We’re going to play a little catch up today with former MI grads now playing elsewhere in the country.

I know there are quite a few out there, so feel free to let me know who/where and how they are doing and I’ll update the blog as I hear more.

University of Oregon freshman Jonathan Witz, who is a 2010 MI grad, is playing for the Ducks football team, on the defensive line. The Ducks are currently ranked the No. 3 in the country with a 5-0 record this season. Witz, who wears No. 97, played football and competed in the shot put in track and field at MIHS.
The Ducks are headed to WSU this Saturday for a Pac-10 showdown.

Turns out last Friday was a pretty big night for the Top 10 teams around the state. Auburn fell to No. 9, but the Skyline held on to the No. 1 spot once again. Kentlake could quickly jump into the group with a win over Kentwood this week.

In the 3A group, the monster win Juanita had over Liberty dropped the Patriots from No. 2 to No. 6 while Juanita moves into the No. 4 spot. The Rebels host Bellevue this Friday is what is shaping up to be the biggest match of the KingCo conference.

It’s interesting to note that this season KingCo 3A has four playoffs spots this season, meaning that for teams like Liberty, who currently sit tied for third place against Mount Si the playoff situation could take until Oct. 29 to figure out. Lake Washington and Mercer Island are both tied for fifth place. The Islanders travel to Mount Si this weekend, while Lake Washington goes to Liberty.

It will likely be a while until we know exactly who that last team will be to make the cut off, especially considering how wacky the season has already been.

Class 4A
1. Skyline (4-1)
2. Curtis (5-0)
3. Ferris (5-0)
4. Bothell (4-1)
5. Issaquah (4-1)
6. Kentwood (5-0)
7. Gonzaga Prep (4-1)
8. Chiawana (5-0)
9. Auburn (4-1)
10. Union (4-1)
Others receiving votes: Richland (4-1)

Who they play:
No.1 Skyline (4-1) vs. Newport (3-2)
No.2 Curtis (5-0) vs. No.9 Auburn (4-1)
No.3 Ferris (5-0) at Class 3A No.5 Mount Spokane (5-0)
No.4 Bothell (4-1) at Woodinville (3-2)
No.5 Issaquah (4-1) vs. Redmond (2-3)
No.6 Kentwood (5-0) at Kentlake (5-0)
No.7 Gonzaga Prep (4-1) at Central Valley (4-2)
No.8 Chiawana (5-0) at Moses Lake (1-4)
No.10 Union (4-1) at Heritage (1-4)
Richland (4-1) vs. Wenatchee (4-1)

Class 3A
1. Bellevue (4-1)
2. Camas (5-0)
3. Capital (5-0)
4. Juanita (5-0)
5. Mount Spokane (5-0)
6. Liberty (3-2)
7. Kamiakin (5-0)
8. Lakes (4-1)
9. Glacier Peak (4-1)
10. O’Dea (4-1)
Others receiving votes: Kennedy Catholic (4-1)

Who they play:
No.1 Bellevue (4-1) at No.4 Juanita (5-0)
No.2 Camas (5-0) vs. Hudson’s Bay (1-4)
No.3 Capital (5-0) at Foss (0-5)
No.5 Mount Spokane (5-0) vs. Class 4A No.3 Ferris (5-0)
No.6 Liberty (3-2) vs. Lake Washington (2-3)
No.7 Kamiakin (5-0) at Southridge (2-3)
No.8 Lakes (4-1) vs. Decatur (1-4)
No.9 Glacier Peak (4-1) at Mountlake Terrace (3-2)
No.10 O’Dea (4-1) vs. Eastside Catholic (4-1)
Kennedy Catholic (4-1) vs. Renton (1-4)

Class 2A
1. Archbishop Murphy (5-0)
2. Lynden (5-0)
3. Prosser (4-1)
4. Burlington-Edison (5-0)
5. Tumwater (4-1)
6. Lindbergh (4-1)
7. Clarkston (4-1)
8. Ellensburg (3-2)
9. W.F. West (4-1)
10. Sumner (4-1)
Others receiving votes: Port Angeles (5-0), Eatonville (5-0), Centrailia (5-0), Lakewood (4-1)

