Kitsap's spring sports teams reach postseason starting line
Three weeks left. That's all that remains of the high school sports calendar for 2022-23. Baseball, softball, boys soccer, track and field, tennis and golf are entering the final stretch. It would be great if we could see some more of those 70-degree days before the end of May arrives.
With the regular season for softball continuing for one more week, we'll focus here on the postseason picture for the rest of our spring sports teams. Let's begin with baseball, where West Sound will have no fewer than eight teams competing in the playoffs.
Olympic League champion Bainbridge (16-2) was scheduled to play a Class 3A West Central/Southwest Bi-District play-in game Friday against Mountain View, but a rainout pushed the game to Saturday. If the Spartans win, they'll play at Bonney Lake on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in another elimination game. In the same tournament, Central Kitsap (12-10) plays a loser-out road game Saturday against Kelso at Rister Stadium.
Sea-Tac League 1B champion Crosspoint (7-6) was scheduled to open district play Saturday against either Muckleshoot Tribal School or Darrington in a loser-out game at 2:30 p.m.
The West Central/Sea-King Bi-District 2A tournament begins Tuesday. A committee will determine this weekend how the 16 qualifying teams are seeded. From the Olympic League, teams moving forward should be North Kitsap (13-7), Port Angeles (13-5), Olympic (11-9), Bremerton (7-9) and Sequim (11-9). Kingston (5-12) could be alive for an at-large bid.
Nisqually League 1A champion Klahowya (16-2) will receive a first-round bye in West Central District tournament action and play its opening game Wednesday at Foss High School against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Elimination games for boys soccer teams
Four West Sound boys soccer teams were scheduled to play Saturday in district playoff action — and three were facing knockout games.
South Kitsap (3-11-2) was slated to play a loser-out game on the road against Union in the first round of the West Central/Southwest Bi-District 4A tournament; in the West Central/Southwest Bi-District 3A tournament, Olympic League co-champion Bainbridge (15-2) was scheduled for a loser-out game against Lincoln, while Central Kitsap (11-3) was lined up against Heritage in a winner-to-state game; Klahowya (8-7-1) was scheduled to host Cascade Christian in a loser-out West Central District 1A tournament game.
The West Central/Sea-King Bi-District 2A tournament, which features 16 teams, begins Tuesday at various locations. Similar to baseball, a district seeding committee is meeting over the weekend to figure matchups. The Olympic League gets four automatic berths, so co-league champion North Kitsap (12-1-1), Bremerton (8-7-0) and Port Angeles (8-7-0) are in. Kingston (6-8-1) and North Mason (5-8-0) were scheduled to play Saturday to determine the fourth seed. There are also three at-large berths available to fill out the district bracket.
Olympic League track and field starts first
Olympic League 2A track and field athletes were the first to the starting line in the postseason as North Kitsap began hosting the league championship meet on Thursday. The three-day meet was scheduled to conclude after press-time Saturday.
Here's a partial list of local champions, starting on the girls' side: 100-meter dash: N'Dya Hudson, Olympic, 13:46 seconds; 1,600: Mairin O'Brien, Bainbridge, 5:14.51; 100 hurdles: Leighton Menge, Kingston, 16.95; 4x100 relay: Olympic, 52.08; shot put: Sara Leasiolagi, Olympic, 36-3.5; pole vault: Ella McRitchie, Bainbridge, 12-6; triple jump: Shelby Snider, North Kitsap, 30-2.
Local champions on the boys' side included: 100: Logan Sloman, North Kitsap, 11.69; 400: Isaiah Cadengo, Bremerton, 51.55; 4x100: North Kitsap, 45.07; discus: Ivan Picazo, Bremerton, 136-3; javelin: James Rebman, North Kitsap, 149-6.
The rest of West Sound's track and field athletes have a few extra days to prepare for the postseason.
Crosspoint competes in the Sea-Tac League 1B championships Wednesday at Franklin Pierce High School; South Kitsap heads to South Puget Sound League 4A championships at Ingersoll Stadium in Olympia on Thursday and Saturday; Central Kitsap is in action at the South Sound Conference 3A championships at North Thursday High School on Thursday and Saturday; Klahowya travels to the Nisqually League 1A championships at Vashon Island High School on Saturday.
Golf, tennis teams set for busy week
West Sound's golf and tennis teams are in for a busy tournament schedule next week. Some events are the one-day variety, while others last multiple days.
Let's start with golf. Boys and girls teams from Bainbridge, Bremerton, Kingston, North Kitsap, North Mason and Olympic are headed to Kitsap Golf & Country Club on Monday for the Olympic League 3A/2A championships. The 18-hole event tees off at 9 a.m.
South Kitsap's boys begin play in the South Puget Sound League 4A tournament at Auburn Golf Course on Monday. The 36-hole event concludes Tuesday; Central Kitsap's boys and girls are playing in the South Sound Conference 3A tournament at the Capitol City Golf Club in Olympia on Monday. It's an 18-hole event; Klahowya is competing in the Nisqually League 1A tournament at Druids Glen in Covington. The boys play 18 holes on Monday and the girls play 18 holes on Tuesday.
For tennis, North Kitsap High School is hosting the Olympic League 2A girls tournament, which includes Bremerton, Kingston, North Mason and Olympic. The two-day event, which began May 4, concludes Monday.
South Kitsap's girls travel to Bellarmine Prep for the South Puget Sound League 4A championships, which runs Tuesday through Friday; Klahowya's girls are competing Thursday-Friday in the Nisqually League 1A championships at the Jupiter Tennis Center in Edgewood, Central Kitsap hits the road Friday and Saturday for the South Sound Conference Championships at Canterwood Country Club in Gig Harbor.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Kitsap playoff preview for soccer baseball track golf and tennis
