Othello softball places fifth in 2A state softball; Warden places second in 2B softball

Here’s a second spring sports season roundup of high school state championships:

2A softball

Othello softball continues to do well, even without Rudy Ochoa.

Ochoa was the successful long-time Huskies coach who retired after the 2023 season. And one of his former players, Alyssa Martinez, stepped into his vacant spot this season.

Martinez led Othello to a fifth-place finish in the 2A state tournament played last weekend at Carlon Park in Selah.

The Huskies won their opener, beating Olympic 6-1. After suffering a 7-5 quarterfinals loss to No. 1 seed and eventual state champion Sedro Woolley, the Huskies reeled off consecutive wins in the losers bracket — beating Enumclaw 4-0 and then taking down Lynden 6-2.

Othello’s season ended with a 9-3 to North Kitsap.

The Huskies finished the season with a 21-8 record.

4A softball

Jackson of Everett, seeded second, defeated No. 9 Emerald Ridge 10-1 in Saturday’s championship game of the WIAA 4A softball state tournament at Columbia Playfields in Richland.

Hanford, with seven freshmen, went 1-2 in the tournament, beating Redmond 4-3 but losing 7-5 to North Creek and 3-1 to Olympia.

Richland dropped both of its contests, losing 8-4 to Sumner and 7-1 to Battle Ground.

2B softball

Head coach Randy Wright watched his Warden team survive a loser-out play-in game, only to make it to the WIAA 2B softball championships finals to finish second on Saturday.

Warden, which finished with a 20-7 record, beat Lind-Ritzville-Sprague 6-4 in that play-in game.

The sixth-seeded Cougars then took down Forks 17-15, and beat Toledo 17-6 in the semifinals.

But No. 1 Adna beat Warden 13-5 in the state title game.

2A boys track and field

Grandview’s Titus Jeffrey won the boys discus title and finished third in the shot put at last week’s 2A state championships at Mt. Tahoma.

Jeffrey, a junior, tossed the discus 174 feet, 6 inches to grab first place. In the shot put, Jeffrey had a mark of 55-5.5 for third place.

Prosser junior Titus Paeschke placed fourth in the boys javelin with a throw of 168 feet, 7 inches.

Anacortes and Columbia River tied for the team title with 65 points.

1A boys track and field

Connell finished 1-3 in the boys javelin throw last weekend at the WIAA 1A state track and field championships in Yakima.

Senior Kellen Riner unleashed a throw of 197 feet, 10 inches to earn the title. Riner’s teammate, junior Carson Lloyd, placed third with a throw of 184-0.

Royal’s Santana Luna finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 6.5 inches.

In the discus, Connell’s Jackson Forsyth and College Place’s Andrei Smith placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Forsyth tossed the discus 157 feet even, while Smith had a mark of 155-5.

Cedar Park Christian took the team title with 62 points. Connell finished third with 23 points.

2B girls track and field

Kienna Stepper was the region’s lone state champion at last weekend’s WIAA 2B state track and field championships in Yakima.

Stepper, a junior from Walla Walla Valley Academy, won the high jump event with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches.

But the Mid-Columbia had some other high placings.

River View junior Aliyah Malone grabbed a second-place finish in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.58 seconds. She also placed third in the high jump with a leap of 5-feet even.

Malone was also part of the Panthers’ 4x100 relay team that placed second and also included sophomore Victoria Sartain, freshman Anastasia Tyutyunnik, and senior Marina Jimenez. The Panthers finished with a time of 52.38 seconds.

Columbia-Burbank senior Marlee Paget placed second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.14 seconds; while Coyotes teammate and sophomore Mia Leahy finished third in the javelin with a throw of 121 feet, 2 inches.

River View placed 10th as a team with 23.5 points, while Spokane’s St. George’s won the team title with 95 points.

1B boys track and field

DeSales sophomore Jason Guest had podium finishes in the hurdles events to lead the Irish at the WIAA 1B state track and field meet in Yakima on Saturday.

Guest finished third in the 300 hurdles final, crossing the finish line in 43.45 seconds.

He also finished fourth in the 110 hurdles in 16.56 seconds.

Diego Caso, a junior at DeSales, placed third in the 200 meters final with a time of 23.45 seconds.

Caso combined with freshman Caleb Bingham, senior Carter Green, and senior Levi Bingham to place first in the 4x400 final with a time of 3:40.28.

That same quartet placed third in the 4x100 with a time of 46.66 seconds.

Waitsburg placed fifth in the same relay, as sophomore Teegan Kenney, senior Blake French, sophomore Brenton Segraves, and senior Reuben Yutzy crossed the finish line in 46.79 seconds.

Waitsburg’s Yutzy placed third in the shot put with a mark of 46 feet, 4.50 inches.

DeSales placed fifth in the team standings with 33 points.

Valley Christian won the team title with 101 points.

1A boys soccer

Head coach Jens Jensen watched his Royal team edge three straight opponents by 1-0 scores during the WIAA 1A state boys soccer tournament.

But the Knights just couldn’t find the net in the state championship game Saturday, falling 1-0 to Overlake to finish second.

The Knights (18-4) beat Meridian 1-0 in the first round of the tournament; stopped Seton Catholic 1-0 in the quarterfinals; and beat Vashon Island 1-0 in the semifinals.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Herald.