2021 All-Stars Sports

Sports

a Publication of The Daily Record

2021

All-Stars

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Letter from the Editor + Table of Contents The 2020-21 high school sports season was truly one that, though it lacked a lot of the stakes we are used to, is one we won’t forget.

It certainly wasn’t under the circumstances that anyone in Kittitas County wanted, but given the challenges a full school years' worth of sports crammed into five months presented, the kids did alright.

When I started this job, just a day after I packed my bags and moved into my apartment, I didn’t know any of the coaches, players, parents, or any of the community I’d be tasked to cover. I moved in on a Wednesday, covered my first sporting event, an Ellensburg volleyball game, the next day, and then drove to Selah the next day to cover EHS’ opening football game.

Five months later, I’m so thankful for this community, how welcoming everyone has been, and the sheer level of talent in Kittitas County. So, my first thoughts, as I try to encompass five months of hard work from athletes and coaches into this COVID-19 shortened season, are ones of thanks. Truly, thank you to each and every person I have interacted with since February.

That being said, this edition is not about me. It’s about the high schoolers who have had to sacrifice so much due to this pandemic.

The examples are countless, like several teams this season that could have competed for state championships, but never got the chance to. Or like several basketball players who were asked to choose between AAU tournaments going on at the same time as their high school basketball season, or running up against their graduation and celebrations.

But never once did any of the athletes I talked with complain about their situation. Not once. Each and every one of them embraced the season and memories that they did get, even if they weren’t what they expected or wanted. Being able to cover the joy, and exuberance of high school sports reminded me of my playing days and why high school sports are so cherished in a community. And these kids did Kittitas County proud.

While I’m sure not everyone will agree with all of the Daily Record’s selections, I hope this edition can serve as a sneak peek into what these kids were able to accomplish in a short time, and under insane circumstances.

Alec Dietz

Letter from the Sports Editor........................................... 3 Baseball \ Player of the year: Blake Catlin, Kittitas.................................................... 4 Volley Ball \ Player of the Year: Abby Harrell, Ellensburg............................................ 5 Football \ Player of the Year: Conner Hilberg, Cle Elum-Roslyn............................. 6 Softball \ Player of the Year: Victoria Zimmerman, Ellensburg...............................7 Basketball \ Girls Player of the Year: Dylan Philip, Ellensburg.............................................. 8 Basketball \ Boys Player of the Year: Jake Kelly, Cle Elum-Roslyn....................................... 9 Cross Country \ Girls Player of the Year: Kate Laurent, Ellensburg.......................................... 10 Cross Country \ Boys Player of the Year: Luther Belofsky, Ellensburg.................................... 10 Track and Field \ Girls Player of the Year: Kami Hartrick, Ellensburg........................................ 10 Track and Field \ Boys Player of the Year: Kai Styler, Ellensburg................................................. 10 Soccer \ Girls Player of the Year: Dylan Philip, Ellensburg.............................................11 Cross Country \ Ellensburg Newcomer of the Year: Kaden Mattson.............................................................11 Track and Field \ Kittitas Newcomer of the Year: Owen Stickney..............................................................11 Baseball \ Kittitas Newcomer of the Year: Caleb Bogart.................................................................11 2021 All-Star Sports | 3

Blake Catlin,

Kittitas \ Play e r o f t h e Ye ar The EWAC West Co-Player of the Year helped the Coyotes to a West division crown and a second-place finish in EWAC behind a .515 batting average, a .788 slugging percentage, and a team-high 34 runs scored. Catlin also drove in 19 runs and finished tied for a teamhigh with 14 walks. Catlin was also a mainstay in Kittitas’ pitch-bycommittee rotation, pitching 13.1 innings, allowing just 11 hits and 11 earned runs, with a staggering 27 strikeouts, another team-high.

Game of the Year: Jacob Roseberry’s home run gives Ellensburg a win over Selah In the first game of a doubleheader, with the ball game tied, EHS senior Jacob Roseberry launched a ball over the fence for a threerun homer, which proved to be the decisive runs in Ellensburg’s 5-2 win over rival Selah. Doubling down on his performance, Roseberry shut the door on the Vikings and recorded the save on the mound, handing Selah its first and only conference loss of the season.

Congratulations to all of our Athletes and Coaches for another great season.

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Abby Harrell,

Ell e n s b u rg \ P l aye r o f t h e Y e a r Earning Co-Player of the Year honors in CWAC, the Ellensburg sophomore racked up double-digit kills on a nightly basis for the Bulldogs en route to an 8-2 season and tying for the best record in the league. Harrell led Ellensburg in kills (181), points scored (223), finished second in passing, and third in digs (101) and blocks. Averaging well into double-digits in kills her game, Harrell was the offensive engine for an incredibly young, but talented, EHS volleyball squad.

