Islanders soccer wins final game before state

The Mercer Island girls soccer team netted its final regular season win last Thursday, downing Interlake 2-0. The Islanders will now have an almost two-week break before their next game, during the first round of the state tournament.

Against the Saints, Ellen Haas scored twice, bringing her league-leading season total to 18 goals, with two assists. Her first goal of the night was unassisted, while the second was off a pass from Rachel Pedreira, a fellow Islander senior. Freshman goalie Corey Goelz earned her sixth shutout of the season, taking the lead in the league for keeping the other KingCo teams without points.

During the season, Erin Bourguignon had five goals and one assist, while her teammate, Mary Hill, had two goals and four assists.

The team, which was 10-2 in the league and 12-3-1 overall, will next face the No. 7 team out of the West Central or Southwest Washington district at home on Nov. 10 in the first round of the state tournament.

MIHS boys cross country team qualifies for state

The Mercer Island boys cross country team qualified for the state cross country meet in Pasco last weekend after its fourth-place finish at the Sea-King District race last week. The top four teams in both the boys and girls events earned state berths, but the Islander girls fell just short of making an appearance, finishing fifth.

“The girls just missed it by four points,” said co-head coach Erica Hill. “There were really strong efforts by everyone, and they all should be extremely proud of themselves.”

The boys team finished behind Bishop Blanchet, Bellevue and Seattle Prep to nab the last qualifying spot. All the boys team runners who competed at the district event will travel to Eastern Washington for the state meet. Aaron Elefson had the team’s top time, finishing in 16 minutes and 15 seconds for fifth place overall. Nick Ford was 15th overall at 16:51. Andy Wingerson was 25th at 17:05, Wil Clausen finished in 30th place with a time of 17:13, James Kashima was 34th at 17:19, Matt Wotipka was 38th with a time of 17:26 and Leo Phillips came in at 58th in a field of 88 runners with a time of 18:04.

Despite the fact that the girls team as a whole did not qualify, Hill said that both Lindsay Benster and Molly O’Callahan qualified for the state meet, as they finished in the top 10. Benster had a second-place finish with a time of 19:07, almost a minute behind Tansey Lystad of Juanita, who won the title with a time of 18:16. O’Callahan finished seventh at 19:48.

Other Islander girls who competed at district include: Gabi Goyette, in 28th place; Carly Andersen, 43rd; Stephanie Pedreira, 44th; and Zoe Stranger, 51st.

The state meet will take place on Nov. 7 at the Sun Willows golf course in Pasco, Wash.

Boys tennis earns singles, doubles KingCo wins

The Mercer Island High School boys tennis team finished the KingCo tournament with both the doubles and singles KingCo titles.

Jordan Smith brought home the singles championship after beating Leo Gebhardt, 6-0, 6-2, in the title match. The Islanders doubles team of Max Franklin-Andrew Smith beat Bellevue’s Zach Kosanke-Colin Dresser, 6-4, 5-7 and 7-5, to earn their own title. All four of the top finishers at the KingCo event earn state berths for the tournament, held in the spring.

The second Mercer Island doubles team of Matt Sedlacek-Jared Thomas also earned a place at state after their third-place finish at KingCo. They beat Ben Liang-Eugene Chon of Bellevue, 6-1 and 6-1, for the win.

Head coach Joyce Hedlund said she was very pleased with the team and individuals’ finishes this season.

She said the team got stronger mentally throughout the season and took on challenges knowing that each day they gave it their best. Hedlund also thanked the players’ parents and friends who came along for the tournament and the season to cheer the players on.

The state tournament will be held at the end of May in Vancouver, Wash., along with the girls tennis state tournament.