From the Goal Line

Mercer Island quarterback Jeff Lindquist was on KJR with Softy this afternoon, discussing his upcoming decision on college and said he will tentatively make a choice where he will play by May 1. He told the radio host he’d like to be able make the decision and then focus on his senior year and playing for the Islanders this fall.

Lindquist has offers from the University of Washington, Washington State and Stanford, but said on the radio at this point his front runners are UW and Standford.

He did say however that if he doesn’t feel he’s ready to make a choice he’s comfortable with on May 1, he’ll wait until he’s ready.

About a month ago Mercer Island heard the football team had been invited to play in the Emerald City Kickoff Classic. The Islanders now know they will be playing Seattle Prep in the final match up of the night on Sept. 3 at Qwest Field.

Mercer Island will play the Panthers at 8 p.m. at Qwest, in a rematch of last year’s season opening game. In that game, Mercer Island won 19-15 in the two teams first meeting.

Other games to be played during the event include: Blaine vs. Hazen, Oroville vs. Darrington, North Mason vs. W.F. West and Coeur d’Alene vs. Moses Lake

The Mercer Island boys took a commanding lead of the division I standing this weekend, beating Issaquah on Friday night. The Islanders had been stuck in a tie for second place in the league since virtually the beginning of the season. Now their 4-0 league and 10-2 overall record are the current best.

The Mercer Island girls slid into fifth place, with a 3-2-1 record in the league so far this spring.

Boys division I

Girls division I

Doug Pacey, who covers prep sports for the Tacoma News Tribune, was at the WIAA meeting this morning where they discussed and changed the state basketball format.

There weren’t very many changes, but a few little things were addressed after the first year under the new format. Check out his blog: The Prep Blog for details.

A round up of prep sports for the last week:

Tennis
Tuesday, April 12
Mercer Island 7, Sammaish 0
Singles – Chelsea Bailey won 6-0,6-0; Karissa Walker won 6-0, 6-1; Caroline Dillon won 6-1, 6-0; Adele Parsons won 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).
Doubles – Nora Tan-Kelly Crandall won 6-0, 6-1; Erica Baska-Ashley Larson won 6-0, 6-1; Sarah Kahan-Erin Crandall won 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6).

Boys lacrosse
Friday, April 15
Mercer Island 8, Issaquah 4
Mercer Island – Connor Bernal 3 goals, 2 ground balls, Zach Stickney 2 goals, Doug Mahony 1 goal, 4 ground balls, Alex Rorem 1 goal, 1 ground ball, Alex Robbs 1 goal, Brian Berstein 12 saves.

Boys soccer
Tuesday, April 12
Mercer Island 3, Mount Si 1
Mercer Island – David Lee (Alex Wood) 15:00, Jordan Morris (Perrin Guyer) 20:00, Jay Schuler (Matthew McNamara) 55:00.
Mount Si – Morgan Popp (un) 79:00.
Friday, April 15
MI 1, Lake Washington 1
Mercer Island – Jake Michael (un) 28:00.
Lake Washington – Merlin Granados (Taylor Stapf) 18:00.

Girls lacrosse
Thursday, April 14
Snohomish 15, MI 10
Mercer Island – Elena Skouras 4 goals, 3 ground balls, Dule Moll 3 goals, Erika Eagan 6 saves.

Girls Lacrosse Division II
Thursday, April 14
Snohomish 17, MI 6
Mercer Island – Lindsey Adams 2 goals, Dalia Nayfeh 2 goals, Mallory Manzano 5 ground balls, Wesley Tomlinson 4 caused turnovers, Audrey Airut-Murphy 8 saves.

Golf
Thursday, April 14
Mercer Island 220, Liberty 258
Jefferson Park (par 36)
Individual results – 1. Chelsea Saelee 38, 2. Haley Chinn 42, 3. Madison Pearson, Christa Dotson (Liberty) 46, 5. Kayce Ogishima, Sarah Peterson 47.

Juanita's Taylor Paddock (5) slides safely into home plate as Islander starting pitcher Charlotte Pearman tries to tag her out at the South Mercer Playfields on Thursday, April 14, 2011.