Game of the Year: Kittitas avenges sweeps, beats Granger for EWAC thirdplace finish Down two sets to Granger, the Kittitas volleyball team was in a familiar position. It had already been swept by the Spartans twice that year, but this time was different. With Amelia Mohn leading the way, the Coyotes came back to reverse sweep the Spartans, 3-2, and capture third place in the EWAC tournament. Mohn dished out 34 assists, dug up 10 balls, and earned two kills in the revenge game.

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2021 All-Star Sports | 5

Conner Hilberg,

C le Elum-R oslyn \ P l aye r o f t h e Y e a r Named the EWAC Defensive Player of the Year, Hilberg anchored a Cle Elum-Roslyn defense that was its best in years, holding opponents to 18.2 points per game. Playing in the center of the defense, Hilberg helped the Warriors to two shutouts, an EWAC runner-up finish, and also a first-team all-league selection at both tailback and linebacker.

Game of the Year: Ellensburg holds off Grandview for senior night win In a one-score game, the Bulldogs came away with a huge defensive play to ice a victory against Grandview, 22-14, in its season finale. A controversial goalline decision from the officials on Ellensburg’s previous offensive drive gave the Greyhounds one more chance to tie it up and take the game into overtime, but thanks to a strong pass rush and the Bulldog defense, Grandview never got that chance, turning it over on downs and giving EHS the win on senior night.

“Today was a game to bounce back and have some fun,” defensive back Ryker Fortier said. “As a whole our team has just grown throughout the whole entire season, through ups and downs, it was just a great battle.”

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Victoria Zimmerman, Ell e n s b u rg \ P l aye r o f t h e Y e a r

The first-team all-league leadoff hitter led the Bulldogs in several hitting and pitching categories, pacing the offense to a second-place CWAC finish. Zimmerman hit .512 for the season with a .805 slugging percentage and a .623 on base percentage, all team-highs. The outfielder/pitcher committed just one error and stole a team-high 12 bases over the course of 14 games. On the mound, Zimmerman pitched just one complete game but led the team with a 1.24 ERA over 11.1 innings pitched with a 2-1 record.

Game of the Year: Ellensburg comes back in sixth inning to send seniors off with a win It figures that on senior night, when they didn’t even know if they were going to get a senior night, the upperclassmen would come up huge when the Bulldogs needed them. Though they had trouble scoring all game, senior Tess Polacek came up huge at the plate, and Ellensburg scored five runs en route to a 7-4 win.

“I’m super sad that there’s no playoffs or state, but I’m so grateful that we got to come out here and play and be out here with my team every day,” Polacek said after the win. “I’m just so happy we got to come out here and compete.”

Boys athlete of the year: Collin Marsh Tennis In a freshman season unlike any other, Mattson finished with the best 4,000-meter time for the Bulldogs, running a blistering 14:11.0 in their first race of the season against Grandview. Mattson continued to consistently run under 15 minutes, and his three-mile time at the Sunfair meet was second on the team as he heads into the fall looking to improve.

Girls athlete of the year: Blake Johnson Tennis Just days after finishing up with the soccer team, Johnson came back to lead the girls tennis squad with a 4-2 overall individual record.

Johnson helped lead the Bulldogs to an identical 4-2 record as a team over the course of the season.

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Dylan Philip, Ellen sb urg \ Gir l s P l aye r o f t h e Year Philip didn’t just spearhead the Bulldogs’ girls soccer offense, she also led the 10-2 girls basketball team to a league title, averaging 13.4 points per game. Philip’s offensive and defensive prowess earned her a first-team all-league honor, helping Ellensburg hold opponents to 34.9 points per game and attacking the paint and knocking down threes to help the Bulldogs score 51.8 points per game.

Game of the year: Josh Rosbach’s late charge ices thrilling win for Kittitas over Riverside Christian Up by one in a key league matchup against Riverside Christian, Blake Catlin had dropped 29 points, and helped the Coyotes get to that point as they needed just one more stop to get the win. But it was Josh Rosbach who made the game’s defining play down the stretch, taking a charge as the clock winded down to put the icing on the cake and help Kittitas to a 56-55 victory at home.

“Once we started playing as a team, it really came together,” Catlin said.

“When Josh took that charge, that really set the tone at the end, that was huge.

It was a great team win.”

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL PLAYERS AND COACHES

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FOR A GREAT SEASON!

