SPORTSs s

The Issaquah Press

�Wednesday, May 30, 2012Page B4

B4

By Matt CarstensIssaquah Press reporter

Two unearned runs in an error-riddled bottom of the first inning proved to be an insurmountable lead as the Liberty High School Patriots’ fast-pitch team lost to Everett in the first round of the 3A state tournament May 25.

Everett starting pitcher Lexi Levin took control after that, sur-rendering only one run in the top of the fourth on steal of home.

Although the quick exit from the state tournament was not what Liberty had in mind, head coach Brian Hartman said he knows that the return of Liberty to the state tournament is a return to normalcy.

“It’s a big deal,” Hartman said. “The program’s kind of back where it belongs. I think we’re about ready to start another streak here. We had a 12-year run here. It’s fun seeing everyone here. It means you’re back play-ing with the elite. You’re one of the top programs in the state and that’s where we expect to be.”

Hartman said he thinks the several-year layoff and relative post-season inexperience was evident in his young team.

“I saw a team that hadn’t been to the state tournament in a few years,” he said. “They looked a little bit nervous to start the game, we made a few errors, definitely wasn’t our best game of the year. But we had a chance to

beat a team that was 21-1. Like I told a few other people, I’m the happiest coach in the world to be here. There are a few other teams sitting at home right now that aren’t here. I’m proud of them. I’m disappointed that we lost, but Everett’s a great team.”

Hartman said he knew his team had some opportunities, but just weren’t able to string enough hits together off Levin.

“She had multiple pitches,” he said. “She had a rise ball, a drop ball, she was moving it in and off the plate. It was tough to establish what was going to be a strike and what wasn’t going to be a strike. And we had a number of oppor-tunities with people on base. We just couldn’t get them in.”

One Patriot who didn’t have a hard time with Levin was junior catcher Miranda Bukantz, who went 3-3 with two doubles, one of which led to her courtesy runner coming around to score the lone Liberty run.

“When I get up there, I have to know I’m better than the pitcher,” Bukantz said. “I’m going up to get a hit. In state, I just want to leave it all on the field. But it’s all mental. I just have to get up and be ready to hit, and know that I’m going to get a hit every single time that I do.”

Bukantz also threw out one of the fastest base stealers in the

BY GREG FARRAR

Miranda Bukantz, Liberty High School junior, stretches a single into a double on a throwing error to first during the fourth inning May 25.

First-round state loss leaves room to grow for Liberty’s youth

By Matt CarstensIssaquah Press reporter

It was sunny, hot and windy in the Tri Cities on May 26 when the undefeated, KingCo champion Is-saquah girls tennis team took sixth place at the 4A state tournament.

The duo of Sam Garrard and Kelsey Wilson took the doubles court in the semifinals and lost a three-set match to Kamiak High School.

“The girls played really well,” head coach Shannon Small said. “They got to the semis and then played a really tough opponent. It was a long, emotional match and

we didn’t come out the winner. Then, we played for third and sixth and we got sixth.”

Small was extremely proud of the two, and noted the conditions were less than ideal.

“They did really well given the conditions,” she said. “And given the fact that you’re stay-ing in a hotel, and you’re tired. They played great as a team, I was so proud of how they handled themselves. Their sportsmanship, just everything about what they did spoke of a champion to me, whether they walked away with the first or the sixth medal.”

Their road to the semis consist-

ed of beating Kentwood, 2-0, in the opening round and Davis, 2-0, in the quarterfinals. After losing to Kamiak, 2-1, in a back-and-fourth battle that went 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, Issaquah had to turn right around and play Garfield, which they lost in two sets, 6-2, 6-4.

“They basically played a three-and-a-half-hour match, turned around three minutes later and had to play again,” Small said. “They were just beat. And it was sunny and hot, their feet were all blistered, it was just a long day. I think they did really well.”

With the incredible undefeated season in the rear-view mirror,

Small said she is very excited for what lies on the road ahead.

“I fully expect them to be back at state next year,” she said. “I think it looks great, I think they’ll be back absolutely. They were 10-0 this year, they took second in districts, they took sixth in state. I definitely think they’ll be back. I think they’ll go even farther next year, too.”