Softball
Tuesday, April 12
Bellevue 20, Mercer Island 7
Bellevue – 3  0  3  5  0  9  –  20
Mercer Island –  0  0  0  7  0  0  –  7
Thursday, April 14
Juanita, Mercer Island
Bellevue – 3  0  3  5  0  9  –  20
Mercer Island –  0  0  0  7  0  0  –  7

Baseball
Monday, April 11
Interlake 3, Mercer Island 2
Interlake –  0  0  0  0  0  3  x  –  3  7  2
Mercer Island –  0 1  0 0  0 1 0  –  2 8  0

Mercer Island – Nick Holstead 1-4, 1 RBI, Jordan Richartz 1-4, Brian Higgins 1-2, 1 run, 1 double, Max Dammeier 2-4, 1 run, Alberto Gonzales 1-1, Cameron Ogard 1-4.

Tuesday, April 12
Mercer Island 9, Juanita 6
Mercer Island –  6  1  0 1 0 1  –  9  13  3
Juanita –  3  2  0  0  0  0  0  –  6  11  1
Mercer Island – Nick Holstead 1-4, 1 run, Jordan Richartz 1-3, 2 runs, Evan Thompson 2-4, 1 run, Brian Higgins 2-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, George Jiranek 1-3, 1 run, Derek Eng 1-3, Alberto Gonzales 2-3, David Oppenheim 1-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 3 doubles, 1 triple, Cameron Ogard 2-2, 1 run, 3 RBI, 1 triple, 1 single.
Wednesday, April 13
Mercer Island 15, Liberty 9
MI –  0  5  6  4  0  0  0  – 15  10  4
Liberty –  0  2  3  3  0  0  1  –  9  11  5
Mercer Island – Nick Holstead 0-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, Jordan Richartz 1-3, 1 run, 3 RBI, 1 home run, Evan Thompson 3-5, 1 run, 4 RBI, 1 home run, Brian Higgins 2-2, 3 runs, 1 RBI, Max Dammeier 0-3, 2 runs, George Jiranek 1-3, 1 run, 4 RBI, 1 home run, David Oppenheim 1-4, 4 runs, 1 RBI.
Friday, April 15
Bellevue 8, Mercer Island 7
Bellevue – 1  5  0  1  1  0  x  –  8  10  4
Mercer Island –  0  0 0  4  1 2 0  – 7 6  0
Mercer Island – David Oppenheim 2-3, 3 RBI, single, Max Dammeier 2-3, 2 doubles, 1 RBI.

