Michael Smith (right) starts his watch and heads out with other runners June 13 on the 7.6-mile Cougar Mountain Trail series race. By Greg Farrar

A little more than 30 years ago, Michael Smith loaded his running shoes and his other earthly belongings into a pint-sized Honda 600 car and moved to Seattle from his San Francisco Bay-area home.

He never moved back to the city by the bay and the two-cylinder, 36-horsepower micro car bit the dust decades ago.

In the past three decades, Smith has made quite a name for himself in the local running community after winning several Cougar Mountain Trail series and other races. Smith, who coaches the Liberty High School track and cross country teams, can hold his own with runners half his age.

Fresh out of high school, a friend suggested Smith enroll at Highline Community College.

“He said, ‘It’s really green up here and you really have to come here,” Smith said.He participated on the school’s track and cross country teams. He also competed at the University of Idaho and later decided to give running a chance as a career.

A few elite runners in the U.S. have the sponsors and employer backing to make a living out of running, but Smith didn’t see that in his future.

“I saw no payday in sight and there was not a lot of incentive to continue to be a running bum,” he said. “There are three kinds of bums, you know: ski bums, surfer bums and running bums.”

To continue running, Smith held a variety of jobs, including selling cars and working at a nursery. Amid the Douglas firs and noble pines, Smith had an epiphany.

“I got to thinking, there’s got to be a better way to make a living than dipping trees in green paint,” he said.

So, at age 25, Smith enrolled at Whitworth College in Spokane. He ran as a member of the team’s track and cross country teams while pursuing a degree in business.

“Runners from nearby Mead High School wanted me to go out partying with them,” he said. “I told them no, that I had a wife to go home to. I also told them, ‘I don’t want to buy you beer.’”

After graduating from Whitworth, Smith moved to Renton and went to work for the Boeing Co.

Five years ago, he began coaching the Liberty track and cross country teams. Liberty’s track team had 13 athletes qualify for this year’s track meet at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

“That’s an unprecedented amount of athletes going to state from Liberty,” said Steve Bice, father of Eric Bice, who placed fifth in the 1,600-meter race at state. “He leads by example. He’s not some fat guy up there in the bleachers asking his athletes to run four more laps.”

Smith said athletes like Bice make him look like a better coach.

“It wasn’t me,” Smith said. “I had a kid who did the things you asked him to do.”

Reach Reporter Jim Feehan at 392-6434, ext. 239, or jfeehan@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

Johanna Carr, of Issaquah, bolts from the starting block for the first leg of her 4x200 team's relay race during the girls 4A state championships May 30 in Tacoma. File

Johanna Carr is on the fast track to a successful athletic career at the University of Washington.

She recently graduated from Issaquah High School after four years as one of the school’s top sprinters.

Carr competed in state in the 100-meter dash each year. During her high school career, she primarily ran the 100 and 200 dashes and the 400 and 800 relays. This year, she won Issaquah’s Rotary Athlete of the Year.

“It’s pretty unusual for a high school student to compete all four years, especially in the same event,” said head coach Gwen Robertson. “It speaks to her ability to stay consistent. She is definitely a hard worker.”

There have been hurdles, too. This season’s state competition didn’t turn out exactly how Carr had planned, but she said she still looks forward to continuing her track career with a scholarship at the UW.“At state, I should have performed better, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Some things just don’t work out. It’s just part of sports. There are high points and low points,” she said. “If there’s one thing I can say I’ve learned from track, it is how to be resilient. I’ve discovered that you have to get back up when you get knocked down.”

Her older brother, Garrison Carr, has influenced her humility and positive outlook.

“I learn a lot from my brother. He has one of the best work ethics I have ever seen,” she said.

Athleticism runs in the family—Garrison Carr was an all-star basketball player at Issaquah High and has been a three-year starter at American University, leading his team to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament the past two years. The Carr siblings agree that their parents’ support has lead to success in not only sports, but in life as well.