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Jake Kelly, Cl e E lum- R o s lyn \ B o ys P l aye r o f t he Year The senior guard was Cle Elum’s most versatile guard, averaging a balanced 10.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.7 steals per game for the EWAC runner-up Warriors. Though Kelly wasn’t Cle Elum’s leading scorer, it was the senior that often initiated the offense and helped create for others. Kelly’s best effort, at least stats-wise, came against Yakama Nation Tribal, when he dropped a 26 point, 15 assist, 11 rebound triple-double in an offensive slugfest.

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2021 All-Star Sports | 9

Kate Laurent,

Ellensb ur g \ G i rl s P l aye r of t h e Y e a r One of the premier running talents in the entire state, Kate Laurent’s 5,000-meter cross country time was second-best in 2A this season, running a 18:38.9. The junior ran four CWAC 4,000-meter races, and finished first in every one, running a personal best 15:32.0 in Ellensburg’s season opener against Grandview.

Finishing fourth during the 2019 season at the state meet, Laurent will look to win her first state title with one year left next fall.

Boys athlete of the Year: Luther Belofsky, Ellensburg Though he did not finish the year with Ellensburg’s best 4,000-meter time, Belofsky was the Bulldogs’ most consistent performer, and led them in four of the five races they ran this season. His best time, in a third-place finish, was 14:23.0, a personal best against Grandview. In the CWAC Showcase, Belofsky led Ellensburg, and finished in ninth place, the team’s only top-10 finisher.

Girls athlete of the Year: and Field Kami Hartrick, Ellensburg Track The three-sport athlete didn’t get a chance to make a run at a state title this year, but ended her accomplished throwing career with CWAC-best throws in the discus and shot put in her senior season, both personal bests. Her 40-foot, 10-inch throw this season was second best in all of Washington 2A in the shot put, and her discus personal best throw this season of 117-feet, 1-inch was third. Though she won’t get a chance to earn any more state hardware, she finished third in shot put and sixth in discus at the 2019 WIAA 2A championships.

Boys Athlete of the Year: Kai Styler, Ellensburg Track and Field Ellensburg’s jumps specialist, Styler finished in the top-two in every jumps event at the CWAC Showcase, and saved his best for last in both the triple and long jump. In a personal best effort, Styler jumped 40 feet, 9.5 inches in the triple jump and 19 feet, 0.5 inches in the long jump. Styler’s triple jump ranked eighth in all of Washington 2A.

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Dylan Philip,

Ell e n s b u rg \ P l aye r o f t h e Y e a r The Ellensburg junior led the Bulldogs to a near perfect record, a district title, and Offensive Player of the Year honors in CWAC. Philip averaged over a goal and a half a game, netting 19 over the course of the shortened season. Her best run occurred in the last half of the season, where over the course of four games, Philip scored 10 goals, including two hat tricks.

Game of the Year: Ellensburg comes alive in second half to preserve unbeaten season The Bulldogs found themselves in rare territory at home against their rivals, Selah. Hardly tested at all, Ellensburg found itself down at the half, needing to make some big adjustments to preserve an almost unblemished record. The Bulldogs went to exactly what got them to that point already, down one goal, when Maddy Snow found Caitlyn Cheney for a goal two minutes into the second half for the equalizer. With its defense now on lockdown, Ellensburg didn’t allow a goal and scored again in the 61st minute when Blake Johnson found Dylan Philip for the game-winner.

Ellensburg newcomer of Country the Year: Kaden Mattson Cross In a freshman season unlike any other, Mattson finished with the best 4,000-meter time for the Bulldogs, running a blistering 14:11.0 in their first race of the season against Grandview.

Mattson continued to consistently run under 15 minutes, and his three-mile time at the Sunfair meet was second on the team as he heads into the fall looking to improve.

Kittitas newcomer of the Year: Owen Stickney Track and Field The sophomore jumper was Kittitas’ best and most consistent, winning an EWAC title in the high jump and finishing second in triple jump. His personal bests this season were a 5-foot, 10-inch clearance in high jump and a 38-foot, 8-inch launch in the triple jump. His high jump personal best would tie for third best in 2B, and his triple jump finished as eighth best in 2B.

Kittitas newcomer of the Year: Caleb Bogart Baseball The Cle Elum sophomore was part of the Warriors second-place EWAC West finishing team, and led the Warriors in innings pitched (26.2), strikeouts, (33), and finished with a 2.62 ERA. The EWAC West Co-Player of the Year also came through at the plate, hitting .444 with 16 hits and 18 runs scored.

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