Track and Field
Thursday, April 14
Mercer Island at Sammamish
Women’s – 100 meters – 1. Laura Harrison 13.5, 2. Queen Opoku 14.1, Emily Lightfoot 14.4, Nicole Walden 14.5, Elizabeth Borda 16.3; 200 meters – 1. Alisha Waggoner 28, 2. Laura Harrison 28.3, Lauren Emick 30.5; 400 meters – 1. Emily Lightfoot 69, 2. Lauren Emick 70.8, 3. Linden Elggren 75.2; 800 meters – 1. Laura Brindley 2:38.2, 2. Alida Scalzo 2:39.9, Megan Guedel 2:58.1; 1,600 meters – 1. Alida Scalzo 5:47.9, 2. Sarah Bjarnason 5:53.9, Megan Guedel 6:41.9; 3,200 meters – 1. Lindsay Benster 12:14.2, 2. Mikayla Davis 12:46.9, 3. Kaya McRuer 13:30.6; 100 hurdles – 1. Cora Miller 17.1, 3. Michele Day 20.1; 300 hurdles – 1. Cora Miller 50.5, 3. Jordan Peralta 57.6; 4×100 relay – Mercer Island (Nicole Walden, Lauren Emick, Sophia Cohanim, Christia Travis) 60.4; 4×200 relay – Mercer Island (Jordan Peralta, Carly Andersen, Sydney Zeldes, Nicky Dang) 2:02.7; Shot put – 3. Madelyn Bloom 19’5, Sara Rawson 16’8.5; Javelin – 1. Carly Andersen 111’6, 3. Madelyn Bloom 60’4; Long jump – 3. Queen Opoku 13’2.5, Emily Bassett 11’1.5, Elizabeth Borda 9’4.5.
Men’s – 100 meters – Joshua Wong 11.7, Reid Jackson 11.7, Ben Emanuels 12.1, Ethan Vu 12.1; 200 meters – Reid Jackson 24.2, Jeff Lindquist 24.4, John Hammerstrom 25.3, Christopher Richards 26.6, Michael Munoz 26.8; 400 meters – 2. Cassidy Kaufman 55.7, Nick Radow 56.2, Ethan Vu 56.7, Ben Emanuels 57.5; 800 meters – 1. Tyler Goolsby 2:03.5, 2. Eric Schulz 2:03.9, 3. William Cluasen 2:08.8; 1,600 meters – 1. Aaron Elefson 4:43.9, 2. Matthew Wotipka 4:53.9, 3. Carl Garrett 5:01.9; 3,200 meters – 1. Daniel Vu 11:38.2, 2. Austin Scarff 12:06.3, Kendall Fagan 12:28.2; 110 hurdles – 1. John Hammerstrom 16.9, 3. Martin Ho 18.8; 300 hurdles – 1. John Hammerstrom 44.2, 3. Angel Jordan 49.6, Martin Ho 50.3; 4×100 relay – Mercer Island (Joshua Wong, Nick Radow, Ethan Vu, Jeff Lindquist) 46.7; 4×400 relay – Mercer Island (Tyler Goolsby, Martin Ho, Christopher Richards, Espen Platou) 3:59.7; Shot put – 1. Sean Pyne 39’2, 2. Ben Emanuels 34’0.25; Javelin – 1. Peter Brockway 140’3, 2. Reid Jackson 122’3, Cole Winterstein 99’4; High jump – 1. Jeff Lindquist 5’2, 2. Risley Lesko 5’0; Long jump – 1. Reid Jacson 19’4.75, 2. Cassidy Kaufman 17’7.5, Ben Emanuels 16’9.75, Peter Welch 16’6.25; Triple jump – 1. Cassidy Kaufman 36’0, 2. Espen Platou 35’5, Thomas Holt 29’10, John Gallagher 29’9.75.

Here’s a look at the schedule for MIHS spring sports this week. Lots and lots of games, both regular and make ups going on.

Monday, April 18
Varsity Baseball @ Sammamish:  Sammamish HS Ball Field; 4:30 PM
JV Baseball vs. Sammamish:  Island Crest Park; 4:30 PM
C Baseball vs. O’Dea:  POSTPONED to Thurs 5/5
Varsity Girls Golf @ Burlington Invite:  Mount Vernon C.C.; 11:00 AM
Varsity Girls Tennis vs. Seattle Prep:  MIHS Courts: 3:45 PM
JV1 Girls Tennis vs. Seattle Prep:  Homestead Park Courts; 3:45 PM
JV2 & C Team Girls Tennis @ Bothell:  Bothell HS Court; 3:30 PM
C Boys Soccer @ Bellevue:   Bellevue HS Stadium; 6:00 PM
Fr/So Boys Lacrosse vs. Bellevue:  MIHS Upper North Field; 5:00 PM (working to reschedule this game)

Tuesday, April 19
C Baseball vs. Sammamish:  Island Crest Park; 4:30 PM
Varsity Softball @ Liberty:  Liberty H.S. Field; 4:30 PM
JV 2 & C Team Girls Tennis vs. Bellevue:  Homestead Park Courts; 3:45 PM
Varsity/JV Boys Soccer vs. Juanita:  MIHS Stadium; JV 5:30 PM, Varsity 7:30 PM
D2 Girls Lacrosse vs. Wenatchee:  MIHS JV Field; 6:00 PM
Varsity Girls Water Polo vs. Newport:  KCAC; 8:30 PM