“My sister is very hard working and goal oriented. Once she sets her mind on something, she works as hard as possible to achieve it,” Garrison Carr said. “She is very competitive, and that competitiveness pushes her to work hard and stay focused on her goals.”

Robertson said Johanna Carr was essentially the team’s top sprinter all four years. She applied the same rigorous dedication to her education and maintained a 3.5 grade point average through high school. She said she looks forward to studying communication at the UW, and aspires to work in broadcast journalism.

“I’m really excited to go to college, and glad that I will be able to continue my athletic career,” she said. “The love that I have for track just makes me want to keep doing it, no matter what happens.”

Reisha Abolofia is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.

While the Patriots’ boys basketball past hasn’t exactly been the Dark Ages, the program’s history has been devoid of success. Liberty has just two winning seasons in the record books — 1988 (12-10) and 1980 (11-9).

The Patriots, who have reached the KingCo Conference tournament a few times, have never been to the state tournament.

Last season, Liberty was 4-8 in the 3A KingCo and 7-13 overall under former coach Chris Bilanko, who resigned in April to become head coach at Seattle’s Bishop Blanchet.

Bilanko was Liberty’s head coach for five seasons and had a 26-73 overall record. He had succeeded Jon Kinsley in 2004. Kinsley had a 29-98 mark.

Green, the ninth boys basketball coach in Liberty’s history, said he is aware of the program’s past. While Liberty has often lacked height and talent to compete with KingCo’s upper class, the Patriots seldom have lacked hustle and heart. Green said he believes Liberty is ready to make a move upward.

After watching Liberty players this spring in camps, open gym shootouts, and on film, he said he believes the program has talent. He doesn’t only watch the History Channel.

“There is some talent at the school. A lot of kids are two- and three-sport athletes,” Green said. “I believe we do have the players to compete with Mercer Island, Bellevue and Mount Si in KingCo. Our goal is to be among the upper teams in KingCo.”

Green, a former two-time all-state player for Seattle’s Nathan Hale, has a major goal for the team.

“One of my main goals is I want each player to get better individually. If they get better individually, we will get better as a team,” he said.

Liberty basketball could have a different look on the court. Green said he plans to implement some strategies he’s seen work as a player and assistant coach. He wants the Patriots to become an up-tempo team on offense and a better defensive team.

“We have to be a better defensive team to succeed,” he said. “We will pressure the ball, create turnovers and that will lead to getting baskets on offense. Our players will have to be in shape.”

Some of his strategies come from playing in the Metro League, and from Franklin, which has won state titles at both the 3A and 4A levels.

“Franklin has won with no size, but it plays that pressure defense. They just pressure teams all over the court,” he said.

Before coming to Liberty, Green was an assistant coach at Seattle’s Cleveland last season, and a former assistant at Lakes in Lakewood.

The 32-year-old has experience as a college player at Idaho and West Virginia State universities. He also was a player-coach on a European League team in Serbia, and on a minor league team in North Dakota.

A knee injury ended his playing career, but opened the door for coaching, something he has often thought about in the past.

In high school, Green played football, basketball and baseball. He was talented enough in football as a wide receiver that he was recruited by college teams. He earned all-Metro League honors in football.

However, basketball was his first love and his favorite sport. Green led the state in scoring as a junior (28.8 points per game) and senior (31.7). In 1994, he helped lead Nathan Hale to the Class 3A state tournament and had quite an amazing finale.

He hit a tournament-record, nine 3-point field goals, and finished with 46 points, tying a career high, against Metro rival O’Dea in the Tacoma Dome. However, O’Dea, behind the 48 points of Ryan Williams, won the wild contest 89-87.

“It was the last game for a lot of players. Everybody played. It was a lot of fun,” Green said.

It was also the last time Nathan Hale has been to the state tournament.

