Two girls who got their first varsity nod this year led the charge, with sophomore midfielder Lauren Noltes scoring the Tomahawks’ first goal in the second half, cutting into a 2-0 Lake Stevens lead. Junior forward Shannon Monson forced overtime with a tying goal with less than six minutes remaining in the game. In overtime, it was Noltes with another goal, giving the Tommies a clutch win and the favored Vikings an early loss.

Another nice win went to Lakewood, who defeated always-strong Burlington-Edison 2-1 the same night. Congrats, girls!

The girls hosted a Wesco jamboree Sept. 8 — a meet in which no scores are kept and teams compete in unconventional relays that won’t be a part of any league meet. Nonetheless, two Marysville girls managed to have state-qualifying times at the very earliest opportunity.

“Both of the swims were leadoff legs under direction of a starter, so they do count for state,” said Randy LeValley, statistical guru and dad of two Marysville swimmers (son Trevor graduated last year) who often helps coordinate meets and tracks times.

His daughter, junior Jewel LeValley, swam a state-qualifying time for the 200 freestyle, an event she wild-carded into last year. She swam a 1:59.36 first leg of the 800 freestyle relay.

Taking down a record and also qualifying for state was freshman Hannah Taylor in the 100 freestyle, swimming the first part of the 300 freestyle relay. She broke a record set 11 years ago by Emily Hutson, who came to Marysville-Pilchuck in similar record-setting fashion as a freshman phenom.

Although the girls host Sehome tonight in their first home dual meet of the season, Legore Hodgins is cautioning against expecting pyrotechnics. The team is still planning to build up to a strong finish rather than burning out early.

“Everything is way cool. We start with a bang,” she said.

• Auburn vs. Kentwood
• Marysville-Pilchuck vs. Snohomish
• Archbishop Murphy vs. Eastside Catholic
• Issaquah vs. Mount Si
• Ferndale vs. Shorecrest
• Liberty vs. Woodinville

Click on Marysville’s game for a link to the Q13 poll (on the lower right side of the page). Vote early, vote often!

1. Marysville-Pilchuck has another great offensive line.
I haven’t seen it with my own eyes yet, but the numbers from last night’s game speak for themselves. The Tomahawks produced 386 yards rushing against Shorecrest, with senior running back Austin Denton responsible for 236 of those. “He had some good blocking up front and made a couple of plays on his own,” said coach Brandon Carson.

2. Lakewood wide receiver Brandon Stott would be a playmaker this fall.
Just a week into his career at Lakewood High School, football fans are finding out about Stott. At practice, an assistant coach said the receiver had good hands and was a smart football player. Against Lakeside, the previously unknown Stott caught three touchdown passes from quarterback Justin Lane and totaled 125 yards.

3. Glacier Peak would defeat Arlington by one point in overtime.
Credit where it’s due, Herald prep reporter Mike Cane predicted the Grizzlies would be the one-point victor in overtime. To do so, Arlington would need to miss an extra point on a touchdown. Sure enough, Glacier Peak blocked Brandon Pierce’s point after attempt and the home team found the end zone, covering their own extra point for the win. Final: 52-51.

Marysville-Pilchuck will visit Snohomish this Friday, kicking off their league calendar. Arlington will play the second of three non-conference games when they host Lynnwood. Lakewood opens their home schedule as they host non-conference opponent Lynden Christian.

Luckily, he doesn’t leave until next week and stopped by to visit.

Akaash worked at the Globe and Times for a year, starting last summer before his senior year, using the experience for the senior project required of students at Lakewood High. He graduated this spring, apparently undaunted in his journalistic aspirations by the experience of writing sports stories on a weekly basis.

A few of his stories that are my favorites:
Grace Academy track team packs a punch at state
Lakewood golfer putts her way to place at state tournament

… and a favorite photo for sure:
Lakewood prevails against conference leader King’s

Thanks for your hard work and good luck in New York!

KIRO 7 has an open poll for fans to pick their game of the week from the following:

• Meadowdale vs. Edmonds-Woodway
• Mount Si vs. Eastlake
• Marysville-Pilchuck vs. Shorecrest

Q13 has a few more games to pick from, with the highest vote-earner getting covered:

• Gig Harbor at Olympia
• Bethel at Rogers
• River Ridge at Cedarcrest
• Mount Si at Eastlake
• Arlington at Glacier Peak
• Mariner at Lake Stevens

Click on the Arlington or Marysville-Pilchuck game for a link to the poll. Vote early and often!

Arlington defender Tre Pruitt picks up a fumble during practice Thursday, returning it for the touchdown signaled by defensive coordinator Judd Hunter.

Sophomore quarterback Blake McPherson hands the ball off to a teammate in practice.