Skyline players lose in early roundsSkyline High School’s Aman Manji

lost in the first round of the double-elimination tournament to second-place finisher Kent Andreasen, of Skyview, 6-4, 6-2. He then rallied and defeated Bellarmine Prep’s

Connor Brown, 6-1, 6-1. Manji lost a hard-fought match to Tom Gera-nion, of Ferris, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

On the girls’ side, Skyline’s Theresa Huang lost in the first round May 25 to Jelena Vidovic, of Union, 6-4, 6-2.

Later that day, Huang beat Alexis Gregerson, of Mount Rainer, 6-2, 6-3. Huang then lost to Kylee Tyler-Breimon, of Battle Ground, 6-3, 6-4. Huang did not officially place in the tournament.

Matt Carstens: 392-6434, ext. 236, or ip-sports@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Eagles duo Garrard/Wilson takes sixth in state doubles

See SOFTBALL, Page B5

By Matt CarstensIssaquah Press reporter

For Mersadie Tallman, going to state isn’t just about rep-resenting the Issaquah High School Eagles; it’s also about representing the Tallmans.

Her older sister Brittany, who is currently playing for the Uni-versity of Washington, won the 3A state championship in 2005 and 2007.

Now that Issaquah has moved to 4A, the competition has risen.

“Mersadie did pretty well,” Issaquah head coach Tom Baka-mus said. “She followed in her sister’s footsteps, which is pretty tough. She probably had a lot of pressure to live up to that.”

Tallman shot a 79 the first day, clearing the cut of 88 easily. On the second day, her score slipped to 81, which tied her for 14th overall.

“I know she was disappointed in how she finished,” Bakamus said. “But I know she took a lot of positives out of it, and I ex-pect nothing but better scoring from her in the next few years.”

Tallman is only a freshman, so Bakamus said he is excited for her future with Issaquah.

Issaquah girls golf had only one state representative, but it’s senior captain Elin Skaar-dal who Bakamus said he will miss the most.

“It’s going to be tough to replace her,” he said. “She was competitive through all four years, and she got better every year. She was definitely our No. 2 golfer all year long. She ran into a few difficulties at dis-tricts and didn’t quite make it to state. She was a great leader and a great teammate.”

On the boys’ side, Issaquah sent two, sophomore Taylor Swingle and junior Brian Jung, to state. Swingle shot an 82 on day one and made the cut right on the nose, while Jung shot an 83 and missed day two by one stroke.

Day two saw more difficulties for Swingle.

“Taylor had his troubles the next day,” Bakamus said. “He got into the rough, made a couple brave decisions. Good learning experience for him. Things he’ll learn and grow on.

“He tried to make a shot that was hard, instead of tak-ing your medicine, getting out to play it, he tried to take the miracle shot, which gets you more into trouble,” he added. “I think he ballooned on one hole and that multiplied into a couple bad holes right in a row. That kind of put him out of the tournament right away there.”

Even though Swingle had a rough go, Bakamus knows his future’s bright.

“He’s only a sophomore and he really improved over last year, so I really expect good things from him in the future,” Bakamus said.

Since the regular season for boys golf takes place in the fall and the state tournament isn’t until May, Bakamus said it puts them at a little bit of a disad-vantage.

“We only get them 20 days before state starts,” he said. “So most of their practice is on their own. For some people, it’s dif-ficult. Some people want to play baseball, and that’s the start of baseball season. Both of ours didn’t play any other sport, so they could practice on their own.”

Bakamus said it is difficult financially as well. If you don’t belong to a country club, you have to pay every time you want to practice.

“It really hurts our team be-cause there’s no golf course in Is-saquah,” Bakamus said. “And we don’t play on a private country club. We’re in a big disadvantage when we play the private country club schools. I think we’ve done pretty well lately.”

Golfers stand with Tallman at state

By Sebastian MoragaIssaquah Press reporter

Hiron Redman could barely believe it.

“Wow,” he thought. “This is it.”After knowing one another since

middle school, which they attend-ed together, Liberty High School’s Redman, Hamilton Noel, Joe Berg-mann and Josh Gordon would race together for the last time.

Bergmann and Redman are ju-niors, but their two pals are gradu-ating. And the 4x400 relay race at the state meet May 26 was probably the last time they would all suit up in uniforms of the same color.

To boot, it had not been their

finest meet, so they all felt extra pressure to put on a good show at their farewell race.

“None of us did as well as we wanted to this weekend,” Noel said. “So we were trying to make this one count.”