John Burnley, Green’s coach at Nathan Hale, and JoJo Rodriguez, who he assisted at Lakes, are among Green’s role models as coaches. Rodriguez was also a successful coach at Garfield. Both relied on pressure defense.

While Liberty will be a pressure team, Green has not lost one other element for the program.

“I want basketball to be fun for the players. If it’s not fun, they shouldn’t do it,” he said.

He is enthusiastic about Liberty’s future. That enthusiasm impressed Liberty’s selection committee.

“Jevon’s basketball experience and knowledge are extensive,” Liberty athletic director Stark Porter said. “We’re excited what he can do for our program.”

Sports are fun for Green’s whole family. His wife Raynette, a former college player, is like another coach.

“She also knows me better than anyone in my life,” Green said.

His daughter, Deaujrae, who will be a freshman at Kennedy High in the fall, is a talented soccer player. She plays for a select team that requires the family to travel across the country.

The Greens have three other children – Dominic, 12, Jalen, 9, and Jevonne, 6.

“All are athletes,” Green said proudly. “We get out and see them in all their games.”

And the family also supports Green when he’s coaching. They will be in the stands next winter for Liberty basketball games.

That is, unless they’re home watching the History Channel.

Reach Sports Editor Bob Taylor at 392-6434, ext. 236, or bobtaylor@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

Christopher Kobak putts on the 18th hole June 24 at West Seattle Golf Course. Kobak barely missed the cut for the Washington Junior Golf Association District 2 Championship, shooting an 83. By Christopher Huber

Skyline High School golfer Jordan Windsor wasn’t satisfied with the way he drove the ball June 24 at West Seattle Golf Course.

But he executed enough decisive putts throughout the 18-hole Junior Worlds qualifier to help him tie for third in the 16-17 age group with a 75-stroke finish on the par-72 course.

“It’s definitely on the better side of what I’ve played,” he said after the match.

On the par-5 fourth hole, Windsor sunk a 40-foot putt for birdie, he said. He attributed some of his setbacks to numerous 2-putt holes.

“It’s mostly putting that got me,” he said. But “it was just putting that saved the round.”

A handful of Issaquah and Sammamish youth golfers gathered with dozens of Seattle-area youth at West Seattle to vie for the Washington Junior Golf Association District 2 Championship. The one-day tournament served as the qualifier for the final, to be held July 20-21 at Willows Run Golf Course.It also served as a Junior Worlds Championship qualifier for players ages 14-17.

Issaquah youth Darius Lalier missed the cut for Tumwater, but qualified for the District 2 Championship. He shot an 81, which landed him tied for the last qualifier spot in the 14-15 age group.

He said he had hoped to shoot in the 70s, but acknowledged a rough outing on the front nine. He turned things around on the back nine and eventually chipped the ball in for birdie on the 16th hole.

“I’m feeling OK,” he said after the match. “I should have done better, but I think I’ll hold up alright.”

Mersadie Tallman, of Issaquah, placed third in the girls’ 12-13 match. Her 101-stroke finish was good enough to move on to the district championship at Willows Run.

In the 16-17 age group, Nathan Stephenson, of Issaquah, shot an 81 and missed the cut for the district tournament by two strokes. Issaquah High student Ben Halter shot an 89 at West Seattle.

Issaquah High junior Derek Wilson took the last spot for the 16-17 boys district qualifier with a 79-stroke finish. He tied with Woodinville’s Alex Mroz. Brian Batt and Bryan Jung shot 100 and 102 respectively.

The Tumwater Junior Worlds qualifier will feature 54 youth golfers competing for the top four spots. They will play at Junior Worlds in San Diego later this month.Reach Reporter Christopher Huber at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

Nate Bean (8), Issaquah Purple midfielder, drives the ball against Puyallup, in one of the Battle of Bothell tournament games that got them into the finals against the Lake Oswego, Ore., lacrosse team. By Charles Mauzy / Issaquah Youth Lacrosse

They didn’t have it in the bag, but going into last weekend’s Battle of Bothell, the Issaquah Silver fifth- and sixth-grade lacrosse team was confident about its chances of winning the tournament championship.

