Cathrine Kraayeveld’s basketball career boils down to an opportunity. Or, more specifically, making the most of that opportunity.
The Lake Washington High School alum (Class of 2000) has gone from leading the Kangs through state tournaments to becoming a leader of the WNBA’s New York Liberty — and she’s cherishing every moment.
If making it to the 4A state tennis tournament wasn’t motivation enough, Juanita junior James Russell only need look at his bracket for reason to stay sharp between the end of the high school boys tennis season last fall and the start of the tournament in May.
If everything fell just right, the Juanita junior was in line to match up with an old nemesis, Puyallup’s Scott Sullivan.
Standout performances, state runs and successful seasons — especially at Juanita — marked the spring season in Kirkland.
Whether it was Lake Washington’s Chris Viltz putting up ridiculous numbers at the plate or Juanita’s Robby Ryan doing the same from the mound, it was a good year for Kirkland baseball.
Both teams finished near the top of the league and are stocked with young talent.
Zeke Bambolo has resigned as head basketball coach of Juanita High School.
Juanita senior Brianna “Breezy” Rinehart-Young, a KingCo 4A second team selection, has committed to play basketball next year at George Fox College in Oregon.
Lake Washington senior Amanda Juarez has committed to play basketball at Division III Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. The 5-foot-6-inch senior guard was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 11.3 points per game last season, including a season-high 20 against Eastlake on Dec. 4. Juarez, who played in every game, opened the season scoring in double figures in 12 of the first 13 contests for the Kangs, who finished the season 5-9 and 11-11 overall. Juarez was also a top tennis player with the Kangs this season.
Top King County athletes for 2008 spring sports.
Matt Hanson had a modest goal entering the track season: simply stay healthy.
Over 170 girls from around the Pacific Northwest traveled to Kirkland last weekend with hopes of earning an invitation to a national synchronized swimming championship this summer in Binghamton, NY.
After two narrow wins over Redmond in the regular season, Juanita couldn’t maintain the magic in the KingCo 4A tournament.
Results from the KingCo 4A/GSL bi-district track meet on May 16-17 at McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver. Athletes had to finish in the top four of an event to advance to the 4A state meet May 23-24 in Pasco.
With Juanita’s state tournament hopes fading late in its first game last week, Rebels’ coach Kevin Lamb laid out one last gauntlet for star senior Tyler Bjork.
Of all the high school teams in all the different sports this year, perhaps no team went through more than the Lake Washington baseball team.
All season long, the Juanita soccer team said it wanted to leave a mark on KingCo 4A before moving down to 3A next year. It accomplished just that with a 4-1 championship game win over Eastlake on May 6.
Both Juanita and Lake Washington lost a crucial coin flip, and then even more critical tiebreak games last week to give the Bothell Cougars a bye in the KingCo 4A baseball tournament, which started Monday after the Reporter’s deadline.
The Lake Washington soccer team sealed a dramatic turnaround to its season April 30 with a 3-0 win over Bothell. The win secured a playoff spot and a winning record on the season for the Kangs, two team goals set before the season.
Nearing the end of a long season of tears, blood — and plenty of sweat — things are just starting to get interesting for Kirkland’s two track and field squads.
Lake Washington and Juanita results as of April 20
In Juanita High School’s last season at the 4A level, the soccer team has more on its mind than just the typical league, districts and state championship goals: It’s shooting to solidify its legacy as a top team in the classification.