2014 was an amazing year for high school athletics in the Auburn-area. So much so that it’s hard to pick just a handful of outstanding team and individual achievements.

But we at the Auburn Reporter are a bold, adventurous lot, willing to do the heavy lifting and pick out five of what we consider the most noteworthy prep athletic accomplishments of the year.

Although many athletes and teams deserve recognition, this is a handful of the stars who blazed the brightest this past year.

1. Auburn Riverside volleyball dominates

The Auburn Riverside volleyball team left no doubt as to which team was the best in the 3A ranks, posting an undefeated 36-0 season and winning the state title in November.

It all started for the Ravens in 2013, when the team failed to make it out of the West Central District III/Southwest District 4 tournament.

“We were at Kentwood and didn’t qualify (for the state tourney), and we should have,” coach Chris Leverenz said. “We kept reliving that moment after it was over and trying to figure out what we did wrong. We gave up on ourselves, and we decided we would never give up on ourselves again.”

Led by seniors Carson Heilborn, Precious Atafua and Roxy King – and backed by a talented group of underclassman – the Ravens cut a path through the competition in the state, winning the South Puget Sound League 3A and district titles and the prestigious and tough Linda Sheridan Classic tourney, an all-classification showdown in Spokane.

At the state tourney at St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Auburn Riverside dominated the competition, beating Seattle Prep (25-13, 25-17, 25-11), Mercer Island (25-27, 27-25, 25-14, 25-17), second-ranked Columbia River (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) and No. 3 Capital in the title game.

In the championship match, Heilborn set the pace for Auburn Riverside with 33 assists, and senior Precious Atafua added 16 kills and 16 digs in the match.

Atafua and Heilborn were nominated for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, Atafua winning the honor and Heilborn being named to the all-tourney team as a setter. Heilborn was also named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year for Washington State.

The title is the first for the Ravens program and the first for 20-year head coach Leverenz.

“I know I’ll never again in my life have a team that is like this, physically, emotionally, mentally and the chemistry,” Leverenz said.

“I’m going to remember Precious and how much she’s matured and gone from a kid I could barely count on to be at practice to a kid who leads the team. Who would have ever thought?” Leverenz said. “I’ll remember Carson Heilborn, who came in as a freshman and said she didn’t want to lead, that she wasn’t a big talker. And then we got to watch her grow. That’s why I coach, and that’s why I teach.”

2. Auburn’s Jackson grabs state title

Maya Jackson, an Auburn sophomore who attends the Northwest School in Seattle, finished first in the 400-meter dash at the Class 1A track and field championships last June at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Jackson, one of the state’s top sprinters in the small-school rankings, won in a time of 58.23 seconds. She took sixth in the 100 and 200 finals with clockings of 12.79 and 26.05, respectively.

Jackson also has been beating the competition in the club ranks, winning all three sprint distances at the Emerald City League Championships. She competes for Auburn’s Junior Olympic Track & Field club, the Auburn Elite, and traveled to Houston for the USATF National Junior Olympics Championships in July, where she finished 39th in the 100 with a time of 12.65 seconds and 27th in the 200 with a personal record 25.30. In the 400 prelims she was 19th with a 57.78, which qualified her for the semi-finals, where she finished with a 24th overall ranking.

3. Auburn’s Thornquist finishes prep career

For four years, Auburn High School singles tennis star Lauren Thornquist dominated the South Puget Sound League Central 4A, snagging the league title as a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior.

In fact, throughout her four-year prep career, Thornquist did not lose a regular-season singles match and won the South Puget Sound League Central Singles Players of the Year award four times.

Thornquist also qualified for four state appearances, and finished eighth at the 2014 tourney.

4. Auburn Mountainview football comes of age

Not so long ago, the Auburn Mountainview football program was the SPSL 3A’s punching bag. Ever since head coach Jared Gervais took over the program, however, the Lions have been a consistent contender in the SPSL 3A.

This year the Lions took a big step in their maturation, taking home second in the league, winning their first playoff game and qualifying for the state 3A district playoffs. The team finished the season with a 9-2 record and a 41-22 loss in Spokane to Shadle Park.

Milestones along the way for the Lions include: the team’s first win against rival Sumner, 42-35; its first win against crosstown rival Auburn, 17-16; and the program’s first victory against powerhouse and league foe Lakes, 17-0.

“It was great. It’s been a great year and I’m super proud of everything the seniors accomplished the past four years,” Gervais said. “This is the first group to go all the way through the program.”

The Lions team will lose a handful of key seniors: running back Nate Hardin, 71 carries for 391 yards and three TDs on the season; linebacker Aeron Watson, 109 tackles and two interceptions; Jason Sele, 83 tackles and four sacks; and kicker Devon Tandberg, eight field goals on 11 attempts and 38 point after conversions. But the cupboard will be far from empty next season.

“We’re pretty excited about the future and where this is going with all the juniors and sophomores who have playing time this season,” Gervais said.

Among the returners are: junior Gavin Robertson, who led the team in receptions with 44 for 588 yards and six TDs; junior Ryan Lacey, 35 receptions for 463 yards; Ki’jon Weisinger, 34 receptions and six TDs; Vaughn Daggs, 28 receptions and six TDs, sophomore Bittner Wilson who had 58 carries for 396 yards and five TDs; and junior quarterback Gresch Jensen who finished the season with an 82.9 quarterback ranking, racking up 1,819 yards on 143-of-263 passes, with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

More important, however, is the team’s newfound confidence, Gervais said.

“This year, for the first time, instead of hoping we could win games, we expected to win games,” Gervais said.

5. Lions set new 200 freestyle record

Swimming programs in the Auburn School District face an upstream battle. With just one venue, the Auburn High School pool, spread among three schools – which each fielding a water polo program as well – practice time is precious.

Couple in the fact that most kids seek athletic glory in the higher profile sports, such as basketball, football and baseball, making it hard to attract athletes to compete, and sometimes just getting a team into the pool is a success.

For the Auburn Mountainview boys swimming and diving program, success has been fleeting. At this past season’s state championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, the Lions’ 200-yard freestyle relay team scored a measure of success with a 10th-place finish and a new school record.

The team, with Riley King, Colin Lempert, Tyler Arnold and Luke Lavine posted a time of 1 minute, 32.14 seconds in the event.

The school’s 400 free relay team, with the same swimmers, also made it to the finals, posting an 11th-place, 3:25.22 time.

The Lions were 18th out of 35 in the team competition.