The boys, from Issaquah and Sammamish, had won it in 2008 and looked to capitalize on their experience and disciplined conditioning. They did, and after easily winning the first few rounds on the waterlogged North Creek playfields, Issaquah Silver outshot and outhustled Beaverton, Ore., in a 7-3 championship victory.

“In the early rounds, it was pretty easy, but it started getting a little harder. In the championship round, it was pretty tough,” said standout attackman Jordan Greenhall. “Beaverton, they had a couple of really strong middies that were really good.”

The annual Battle of Bothell tournament featured 62 teams from the Northwest, including dozens of local teams and some from Oregon and Canada, with players ranging from fifth to 11th grades. Parents and players gathered at the playfields June 19-21 to enjoy a weekend of lacrosse.

In the end, the teams had played 107 games combined, said tournament coordinator Stan Kosick. It was the first year Battle of Bothell had rain. “We started out real strong,” said Silver 5/6 coach Scott Johnston. “We dominated ground balls and we dominated faceoffs, which was the main thing.”

Greenhall said his team (the Flames) got out to an early 3-0 lead and bolstered it with three more before halftime. The Flames led 6-2 at the break. Sam Britt held strong in the goal, in the second half.

“Sam played really well,” Greenhall said. “He made lots of saves.”

But, as it had throughout the day June 21, the weather intervened and forced an early decision. Issaquah became the repeat Battle of Bothell 5/6 champions, winning 7-3 on account of lightning.

“It was just really fun and exciting to win again,” Greenhall said.

He scored one goal and had two assists and four ground balls in the final match. Teammate Tyler Johnston had a game-high three goals with two assists and two ground balls.

“The tournament’s a blast,” Scott Johnston said. “These kids all worked hard and they deserved it. The one thing our kids were is well-conditioned kids.”

The Issaquah High School Purple crew managed to win its way to the final, but lost 6-3 to annual powerhouse Lake Oswego, of Oregon. The game got a late start due to thunder and lightning storms.

“Part of it was we came out pretty flat and we just couldn’t finish,” said midfielder Nate Bean. “They reset well. (We) didn’t move the ball quick enough and they recovered really well.”

Although the high schoolers didn’t repeat a Battle of Bothell win in 2009, Bean said it was still nice to play in the final. Being a post-season, mostly for-fun tournament, there was less pressure to win.

“Whenever you get to the top of anything, it’s always nice. It was thrilling, but I want to call it fun,” Bean said. “I think it’s such a big deal because it’s a summer kickoff.”

The Issaquah Youth Lacrosse league fielded other teams as well, including the 7/8 purple, gold and green teams. The Eastlake and Sammamish lacrosse leagues also fielded teams.

“It’s a great tournament, I think because you get to play against other teams from Oregon and teams from around Seattle. It’s pretty fun,” eighth-grader Nick Mauzy said after the tournament. “It’s great that they can get all the teams to come down here.”

Reach Reporter Christopher Huber at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

Sarah Lowes (No. 8), of Newcastle, a water polo player for Castaway Polo Athletic team, in action during the state championship match against Mercer Island High School. Contributed

Two Newcastle athletes were members of the Castaway Polo Athletic team that won the state water polo title last month with a 10-7 win against Mercer Island High School.

Mackenzie Maynes and Sarah Lowes both scored goals and had assists in the May 15 championship match against Mercer Island.

Castaway Polo Athletic surged to an 8-2 lead before the half and held off a late surge by the Islanders to capture the title.

Maynes, a senior at Liberty High School, will attend Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on an athletic scholarship to play water polo. Lowes is a junior at Liberty.The victory capped an undefeated season, which was remarkable considering the squad had only seven members.

Water polo is the oldest continuous Olympic team sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper.  So, any injuries or illnesses would have forced a forfeit, because matches require seven players.

