2018: The year in sports for the Redmond area

JANUARY

“Redmond girls notch regular-season title”: With just one loss to their name at that point of the season, the Redmond Mustangs grabbed the 3A KingCo girls basketball regular-season title with a 72-32 victory over Interlake. Teagyn Ohrt led Redmond — 13-1 in league and 19-1 overall — with 19 points, followed by Kiki Milloy with 17 points and Meghan Egberg with 10 points.

FEBRUARY

“Redmond’s Hernandez snags second at Mat Classic”: It was hard, but it was worth it. That’s how Redmond High’s Jeremy Hernandez characterized his 145-pound 3A state championship wrestling match at the Tacoma Dome. The Mustang junior battled to second place against Mason Phillip of Stanwood on a technical fall at 3:56, and finished two places up in the same weight division than he did at last year’s state event.

MARCH

“Overlake’s Bartlow is all set for University of Washington soccer”: Ethan Bartlow is dribbling in his dad’s footsteps onto an NCAA Division I soccer squad. The Overlake School senior’s father, Phil, who taught him all about the game, passed away from cancer in September 2016. Ethan credits his dad for instilling values in him that he’s grateful for and will take with him to the University of Washington squad next season.

APRIL

“Sullivan slams walkoff homer to give Redmond 8-7 win over Interlake”: With the game tied 7-7 and with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hunter Sullivan hammered a solo walkoff homer to give Redmond a thrilling baseball victory over Interlake at Hartman Park.

MAY

“Owls reach the mountaintop on the soccer pitch”: For the second consecutive season the Overlake Owls boys soccer team reached the absolute pinnacle on the soccer pitch. Overlake cruised to a 3-0 victory against the Wahluke Warriors in the Class 1A state title game on May 26 at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

“Bear Creek’s Hayes holes 1A state golf title”: Bear Creek School’s John Hayes firmly held onto his first-day lead and finished off day two at the top of the 1A state golf standings at Liberty Lake Golf Course.

“Redmond downs Juanita to grab 3A KingCo softball crown”: With the bases loaded and a championship just around the corner, Lauren Lund ripped a triple and put the 3A KingCo softball title into Redmond’s eager hands. Lund’s blast gave the Mustangs a 14-2 win over Juanita as the game ended in the bottom of the fifth inning on May 11 at Inglemoor High.

“Redmond beats Mercer Island, 1-0, in 3A KingCo soccer title match”: Goalkeeper Ricardo Escalante set the stage with two diving saves. Reece Wiyrick finished it with a penalty kick. And then the Redmond players and crowd went wild, diving on top on Escalante after the Mustangs defeated Mercer Island, 1-0, in a PK shootout to claim the 3A KingCo title for the first time in 11 years at Redmond High.

JUNE

“Tsujikawa earns spot on USA Baseball Women’s National Team”: Redmond’s Rippers Baseball Club’s mission and philosophy is to prepare its student athletes for high school ball and beyond. For pitcher and infielder Emily Tsujikawa, that “beyond” is earning a spot on the USA Baseball 2018 Women’s National Team. The Redmond High junior and member of the Mustangs’ junior varsity team and Rippers’ 18U team, made the final 20-player USA roster that was revealed on June 18 after the Women’s National Open and team trials in Cary, North Carolina.

JULY

“Redmond softball squad plays host at Junior World Series”: Watch out, world, here comes the Redmond Junior all-star softball team. The District 9 champions took on the role of host team at the 20th Little League Junior Softball World Series at Everest Park in Kirkland. The girls will welcome squads from the United States (Southeast, Southwest, West, East and Central), Asia Pacific, Canada, Latin America and Europe/Africa into the softball celebration.

AUGUST

“Redmond’s Anand notches state junior golf title”: Adithi Anand described the experience as “surreal” as she claimed the Washington Junior Golf Association (WJGA) state title on Aug. 5 after she shot a 72 in the final round. Anand beat out the best junior golfers in the state to notch first place in the girls 14-18 age division.

SEPTEMBER

“Redmond beats LW, 10-7”: Redmond defeated Lake Washington, 10-7, in the Mustangs’ first home game of the football season. Redmond scored first in the third quarter when quarterback Michael Cannistra connected with Nikhil Jatekar on a 15-yard pass and Jatekar outraced LW’s defense to the end zone to complete the 80-yard play. The Mustangs’ Chris Williams added the PAT and a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

OCTOBER

“Redmond cross country squads notch first in 4A KingCo, qualify for state”: Redmond High’s boys and girls cross country teams placed first at the 4A KingCo championship meet on Oct. 18 at Lake Sammamish State Park and qualify for the upcoming state meet.

“Redmond wins 4A KingCo boys golf tournament, qualifies for state”: Redmond High’s boys golf squad is headed back to state after winning the 4A KingCo tournament at the Snohomish Golf Course.

NOVEMBER

“Overlake volleyball, soccer finish seasons at state”: Overlake’s volleyball squad battled and won its first ever 1A state match in five sets over Bellevue Christian at the Yakima Valley Sundome on Nov. 9. The Owls finished the tourney with a pair of losses to Granger (3-0) and Castle Rock (3-1). Outside hitter Marusia Levanidova was a Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association honorable mention. On the girls soccer side, Klahowa beat the Owls, 2-1, in a penalty kick shootout in the 1A state quarterfinals on Nov. 10 at Silverdale Stadium.

“Redmond girls soccer displays ‘grit’ during successful season”: When the referee blew the final whistle, four senior Redmond High Mustangs — Maya Fleming, Lindsey Honhart, Vanessa Almada and Lily Chirichigno — embraced and stood still for a few moments before walking as a group toward their teammates. There were tears alongside laughter and pride among the entire team as the Mustangs finished their stellar season with a 1-0 loss to Bellarmine Prep in the opening round of the 4A state tournament on the Redmond High pitch. The Mustangs, who took second in KingCo and second in the Wes-King district tourney, ended with a 9-4-4 record.

DECEMBER

“Redmond defeats Woodinville in hoops action”: Redmond’s Aidan Rolfs scored 17 points to lead the Mustangs to a 60-55 victory over Woodinville on Dec. 11. Redmond’s Philip Bury tallied 14 points and Darek Khabani nailed two clutch free throws and finished with eight points.