Lining up at safety on defense, senior Jake Parduhn cuts off the sideline to assistant coach Davy Hudson, who fakes different plays for the defense to answer.

Marysville-Pilchuck wideouts grab passes as an assistant coach calls out routes.

Look for previews of the upcoming football season at The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times. I’ll be heading back to Marysville’s practice this afternoon to talk with coach Brandon Carson.

Wide receiver Sam Johnston demonstrates an elbow jam during a warm-up drill on Lakewood football's first day of practice.

As the roughly 80 Lakewood football players lined up on the edge of the practice field for their first afternoon of fall football practice, I couldn’t help noticing how short many of the players were.

The reason? A huge turnout from the incoming freshman class.

Since head coach Dan Teeter took over the program four years ago, he has worked on building the Lakewood football program at the youth football level, getting himself and his team personally involved in teaching elements of the high school plan to local kids as young as 7.

The oldest kids from those teams are finally hitting high school age, and showing up in numbers. By my guess, about 2/3 of the team is either 14 or 15 years old. And at a smaller school like Lakewood, young talent can make an impact early in a player’s high school career. The team’s current starting quarterback took over the offense in his freshman year and several more players have the potential to share a little of the varsity spotlight this fall.

Check out my preview online or in the Aug. 26 edition of The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times.

Tonight I’m heading out to Arlington and Highland Christian team practices.

Former Tomahawk and Boise State discus thrower Jarred Rome qualified for the event finals Aug. 18, throwing 65.51 meters, or 214-9, for the second-best performance in his qualifying group and fourth overall.

Finals are in progress now, with live updates available at the IAAF Web site.

Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth round of the 2008 draft, the left-handed pitcher has won in his last five appearances (including four starts) for the Aberdeen, Md., team in the NY-Penn League, most recently a save for the team’s 9-3 win over Marlins-affiliated Jamestown Aug. 16.

Haughian started against the State College Spikes Aug. 5, pitching a no-hitter into the seventh inning, striking out four and allowing the one hit to pick up his fourth win of the season. In his fifth win Aug. 11 against Williamsport, he went 6 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and four unearned runs, striking out three.

In eight games, Haughian has pitched 61 1/3 innings, striking out 49 and allowing 52 hits and 21 runs.

The IronBirds are 25-31 in the NYP McNamara league and in the hunt for a wild card into the postseason. The team is a game and a half back from Hudson Valley.

Information about the Aberdeen IronBirds is available at their Web site. A breakdown of Haughian’s statistics is available through the Minor League Baseball Web site.

I’ll be there this week checking out the teams and bringing you word on all of the teams, from the smallest (Highland Christian) to the largest (the defending Wesco North champions, Marysville-Pilchuck) and everyone else.

While at first it’s strange to imagine previewing the fall season on the first day of practice, these players and coaches have worked hard all summer to get ready for the next few weeks. Check back here often for photos and tidbits from each of the teams.

The rest of the fall teams begin practice Aug. 24.

Martin is in his sixth season with the Stealth, and has played in every game but one since he was the 12th overall draft pick in 2004. He graduated from Salisbury State University (Md.) where he won two NCAA Division III National Championships, according to a release by the club. He is also a two-time all-star in Major League Lacrosse, where he plays for the Denver Outlaws.

The clinic will begin at 4 p.m. For more information on the clinic, please contact the Stealth at (925) 460-8290.

“Michael Phelps and many of the other American Olympians should be there as well,” said Mighty Marlins coach Kirby Schlaufer.

Arlington residents Jennifer Domanowski, 15, qualified in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, Morgan Ginnis, 13, made the 200-meter backstroke and the 50-meter freestyle, Hannah Peseau made the 100-meter backstroke and Marysville resident Hannah Taylor, 14, qualified in the 200-meter individual medley.

The girls also qualified their 400 medley relay for competition.

Information about the competition is available at the USA Swimming Web site.

Following teammate John Crenshaw’s verbal commitment to the Redhawks earlier this summer, M-P midfielder Brady Ballew also made a verbal commitment Aug. 12 to play for Seattle University. Ballew and Crenshaw can officially sign binding letters of intent during the eligibility period beginning Feb. 3, 2010.

Ballew was a key member of the Tomahawk soccer squad that went undefeated through the regular season, winning a conference championship, the district championship and placed fourth in the state tournament.

A Div. I school, Seattle plays an ambitious schedule. In 2009, they’ll take on Washington, and College Soccer News-ranked teams Tulsa (No. 12), SMU (No. 27), Notre Dame (No. 16) and Indiana (No. 7).

When Ballew takes the field for the Redhawks in the fall of 2010, they’ll face the Huskies again in their opener, where Ballew will likely see a familiar opponent on the other side — Snohomish United teammate and Shorecrest standout Michael Harris.