Castaway Polo Athletic trains at the Edgebrook Club, near Tyee Junior High School in Bellevue. The team is made up of players from high schools that do not have water polo. The squad has players from Liberty, Sammamish, Eastside Catholic and Holy Names high schools.

Maynes and Lowes were also members of Liberty’s swim team last season.

The team is scheduled to participate in the U.S. Club Water Polo championships July 10-12 in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the water polo girls Junior Olympics July 30-Aug. 2 at San Jose, Calif.

Molly Nelson, Issaquah fastpitch team catcher, hits a two-RBI single for her team against Bellevue in a 2007 game, as she also hit three doubles that day. By Greg Farrar

Molly Nelson was a four-year Issaquah High School softball starter with an outstanding record and a lifelong passion for the game.

Crouched at the knees, her eyes keenly focused dead ahead, she played catcher like a pro. During her last two years, she called all pitches — often without intervention from a coach.

“In my opinion, there was no one better at catcher or (who had) the ability to play that position,” said Jim Magnuson, who recently stepped down as Issaquah softball coach.

In addition to her great arm and imposing defensive skills, Nelson had a .400 batting average this year and led the team in total hits. She earned 4A KingCo Conference first-team honors and helped the Eagles tie for first place in the Crown Division.

“There is no doubt in my mind that if you had to describe someone as a leader on our team, she would be at the top. The girls respect her and her work ethic,” said assistant coach George Bray.“She is one of those girls that has really taken off in the sport. Last year, she was voted 3A KingCo Most Valuable Player,” he said.

But Nelson has decided not to play the sport in college.

Nelson’s softball career began with T-ball at age 5. Her love for the game encouraged year-round participation in school-sponsored and select teams.

“I just love baseball and softball,” she said. “It’s always been my family’s game.”

Both of her parents, Cindy and Mike Nelson, and her older brother Mitchell play on local teams. Molly Nelson joked that her mom’s been waiting for her to be old enough to join her slow-pitch team.

Molly Nelson has displayed exceptional qualities off the field as well, according to those who know her. As a natural and highly respected leader, she strived to motivate and inspire her team.

“She is very caring about her teammates, very team oriented. Leadership qualities just exude from her,” Bray said. “You wouldn’t even know that she is this dominating softball player.”

Nelson said she thought about playing college ball. Magnuson said he truly believed  “she could play at the next level. She could play in the Pac-10.”

She wrestled with the idea.

“It was a really hard decision. I love it so much that I don’t want it to become a job,” she said.

In the fall, Nelson plans to attend Washington State University to study sports medicine and continue her interest in athletics by helping others. She will leave the opportunity to play collegiate-level softball behind — with aspirations of becoming a physical therapist.

“I think I will miss it in college, but it will still be a part of my life forever,” she said of the sport.

Reisha Abolofia is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.

Jim Magnuson

Jim Magnuson, who directed Issaquah High School’s fastpitch team to an 18-7 record in its first season at the 4A KingCo Conference level, is stepping down as the head girls fastpitch coach.

“I felt it’s time,” he said. “I wanted to stick out this season because of the seniors on the team. I wanted to get another run at state, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

Issaquah tied with Redmond for first place in the Crest Division during the regular season, but the Eagles’ season came to an end when they were eliminated in the consolation finals of the league tournament.

Magnuson has been at Issaquah for the past seven years. During that time, the Eagles won four 3A KingCo Conference championships and reached the 3A state tournament five times, including a run of three consecutive years, from 2006-2008.“We had a pretty good run. That’s not bad in seven years,” Magnuson said. “We had a lot of quality kids come through the program. We had a lot of good pitchers. You don’t win a lot of games without good pitching. We definitely benefited from a good Little League program, too.”

Magnuson said he will miss his coaching staff, and assistant head coach George Bray in particular.

“There’s none better than George as a coach,” he said.