Who they play:
No.1 Archbishop Murphy (5-0) at Granite Falls (2-3)
No.2 Lynden (5-0) vs. Squalicum (2-3)
No.3 Prosser (4-1) at Wapato (0-5)
No.4 Burlington-Edison (5-0) vs. Blaine (1-4)
No.5 Tumwater (4-1) at Centrailia (5-0)
No.6 Lindbergh (4-1) vs. Tyee (0-4)
No.7 Clarkston (4-1) at West Valley (Spokane) (1-3)
No.8 Ellensburg (3-2) at Selah (3-2)
No.9 W.F. West (4-1) at Black Hills (1-4)
No.10 Sumner (4-1) vs. Franklin Pierce (1-4)
Port Angeles (5-0) vs. North Mason (3-2)
Eatonville (5-0) vs. Clover Park (2-3)
Lakewood (4-1) vs. King’s (5-0)

Here is the weekly schedule for Mercer Island High School sports. It’s a busy week as conference games are now in full swing. I will be making appearances at the girls soccer game tomorrow night against Interlake, taking pictures at the cross country meet on Wednesday, going to the girls swim meet on Thursday afternoon against Sammamish (3:30 p.m. start time at Mary Wayte Pool) before heading to the football game on Friday evening.

Also this week, the Reporter sports writers will be hosting our weekly chat on Wednesday (Sept. 22) at 7:30 p.m. We decided to host it during the evening to allow more students, fans, parents and coaches to get online and ask us questions. So come check it out on Wednesday (watch for a link on the www.mi-reporter.com sports page and of course on MIRsports).

As always, questions, story ideas or anything else, just let me know at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com.

MONDAY, SEPT. 20
Varsity Boys Tennis @ Eastlake: Eastlake HS Courts; 3:45 PM
Volleyball vs. Bellevue: MIHS Gym; JV/C White 5:30 PM, Varsity 7:00 PM
C Maroon Volleyball @ Mt. Si: Mt. Si HS; 5:30 PM
Varsity Boys Golf @ Seattle Prep: West Seattle Golf Course; 2:00 PM
JV Boys Golf vs. WHS: Echo Falls Golf Course; 4:00 PM
C Girls Soccer @ Issaquah: Issaquah HS Stadium; 6:30 PM

TUESDAY, SEPT. 21
Girls Soccer vs. Interlake:  MIHS Stadium; JV 5:30 PM, Varsity 7:30 PM
Varsity Boys Water Polo vs. Newport: KCAC; 8:30 PM
Varsity Boys Tennis @ Lake Washington:  LWHS Courts; 3:45 PM
NEW LOCATION:  JV1/JV2 & C Boys Tennis @ Lake Washington:  LWHS Courts; 3:45 PM
Varsity Boys Golf vs. Interlake:  Twin Rivers Golf Course; 3:45 pm

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22
Cross Country @ Bellevue with Lk. Wash.: Kelsey Creek; 4:00 PM
Varsity Boys Golf vs. Sammamish: Bellevue Muni Golf Course; 3:15 PM
Volleyball @ Sammamish: Sammamish HS Gym; JV/C White 5:30 PM, Varsity 7:00 PM
C Maroon Volleyball vs. Liberty; Liberty HS Gym: 5:30 PM
Frosh Football @ Sammamish; Sammamish HS Stadium: 6:00 PM

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23
Girls Swim & Dive vs. Sammamish: Mary Wayte Pool; 3:30 PM
Varsity Boys Tennis vs. Sammamish: MIHS Courts; 3:45 PM
JV1/JV2/C Boys Tennis @ Sammamish: Sammamish HS Courts; 3:45 PM
JV1/JV2/C Boys Tennis @ Bothell: Bothell HS Courts; 3:45 pm
Soph Football @ Lake Washington: Lake Washington Stadium; 6:30 PM

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24
Varsity Football vs. Interlake: MIHS Stadium; 7:00 PM
JV Boys Golf vs. Issaquah: Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course; 3:45 PM

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25
Girls Soccer vs. Bellevue: MIHS Stadium; JV 5:30 PM, Varsity 7:30 PM
Varsity Cross Country @ Nike PreNationals: Portland Meadows
JV CrossCountry @ Bellevue Invite: Lake Sammamish State Park; 9:30 AM

It’s Tuesday (although somehow it already feels later in the week) so here are some prep sports updates/thoughts for the week.

Thursday the Islanders travel to Juanita (kick off at 7 p.m.) for an early game (Yom Kippur, which starts Friday night, caused the earlier game).

Juanita enters the contest 2-0 after handling both Redmond and Inglemoor in it’s first two weeks of play. Neither were conference match-ups, and some could argue neither are a true test of a KingCo team. Maybe this week will be.