Wednesday, April 20
Varsity Baseball @ Juanita:  Lee Johnson Field, Kirkland; 7:00 PM
JV Baseball vs. Juanita:  Island Crest Park; 4:30 PM
Varsity Softball vs. Federal Way:  South Mercer Playfields; 4:30 PM
Varsity Girls Golf @ Sammamish:  Bellevue Muni. G.C.; 3:20 PM
JV Girls Golf – JV “All Comers”:  Jefferson G.C. ; 4:00 PM
Varsity Girls Tennis vs. Bishop Blanchet:  MIHS Courts; 3:45 PM
JV1 Girls Tennis @ Bishop Blanchet:  Upper Woodland Courts; 3:30 PM
Varsity Boys Lacrosse @ Lynnwood:  Meadowdale HS; 7:00 PM
D1 Girls Lacrosse @ Holy Names Academy:  Magnuson Park #1; 5:30 PM
C Boys Soccer vs. Interlake:  MIHS JV Field; 3:45 PM

Thursday, April 21
Track Meet vs. Bellevue:  MIHS Stadium; 4:00 PM
Varsity Softball vs. Lake Washington:  South Mercer Playfields; 4:30 PM
C Baseball @ Skyline:  Pacific Cascade Middle School Ball Field; 4:30 PM
JV Girls Golf @ Redmond:  Bear Creek C.C.: 3:00 PM
Varsity Girls Tennis vs. Juanita:  MIHS Courts; 3:45 PM
JV1 Girls Tennis @ Juanita:  Juanita HS Courts; 3:45 PM
D2 Girls Lacrosse @ Mukilteo:  Kamiak HS Stadium: 7:30 PM

Friday, April 22
Varsity Baseball @ Mount Si:  Mount Si HS Ball Field: 4:30 PM
JV Baseball vs. Mount Si:  Island Crest Park; 4:30 PM
C Baseball vs. Interlake:  Island Crest Park; 4:30 PM (make-up game from Thurs 3/31 rain-out)
Varsity/JV Boys Soccer @ Interlake:  Interlake HS Stadium; JV 5:30 PM, Varsity 7:30 PM
C Boys Soccer @ Eastlake:  Eastlake HS Stadium; 6:30 PM
Varsity Boys Lacrosse @ Northshore:  Inglemoor HS Stadium; 7:00 PM
D1 Girls Lacrosse @ Issaquah: Skyline HS #2: 6:00 PM

Saturday, April 23
Track Team @ Bellevue Invitational:   Bellevue H.S. Stadium; time TBA
Varsity/JV Boys Lacrosse @ Puyallup:  Sparks Stadium;  JV 5:00 PM, Varsity  7:00 PM

Comcast and US Lacrosse Washington have announced that four high school boys lacrosse games, including the state championship, will be broadcast on Comcast On Demand. The games will be available on the cable providers On Demand network for 48 hours after each game.

The games to be aired this season include two Mercer Island games, along with the state championship.

The games include:

Fri., April 15, 2011      Issaquah vs. Mercer Island ( 8 p.m. / Mercer Island High School Stadium)

Tues., May 3, 2011     Bellevue vs. Skyline (8 p.m. / Skyline High School)

Sat., May 7, 2011       Bainbridge vs. Mercer Island (7 p.m. / Mercer Island High School Stadium)

Sat., May 28, 2011     Washington Lacrosse State Championship Boys Division 1 Title Game (Memorial Stadium – Seattle)

The US Lacrosse Washington High School player of the Week in Boys and Girls Division I and II is selected based on exceptional performance and sportsmanship on the field of play by the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association and the Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association. The award is presented weekly by the Washington State Chapter of US Lacrosse and the Washington Stealth.

The players of the week will be honored by the Washington Stealth this Saturday, April 16 at their home game with the Rochester Nighthawks.  The game gets underway at 7:30 p.m. at Everett’s Comcast Arena.  To learn more about US Lacrosse Washington High School Player of the Week visit www.StealthLAX.com .

Connor Bernal

Mercer Island, Wash. – Junior, Midfield, Mercer Island High School

Mercer Island midfielder Connor Bernal scored 4 goals, including the overtime game winner in an upset of the #8 ranked high school lacrosse team in the country, Duxbury, to highlight the Islander’s spring break road swing through Massachusetts. Behind Bernal’s 4 goals, an assist and 5 ground balls, the Islanders emerged from the Commonwealth with a 2 -1 record against some of the toughest high school lacrosse competition in the county.  In games that Bernal played with a partially torn ligament in his right shoulder suffered just four days prior to boarding a plane for the east coast, the Islanders became the first Washington state team in the 33-year history of the sport in Washington to defeat a top 10 nationally ranked lacrosse squad with a  7 – 6 OT upset of Duxbury and downed perennial powerhouse Lincoln-Sudbury 8 – 7 before slipping to Concord-Carlisle 9 – 5.