“Michael Harris is one of my best friends. We’ll be playing each other in our first game,” Ballew said, adding that he hopes they’ll room together at some point in college.

Seattle U was 11-3-1 in 2008 and will be eligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2010.

Battle Creek pro Ryan Benzel will compete at the PGA championships this week.

From our sister paper, the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter, comes word that Battle Creek Golf Course teaching pro Ryan Benzel, a graduate of Ritzville High School and 1997 state champion, has qualified for his third PGA championship. This year’s will be at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. from Aug. 10-16.

Local pro bodybuilder and trainer Denise James put together the fourth-annual Washington State Natural Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships this weekend in Arlington, and she and her fellow athletes are fighting off the stigma of steroids that are abused by so many of the bodybuilders depicted in the mainstream press and the amateurs who look up to them.

Competitors at the Aug. 8 show had to be clean of all drugs for the past seven years, taking a polygraph test to verify. Still, as Denise James of United Fitness, a pro natural bodybuilder and figures competitor tries to publicize events like this weekend’s at gyms, she said she’s often sent away as managers assume her competitions glorify steroid-enhanced lifters.

But for those who come to the sport just looking to get in shape and possibly shed a few pounds, the sky is the limit.

“A lady that became one of the top pros, Joan, started in her 40s,” James said after the competition. “Her first full year of eating healthy, she put on 10 pounds of muscle. As women, we don’t peak until our 50s. There’s no advantage to starting early.”

James says it doesn’t take much work for people to see big returns. She recommends people interested in getting in shape do about 30 minutes of cardio exercise a day (walking, running, biking) and get in the gym three times a week for another 30-40 minutes. Give it three months to start to show.

“They can see amazing benefits,” she said.

For more information about natural bodybuilding, visit James’ Web site at www.unitedfitness.org. Look for my story about the Aug. 8 event at www.marysvilleglobe.com or in this week’s paper.

Still, the program will have more challenges than usual this year, including the departure of some key players: seven would-be starters transferred to other schools due to the hardship of private school tuition or other reasons, on top of the usual loss of seniors to graduation. Miller said he’s received interest from at least 14 players so far — Highland Christian plays 8-man football — and plans to proceed with the season.

“Even if we’re on a marginal scale, I really feel like we should continue with the program,” he said. There’s reason to believe they’ll do better than that — the Knights have played a postseason game every year since the program debuted in 2007.

Like their larger neighbors, the Knights are officially in a no-contact period before the first day of practice Aug. 19. They’ll kick off their season Sept. 5 against St. John-Endicott of Kittitas.

Zack Barker throws a pitch for the Marysville Nationals' 11-year-old all-star squad. The boys are in action July 3 against Alderwood at Freedom Field in Mill Creek.

Stilly Valley's Peter Chung slides into home in a recent game. Stilly Valley plays again this weekend against Mukilteo at Lynndale Park in Lynnwood.

July 2
9/10 Stilly Valley vs. Sky Valley, 5 p.m., Cedar Field, Marysville — WINNER
9/10 Marysville Nationals vs. South Everett, 7:30 p.m., Cedar Field, Marysville (winner plays July 5, 9 a.m.)
11-year-old Stilly Valley vs. Granite Falls, 7:30 p.m., Freedom Field, Mill Creek (winner plays July 3, 5 p.m.)
Marysville American majors vs. Sky Valley, 6:30 p.m., Lynndale Park, Lynnwood (winner plays July 5, 9 a.m.)
Stilly Valley juniors vs. Pacific, 7:30 p.m., Evans Field, Arlington (winner plays July 5, noon; loser plays July 3, 5 p.m.)

July 3
Stilly Valley majors vs. Mukilteo A, 4 p.m., Lynndale Park, Lynnwood (winner plays July 5, 11:30 a.m.)
11-year-old Marysville Nationals vs. Alderwood, 7:30 p.m., Freedom Field, Mill Creek (winner plays July 6, 7:30 p.m.)

July 5
9/10 Stilly Valley vs. South Everett/Marysville Nationals, 9 a.m., Cedar Field, Marysville

July 6
Stilly Valley majors softball vs. Sky Valley/Pacific, 6 p.m., Garfield Park, Everett

9/10 all-star baseball at Cedar Field, Marysville
Marysville Nationals vs. Mukilteo A — June 27, 2 p.m.
Marysville Americans vs. Pacific — June 28, 9 a.m.
Stilly Valley vs. North Everett — June 28, 11:30 a.m.

