YAKIMA — Quilcene and Neah Bay kick off the Class 1B state volleyball tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome this morning.
Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Sequim will compete at the state swimming and diving championships in Federal Way this evening.
The Red Devils volleyball team face Sunnyside Christian at 8 a.m., while the Rangers open against Lake Quinault at 11:30 a.m.
Eighth-ranked Quilcene was originally slated to play third-ranked Christian Faith, a fellow SeaTac League team which the Rangers lost to twice this season, but the original bracket was rearranged.
Quilcene is young, with only one senior, Sammy Rae, and many freshmen and sophomores being part of the regular rotation.
But the Rangers’ youth is battle-tested. Many of them were major contributors to last year’s team, which placed eighth at state.
Quilcene coach Joni Crowell said that this season’s goal is to improve on last year.
So far, the Rangers have bettered 2013’s league (second, up from third in 2013) and district (from fifth to fourth) finishes.
Neah Bay won the North Olympic League and earned a third-place finish at the Tri-District tournament last week, one spot ahead of Quilcene.
Red Devils coach Rebekah Monette said her team’s strength this season is its all-around consistency rather than one standout player.
The Neah Bay and Quilcene volleyball teams join their schools’ football teams as the only team-sports squads from the North Olympic Peninsula to make the state playoffs.
Girls Swimming and Diving
Port Angeles sending 16 to state
FEDERAL WAY — Port Angeles’ Carter Juskevich and Jaine Macias, Port Townsend’s Rose Ridder and Sequim’s Dani Barrows lead a swarm of area swimmers who are competing at the Class 2A state swimming and diving meet at King County Aquatic Center.
The preliminaries will be held today at 6:15 p.m., while the finals are Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
The Roughriders, who are coming off a second-place finish at the district championships are sending 16 swimmers and divers to the state meet.
Macias, a sophomore, notched two runner-up finishes at districts, in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.
Juskevich, a junior, placed third in the 500 freestyle and fourth in the 200 freestyle.
Macias and Juskevich also swam with the district-champion 200 medley relay team, along with Taylor Bebee and Audra Perrizo, which set a new meet record of 1 minute, 56.58 seconds.
Perrizo, a senior, will be returning to state to compete in the 200 free and 100 free. She also will swim with the 400 free relay with Juskevich, Macias and Lum Fu.
Other state participants for the Roughriders are Lora Rudzinski, Delanie Critchfield, Erin Edwards, Shelby Kluver, Gennie Litle, Jayden Sparhawk, Kylee Reid, Hailey Scott, Autumn Sheldon and Haili Farnam.
Fu and Farnam will compete in the 1-meter diving competition.
They will be joined by area divers Rose Ridder of Port Townsend and Emily Van Dyken of Sequim.
Ridder, a senior, will be pulling rare triple duty, making state in individual and relay swimming events as well as diving.
Ridder will compete in the 50 free, in which she holds the school record and placed fifth at state last year.
She also will swim with the Redhawks’ 200 free relay and 400 free relay.
Joining her on both relays are sophomore Ismay Gale, senior Tanner Matthew and junior Chloe Rogers.
Rogers also will compete in the 50 free as a wildcard entrant.
Port Townsend qualified a third relay team, the 200 medley relay, comprised of senior Sarah Allen, Matthew, senior Carinna Snider and Gale.
For Sequim, Barrow returns to state for her senior year in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle.
She also will swim with 200 medley relay team along with Sydnee Linnane, Jessica Craig and Victoria Fitzpatrick.
Linnane, a freshman, will compete in the 100 backstroke.