As a sophomore, Bernal was named third team All-State and helped guide his team to the 2010 Washington state championship game in boys Division I.  A highly versatile and talented athlete who plays with heart, the 5-8, 160 pound Bernal already has five school letters to his credit including two in football and three in lacrosse.   As a junior, Bernal captained the Islander varsity football team playing as a wide receiver and cornerback where he was named first team All-KingCo Conference.    When he’s not catching touchdowns or pestering opposing goaltenders, Bernal spends time snowboarding and playing tennis.

In the classroom, Bernal maintains a 3.90 GPA at Mercer Island with a schedule of advanced placement course work.  He plans to play collegiate lacrosse in the Ivy League where Harvard, Yale, Brown and Dartmouth are all of interest.  In the community, Bernal chairs Mercer Island ‘s Relay for Life, where he led the recruitment over 500 participants from throughout the community and guided the event’s local fundraising, raising over $87,000 for the American Cancer Society.  A youth leader with the local LDS church, Bernal also mentors Mercer Island grade school youth and referees boys and girls basketball games with the Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club.

It was pretty quiet last week for teams on Mercer Island during the high school’s spring break. While teams like baseball and softball got rained out for many of the make-up games they were supposed to play, most other teams took a break from contests. Here’s the results for those who did have matches:

Boys lacrosse
Wednesday, April 6
Mercer Island 7, Duxbury 6 (OT)
Mercer Island – Connor Bernal 2 goals, Colton Knebel 2 goals, Alex Robbs 1 goal, 1 assist, Doug Mahony 1 goal, Peter Iani 1 goal, Brain Bernstein 17 saves.

Friday, April 8
Concord-Carlisle 9, Mercer Island 5
Mercer Island – Alex Rorem 3 goals, Colton Knebel 1 goal, Doug Mahony 1 goal, Erik Hermanns 1 assist.

Saturday, April 9
Mercer Island 7, Lincoln-Sudbury 5

Baseball
Friday, April 8
Lake Washington 12, MI 11
LW – 0  0  4  2  0  0  3  0  0  0  3  – 12
MI –  2  3  0  4  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  –  11
Mercer Island – Evan Thompson 3-6, 2 runs, 1 RBI, Nick Holstead 2-5, 1 run, Jordan Richartz 1-5, 3 runs, David Oppenheim 2-4, 2 runs, 4 RBI, 1 home run, Cameron Ogard 2-6, 2 runs, 2 RBI, George Jiranek 1-5, Max Dammeier 2-5, 1 run.

Saturday, April 9
Mount Si 11, Mercer Island 1
Mount Si –  3  2  0  0  2  4  –  11
Mercer Island –  1  0  0  0  0  0  –  1

Mercer Island’s Philip Pugel makes first base during the Islanders’ extra inning loss to Lake Washington on Friday.

Boys soccer
Tuesday, April 5
Sammamish 2, Mercer Island 1
Sammamish – Nick Rooney (Sammy Gonzalez) 20:00, Beau Blanchard (Angel Pinedo) 60:00.
Mercer Island – Perrin Guyer (Woody Jacobson) 37:00.

Track and field
Saturday, April 9
Acradia Invitational (Arcadia, Calif.)
Women’s – 100 hurdles – 8. Cora Miller 17.55; 300 hurdles – 7. Cora Miller 49.90.
Men’s – 3,200 meters – 32. Aaron Elefson 9:47.51.

Here’s a look at the Washington high school lacrosse standings through April 10. The Mercer Island boys, back from their trip to Boston over spring break, remained tied for second place in the league with Skyline. They will face Issaquah on Friday, April 15 at MIHS. Issaquah holds the No. 1 spot in the league right now.

In the girls league, the Islanders are also tied for second place, holding on with Snohomish with a 3-1-1 record this season.

Boys Division I

Girls Division I