Prep previews
What: District-qualifying race involving all 18 South Puget Sound League schools.
When: Thursday.
Where: Fort Steilacoom Park.
Time: Girls 2:30 p.m., boys 3:15 p.m. (JV races to follow, girls 3:45, boys 4:30.)
Who advances: The top 10 teams and the top 50 individuals, whether they’re part of a qualifying team or not, move on to the West Central District meet.
Defending champions: Boys team: Tahoma. Girls team: Jefferson. Boys individual: Rob Webster Jr., Puyallup, 15:39.02 (graduated). Girls individual: Erika Martin, Curtis, 19:22.63 (returning).
Teams to watch: Boys: Tahoma, Auburn Riverside. Girls: Tahoma, Auburn Riverside, Jefferson, Curtis.
Individuals to watch: Boys: Julian-Blake Cowan, Auburn Riverside. Everyone else is going for second. Girls: Erika Martin, Curtis. Four underclass runners finished behind her last year, and all of them are returning. But Martin was 23 seconds in front of the field in 2007.
What’s next: The West Central District meet — known as the Westside Cross Country Classic — is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1, at American Lake Golf Course in Tacoma. Racing begins at 10:30 a.m. The 4A girls race starts at 1:30 p.m.; the 4A boys go at 3 p.m.
SPSL 4A BOYS TENNIS TOURNAMENT
What: District-qualifying tournament involving all 18 South Puget Sound League schools.
When: Wednesday through Saturday.
Where: North Division at Kent-Meridian HS on Wednesday and Thursday; South Division at Auburn HS on Wednesday and Thursday; both divisions at Federal Way Bally’s on Friday and Saturday.
Times: Matches begin at 3:30 p.m. at both high school sites on Wednesday and Thursday. Matches begin at 8 a.m. at Bally’s on Friday and at 10 a.m. at Bally’s on Saturday. Finals are tentatively set for approximately noon on Saturday, but that is subject to change, particularly if the schedule is affected by weather at any time during the first three days of play.
Who advances: The top nine finishers in singles and doubles qualify for next spring’s West Central District tournament.
Format: The first two rounds are single-elimination, reducing the fields to 16. From that point, the eight remaining North entries will be in one half of the bracket, the eight South entries in the other half. On the championship side of the draw, the two semifinal matches essentially serve as the title matches for the respective divisions. The two semifinal winners then meet for the league championship, pitting the best from the North against the best from the South.
Defending champions: North singles: Max Manthou, Kentwood (returning). South singles: Scott Sullivan, Puyallup (graduated). League singles: Manthou. North doubles: Zack AhYat-Luyang Gai, Kentridge (both graduated). South doubles: Greg Medlock-Tony Rowley, Emerald Ridge (Rowley graduated). League doubles: AhYat-Gai. Team: Kentridge.
Players to watch: Singles: Max Manthou, a Kentwood junior, is the two-time defending Class 4A state champion. No one here is at his level, although Kentridge junior Matt Overland typically gives Manthou a good match, going three sets with him in September before Manthou prevailed, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. (It was 6-2, 6-1 for Manthou in the October rematch.) From the South, Beamer’s Joseph Dela Cruz is regarded as the top singles player. Doubles: Considered wide open in the North, with a pair of state-veteran duos regarded as the favorites: Kentridge’s Paul Yi and Vineeth Omkaram, along with Auburn’s Travis Hanley and Josh Jeter. From the South, the Pinkard brothers — junior Michael and freshman Brian — are regarded as the team to beat.
What’s next: This tournament concludes the fall portion of the season. Play resumes in the spring at the district tournament.