Last Friday night at the end of the game, Ogata said he felt the team (the Islanders are 1-1) was well prepared to face off against Juanita, currently ranked No. 5 in the Reporter Newspapers poll. The Islanders showed strength against 4A Newport on Friday. A couple more minutes on that game and it could have had a different outcome (although isn’t that pretty much always the case?).

The other thing that caught my eye Friday was, of course, the new Islander football uniforms.

Chad Coleman/Mercer Island Reporter

So rather than asking who is going to win on Friday (the obvious question, but still a good one) what do you think of the uniforms?

What do you think of the Islanders football uniforms?
(polls)

Desperately want to share why the Islanders or the Rebels are going to win on Thursday night? Hit the comments!

After a great chat with Coach Ogata last week before football practice, I quickly realized I had way more information than I was going to be able to use in my story, which bodes well for you as my outtakes can be found below.

Don’t forget tomorrow at 2 p.m. we’ll be hosting a pre-season football chat (but we’ll also talk all fall sports). Check out www.bellevuereporter.com to pick the brains of Eastside sports writers from the Bellevue, Issaquah/Sammamish and Renton Reporters.

Ogata on defensive strengths: Defensively I’ve got a new defensive coordinator Shane Keck, he’s just amazing in terms of bringing energy and just that whole team bonding and energy on the defensive side is going to be the strongest part; but I really like our linebackers, and to be honest I like all the kids out there, the linebackers the DE’s (defensive end) the d-line. I feel pretty confident in what we have out there, it’s just them coming together and growing and getting to know the system better.

On where the team might need a little help: The biggest issue we have this year is that if we don’t have any injuries we can compete with anyone, I really believe that. But we are thin at some spots and injuries and things like that can really affect this team. We’re not as deep as I’d like to be – the kids we have that are playing hard for us, are good, we’re just a little short on numbers.

Right now if everything goes as planned the following year – this year we’ve got 35 on the varsity and next year we’ll actually jump up to close to 60. We have a really big sophomore class that is good, their playing sophomore ball this year, but next year they’ll move up. Things will start changing a lot. We have a big freshman group coming in and a bunch of 8th graders. We’re doing a good job of growing and I really think that in time it’s going to grow. It’s sad that a lot of last year’s seniors and this year’s seniors just had such kind of a bad experience and went through all these different coaches and all that that it’s tough to hang around. That’s why the numbers were low but they are going up.

On if Jeff Lindquist and the program are ready for the attention he’ll bring: I know he is. He’s ready and I think the program is too. Jeff’s becoming more well known as a really good quarterback. He’s a great person to put on the so called poster of our program and he’s a great kid. He’s the type of kid you want your daughter to marry, he’s so nice, so kind, always thinking about others. He’s raised by wonderful parents – he’s ready for it. His parents have really done a great job of making sure he’s a grounded kid and understanding that it’s more than him. It’s not just about Jeff Lindquist and it’s really cool see him get what he deserves because I felt like he worked  really hard in the off season to get to where he is, it wasn’t just like Jeff had all this talent, I mean he does, but he had to work at it to develop it. It’s pretty cool to see him grow and develop.

On what he’s excited for this season: I just am excited about the first game. I’m really nervous, anxious about this team. I’m excited to see that finally a good competitive Islander team will be on the field. I’m just excited to see how these guys will react and get some excitement in the community. I just think we need to play each team tough, we can’t take  a game off – I think if we do that we can have a shot at the post season this year. I’m excited just to start the season.

Finally here’s what Lindquist had to say on his goal for the season: Coming together (is the goal). Working hard all the time because if you work hard with your teammates all the time there’s really no limitations to what you can do.

Here’s a longer version of the story about the MIHS boys lacrosse team being ranked 21st in the nation by U.S. Lacrosse magazine. Thanks to Linda Williams Rorem for writing this up!

This small island community of nearly 23,000 people made national news last week when its high school varsity lacrosse team was ranked 21st in the nation (out of some 3,000) and fourth on the west coast by the sport’s governing body, US Lacrosse.

The Islanders finished the 2010 season with a 21-1 record; its only loss was the state final game against Bellevue, in overtime.  It was the team’s ninth season under Coach Ian O’Hearn, who was raised in New York State and played at State University of New York at Albany.