9/10 all-star softball at Lynndale Park, Lynnwood
Stilly Valley vs. Pacific — June 27, noon

11-year-old all-star baseball at Freedom Field, Mill Creek
Stilly Valley vs. Lake Stevens — June 27, 2 p.m.
Marysville American vs. Alderwood — June 27, 4:30 p.m.
Marysville National vs. South Snohomish — June 28, 9 a.m.

majors all-star baseball at Lynndale Park, Lynnwood
Marysville Nationals baseball vs. North Snohomish — June 27, 11:30 a.m.
Marysville Americans baseball vs. Pacific — June 27, 2 p.m.
Stilly Valley baseball vs. Sky Valley — June 28, 9 a.m.

majors all-star softball at Garfield Park, Everett
Stilly Valley vs. Mukilteo/Sky Valley — June 28, 11:30 a.m.

juniors all-star baseball at Arlington High School (first round only)
Stilly Valley vs. Sky Valley — June 27, noon
Marysville vs. Stilly Valley/Sky Valley — June 28, noon

juniors all-star softball at Quake Field, Arlington
Stilly Valley vs. Pacific — June 27, 9 a.m.
Marysville vs. Stilly Valley/Pacific — June 28, 9 a.m.

seniors all-star baseball at North Snohomish Little League Complex, Snohomish
Marysville vs. Lake Stevens — June 27, 9 a.m.

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I had to post a couple of my favorite pictures from last night.

Stilly Valley softball player Nicole Huge celebrates getting on base against a team from Marysville Little League.

Stilly Valley Little League player Makenzie Leibel composes herself before releasing the pitch.

Marysville Little Leaguer Elizabeth Ripperger moved in from shortstop to pitch an inning or so against Stilly Valley Little League.

Outfielder Madison Elsner celebrates when her team tags for an out at home plate.

With injuries to both M-P pitchers Riley Fritz and Jen Rosie (pictured), the Tomahawk softball team may be an even bigger underdog than last year for this spring's district tournament.

Well, rain yesterday limited some interesting high school match-ups.

Two local softball teams, Marysville-Pilchuck and Arlington were both scheduled to play, each game with implications for the district tournament. Arlington is led by the extremely consistent and strong pitching of senior Christina Rayner and the team is all but assured of an appearance in the district tournament with only their seeding into the tournament on the line. That double-elimination bracket will feed three teams from Wesco North and South into the state tournament.

Which leads to the other team apparently rained out yesterday. Last season, the Tomahawks enjoyed a Cinderella season, picked to finish in the cellar of the league after the departure of utility player and regular pitcher Miranda Rosebrook to Wenatchee Valley College. Instead, thanks to the emergence of then-freshman pitcher Riley Fritz, M-P climbed out of the bottom to clinch the district’s fourth and then-final seed with a win over league dynamo Monroe. They beat the Bearcats again in the tournament and wound up district champions on a hot streak.

This year, M-P needs another miracle. Fritz has been struggling with an ankle injury throughout the season and last week junior pitcher Jen Rosie injured her hand in play. Nearly every loss they’ve had has been by one run and it looks like their season will come down to a dominant-looking league rival. The team was scheduled to play Everett yesterday and undefeated Stanwood today for a chance at a play-in game to face Stanwood again in the first round of the tournament.

Last time I saw the Tomahawks play, I learned freshman Monica Clow is the team’s third pitcher. Will M-P turn to her to help fulfill the team’s playoff aspirations?

The Tomahawk soccer team huddles for a pre-game pep talk.

Today marks the first day I take up blogging to supplement sports coverage in The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times, and after yesterday’s games, I couldn’t think of a better way to start.

With a slow Monday, yesterday kicked off the week in coverage for me. Arlington softball played undefeated Stanwood for the second time this season, the Eagles’ only loss coming to Stanwood 2-0 at the beginning of the league calendar. Senior Christina Rayner pitched for Arlington, while the Eagle batters saw Stanwood ace Brittany Jeans this time, unlike their first game featuring Corinne Stillman.

Interestingly, the games had a similar outcome — Stillman had the game-winning RBIs for the Spartans. Arlington is still one of the best teams in the league, able to get hits when they need them and solid on defense. My only doubt about yesterday’s game was the decision to use a designated player in Rayner’s slot after the pitcher was 3-for-4 at bat against Lake Stevens the week before. She entered the batting order in the seventh inning but struck out against Jeans.

The late game was undefeated Marysville-Pilchuck (10-0-2) against Snohomish (10-2-1). The Tomahawks have moved up the state polls by virtue of their record, but by pulling out a 5-3 victory (following a 2-2 draw in their first go this season), M-P appears to be in control of their league destiny. Furthermore, they won against a top team despite the fact that all three Snohomish goals appeared to be the result of defensive lapses, which could be easily fixed.

The key for this Tomahawk team is to keep their work ethic up and stay humble.

“Sometimes they come in thinking talent is enough,” said coach Geoff Kittle.

Senior Seth Jones had a hat trick for M-P while junior forward John Crenshaw scored two.