles in a row.