Magnuson was softball coach at Renton’s Hazen High School for 19 years, serving as slowpitch coach before the program converted to fastpitch.

In addition to coaching softball, Magnuson has been a football coach for 27 years. He was a former assistant at Issaquah High School. Magnuson, who teaches in the Renton district, hopes to coach on the Hazen football staff this fall. He hasn’t ruled out returning as a fastpitch coach, but said he wants to take at least two seasons off.

Issaquah athletic director Michael Bailey said the Eagles would be looking to fill the head coach position in the fall.

Dallas Cross

If you listen carefully with your head underwater or place a sonic microphone in Lake Sammamish, you might hear some clicking fading in and out.  

No, it isn’t freshwater submarine sonar. The clicks are from acoustic tags emitting information from fish recently caught and released. Tagging was conducted by a task team led by the Bellevue-Issaquah chapter of Trout Unlimited working with the King County Department of Resources, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Save Lake Sammamish organization. 

In a continuing effort to understand different life-cycle elements of the possibly endangered kokanee salmon-trout, Trout Unlimited volunteers and members of the public initiated a program to tag several fish species in the lake. Although partially supported by a grant, funds still are needed to complete the project. The local Trout Unlimited chapter has initiated an “Adopt a Kokanee” fund raising program described on its Web site, www.tu-bi.org.

I recently joined volunteers and kokanee sponsors to fish for kokanee and cutthroat trout in Lake Sammamish with barbless hooks. When a fish was caught, it was placed in a container with aerated water. A cell phone call was then made to a pick-up boat to which the fish was transferred and ferried to a fish biologist’s work station on shore. 

At the work station, fish were examined and fitted with an acoustic device that broadcasts continuously. After holding fish overnight to assure their fitness, they were released back into the lake for monitoring.  

Listening monitors have been strategically placed in the lake to record the position of each tagged fish and its ambient temperature. Task team members regularly download data from the monitors for processing. Trout Unlimited plans to catch and tag additional fish during the summer, including Northern pike-minnow (nee squawfish) and bass.

Biologists hope to fill in missing pieces of the life cycles and habitat preferences of the tagged fish. Kokanee in the lake are alarmingly decreasing in numbers. It is hoped that this study will provide information about kokanee that choose to spawn on gravel beaches in the lake instead of in creek beds. 

A complimentary study is under way, manned by Trout Unlimited volunteers. They are wrapping up a month of cold and rainy nights trapping and counting newly hatched kokanee fry returning to the lake down Lewis Creek. This census will add to a two-year database helping biologists to determine the extent of decline of this genetically-unique run of fish.

This spring, 187 returning kokanee fry have been counted to date; as compared to 195 in 2008 and 2,232 in 2007, when the survey was made daily instead of three times per week. Only a few fry have been seen recently and this may be close to the final tally for this year. 

My initial experience with kokanee fishing was on Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho. Kokanee were planted in the lake as forage fish for large Kamloops lake trout and quickly multiplied such that 200 was set as the initial fishing limit. When I fished, the limit was 50 and we caught them trolling with pop gear and wedding ring lures baited with small corn kernels, the same gear we used to capture kokanee for the Lake Sammamish tagging project.

The reward for successful kokanee fishing in Lake Pend Oreille was wonderful. You could walk into a saloon, plop 50 fresh kokanee on the counter and the barman would shove back 25 nicely smoked ones with a plate of crackers. Together with a cold beer, this made a hearty lunch.

In the 1970s, I fished for kokanee in Lake Sammamish and observed the fishing methods of Issaquah’s good old boys. On the way to the lake, they would stop at the Darigold Creamery and pick up a bucket of small cheese curds. After chumming the curds in the lake, they trolled the milky trail catching kokanee with meal worms on a spinner. 

Hard-working and dedicated individuals, such as those comprising the multigovernmental Kokanee Conservation Work Group, have expressed a goal of once again having a public fishery for kokanee in Lake Sammamish. I am stocking up on crackers and beer with hope to celebrate their success. 