That, they did, earning third place at state, among what Noel called the highest level of competi-tion they had faced this year.

“We won this last year, and we were hoping to repeat,” he added. “But third is not bad at all.”

Neither is fifth, the overall finish for the Liberty boys at state.

Gordon finished tied for fifth in the high jump with 6 feet, 4 inches. He won the long jump with

22 feet, 8 inches, but still had his heart broken by the triple jump, which he finished in third place and in tears.

Bergmann finished 11th in the high jump, with 6 feet. Noel finished seventh in the pole vault, with 13 feet. Trevor Merritt finished 10th in the javelin with 166 feet, 8 inches.

Redman finished fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute, 54.21 seconds, a second shy of his personal best.

“I wanted to stay with (race-winner) Izaic (York) for as long as I could,” Redman said. “Then, I

By Sebastian MoragaIssaquah Press reporter

The tiger had chased the Is-saquah High School girls relay team all year.

And now here he was at the state meet, primly standing on the hand of one of the runners. He did not look menacing, but he was.

Earlier this year, the girls on the relay team had joked that they should run like a tiger was chasing them. So for state, they brought a tiger.

The feline helped five Eagle girls finish second in the 4x200 and 4x400 relays, with times of 1 minute, 42.6 seconds, and 3 min-utes 53.99 seconds, respectively.

“We beat our own record,” senior Madison Callan said after the 4x400 race. “That was our biggest goal.”

Callan, Amanda Chalfant, Mack Wieburg, Gabrielle Gevers and Juliana Da Cruz, the latter a 4x200 runner, celebrated their state run posing for pictures holding each other and the tiger.

“We have a lot of love in our team,” Callan said, adding they created a bluesy tune for the team, just for fun.

The Eagle girls, who finished

fifth overall, and boys, who came in 16th, specialized at having fun during the May 24-26 meet.

Senior sprinter Kyle Farmer said making it to state and fac-ing top competition was prize enough. For one, he was healthy.

“I got injured during state last year,” he said.

He also kept some elite com-pany during the 100-meter dash.

“Isaiah is one of the fastest people in the country for the 100 right now,” he said regarding Wenatchee’s Isaiah Brandt-Sims, later adding, “I got eighth, but I had a good time making it this far.”

Farmer finished in 11.32 seconds.

Eva Perry tied for second in the pole vault with 11 feet. Gevers finished fifth in the 100-meter race with 12.63 seconds, and the 200-meter race with 26.12 seconds.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Gevers said after the 200-meter dash. “I may not be the fastest, but I like pushing myself against people who are faster than me.”

Senior Jorrell Dorsey finished second in the long jump on a tiebreaker and fifth in the triple jump. In 2011, he had finished

seventh and ninth, respectively.“I didn’t expect to place in the

long jump,” he said of this year, where he landed at 23.05 feet. “But my coach gave me some good tips and my friends in the stands helped me.”

Dorsey ended up besting his personal record by a foot and a half.

“My family and parents came all the way out from Issaquah to see me jump,” he wrote in a subsequent email. “And I had my No. 1 fan Lauren Bruner cheer-ing for me in the stands, which really made a difference!”

Like Dorsey, Skyline High School runner Alex Daugherty surprised herself, finishing third in the girls 400-meter dash in 57.68 seconds.

“I wasn’t expecting to make it out of league,” she said, credit-ing her coach Greg Dalzell for helping her drop four seconds off her time. “I was running 61s this year, and I’m at 57 seconds now.”

Daugherty said she tried to leave it all on the track, so she would not regret anything later.

BY GREG FARRAR

Issaquah High School relay members (from left) Gabrielle Gevers, Amanda Chalfant, Madison Callan, Mack Wieburg, Julianna Da Cruz and Grace Englund brought a tiger to the state 4A track and field championships. He chased them to second-place finishes in both the 4x200 and 4x400 relays. View a slideshow of spring sports action at www.issaquahpress.com.

Issaquah foursome earns its (tiger) stripes at state

See LIBERTY, Page B5

See ISSAQUAH, Page B5

BY GREG FARRAR

Josh Gordon (left), Liberty High School senior, gets the baton handoff from teammate Hiron Redman for the anchor leg of the 4x400 3A state champion-ship relay race May 26 in Tacoma.

Liberty buddies take final trip to podium