Reach Dallas Cross at FishJournal@aol.com. View previous articles at www.FishJournal.org. Comment on this column at www.issaquahpress.com.

“We’re off to a good start,” Reese said. “Some of our young guys are really doing a good job.”

The pitching staff is deep and includes two holdovers from last season’s team: Adrian Sampson and Blake Fulghum, both from Skyline. Sampson had a 4-1 record last year and Fulghum had a 3-2 record with three saves.

Sampson, who earned 4A KingCo Conference all-league first-team honors this spring, comes off a big high-school season. The junior right-hander had a 7-1 record, tying for the conference lead in victories. He topped the league in strikeouts with 63 and was third in earned run average at 1.85.

Reese is hoping Sampson can duplicate the season his older brother Julian Sampson, now pitching in the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system, had as a junior. Julian Sampson blossomed into one of the top pitchers in the state that summer and was sensational in Senior American Legion post-season tournaments.

“Adrian has definitely been one of the top pitchers in KingCo. He has proved he can shine in the big games,” Reese said. “We’re definitely counting on him to have a big summer for us.”

The pitching staff also includes Shane Yarnell, Spencer Rogers, Matt Houser, Ethan Kalin, of Issaquah; Peyton Harrod and Jared Lemke, of Skyline; and Colin Hering, Jared Fisher and Cole Wiper, of Newport.

Yarnell, a junior right-hander, was 4-3 for Issaquah. He ranked second in 4A KingCo in strikeouts with 60. Yarnell was one of the key reasons Issaquah reached the 4A regionals this spring.

Rogers, probably best known as an outfielder, also pitched a lot for Issaquah. He had a 2-1 record with one save.

Hering, an outstanding outfielder and hitter, became one of Newport’s most dependable pitchers in the Knights’ run to the 4A semifinals. He won two key games to get Newport into the final four. Fisher had a 3-3 record for the Knights. Fulghum was 4-4 for Skyline while Lemke had a 2-1 record and Harrod, a reliever, had two saves.

“I think our pitching should be pretty good. We have good depth. We have guys who have pitched in big games,” Reese said.

Defensively, Lakeside looks solid up the middle. Devin O’Donnell, of Issaquah, will be the starting catcher. Trace Tam Sing, of Newport, will play shortstop; Shawn Ellis, of Skyline, will play at second base and at third base; Ryan Somers, of Skyline, is the utility guy who will play just about anywhere he’s needed; Kevon Zadeh, of Newport, will play at first base.

Tam Sing, in addition to being a solid defensive player, also ranked among KingCo’s top hitters with a .424 average.

“He’s really a good player. He hit the ball well for us last summer and we expect another good season from him,” Reese said.

The outfield features Rogers, a two-time all-league first-team selection; Hering, who earned all-state honors this season; Andrew West, of Newport; and Sean Penberthy, of Skyline.

The outfield will be strong offensively as Hering hit .439 this spring, Rogers batted .388, and Penberthy led Skyline in runs batted in with 16.

Rogers and Somers played for Lakeside last year. Rogers led the team in runs scored with 51 and hits with 69, and Somers topped the club in hitting with a .459 average.

“Somers gives us a lot of flexibility. In fact, we have some other guys who can play at other positions, too. It’s another one of our strengths,” Reese said.

Somers has a scholarship to Seattle University. Rogers has verbally committed to the University of Washington.

The team is younger this season, because some of the graduating seniors from the three feeder high schools decided to spend the summer working to earn money for college rather than play baseball. With the status of the national economy, Reese understands why those players decided to skip the season.

But he’s not counting out this club. Lakeside has a long, successful heritage. The program has won four state championships and has been to the Senior American Legion World Series.

“I think we have a pretty good team. I feel that way every year that we will have a team that will be competitive,” Reese said. “Definitely with our pitching staff and a good defensive team behind it, we have a chance to have a good season.”.