“To come from not being on the radar 10 years ago to breaking into the Top 25 in the county is an amazing milestone,” says Mercer Island Lacrosse Club President Dan Taylor. “I continue to see a bright future ahead for the Mercer Island Lacrosse program regardless of future rankings.  It is not always about numbers, but more importantly the quality of the experience and opportunities we provide to our players to enable them to aspire to their potential.”

Mercer Island’s Top 25 ranking is especially significant with regards to the sport’s growth over the past decade. When Coach O’Hearn arrived in 2002, Mercer Island had just four lacrosse teams: two middle school teams, one JV team and a Varsity squad.  Now, the island boasts 15: three 1st/2nd grade teams, four 3rd/4th grade teams, two 5th/6th grade teams, three 7th/8th grade teams, a Frosh/Soph team, a JV team and a Varsity team.

This growth has been mirrored state-wide, with an increase in the double digits for six of the past eight years.  With Mercer Island’s program now on the map, coaches will certainly spend more time looking westward for recruitment.  “I am very happy that Washington high school lacrosse is starting to get some national exposure,” says O’Hearn.

Each year, a handful of Mercer Island graduates continue on to college teams. This fall, at least five of the 12 recent graduates will play at the university level including one—midfielder Jon Wettack—on a Top 10 Division 3 squad. Wettack was also named a 2010 All-American.

Mercer Island’s boys’ lacrosse program has gained national attention not only with its skilled players and winning seasons, but also by hosting the annual Northwest Invitational – which draws teams from across the nation and British Columbia — and by traveling each spring for games on the east coast, which is considered the sport’s hotbed.

This year, the boys traveled to O’Hearn’s old turf, where they played such stalwart opponents as Mahopac, Lakeland-Panas and Gulderland, soundly winning all three matches.

Says Mark Larson, who initiated the Mercer Island lacrosse youth program 15 years ago: “Our greatest accomplishment is in building a [lacrosse] community that provides a place for young people to belong, to be challenged, to contribute and give back.”

If you are a KingCo football fan, mark your calendar.

Next Thursday, Aug. 26 at 2 p.m., various Reporter sports writers from across the Eastside will taking taking questions from readers about the upcoming football season. So, if you have a burning question about Mercer Island football, Skyline’s chances this year, or if Sammamish is really going to be as good as some are predicting, log on and ask us!

I’ll be talking with MIHS football coach Brett Ogata later this week, and will come to the chat fully prepared to share my thoughts and insights on what we know so far about the Islanders.

Sports writers from the Issaquah Reporter (@issy_sam_sports), Bellevue Reporter (@BellevuePreps) and Renton Reporter (@RentonReporter), along with yours truly will be on hand for questions. And who knows, there may be more who join us on Thursday.

The chat will be hosted on the Web site – watch for more information about the specifics coming soon.

The Islanders first game of the season will be against Seattle Prep at West Seattle Stadium on Sept. 3. And of course, stay tuned here, and at the main Web site www.mi-reporter.com for continued fall sports coverage as the season begins.

It’s hardly even summer yet (or maybe never will be if this rain doesn’t let up sometime), but here’s a quick look at the fall football schedule for Mercer Island High School. The team finished the 2009 season 4-6 under first year head coach Brett Ogata, who returns for a second season in the fall.

2010 Varsity Schedule (preliminary)
Home games in bold
• Sept 3: at Seattle Prep (West Seattle stadium)
• Sept 10: Newport
• Sept. 17: at Juanita
• Sept 24: Interlake
• Oct. 1: at Bellevue
• Oct. 8: at Mt. Si
• Oct. 15: Liberty (homecoming)
• Oct. 22: at Sammamish
• Oct. 29: Lake Washington
• Nov. 5/6: Playoff or Metro crossover game

It might be a holiday weekend, but the relaxing barbeques are going to have to wait until Sunday as many of the MIHS teams are in the hunt for state hardware this week.

Things kick off tonight with the boys lacrosse state semi-final game against Issaquah. The game starts at 8 p.m. at Islander Stadium. The Islanders are undefeated this season, 19-0 overall and 14-0 in league. Issaquah, the two time defending state champs are 16-4 overall and 12-2 in league. In the two teams only meeting this season, Mercer Island won the game 9-7 in a rematch of last year’s state final game.

Tomorrow, members of the Islanders track team will travel to Mt. Tahoma High School for the state meet. Molly O’Callahan, Carly Andersen, Lauren Ellis, Cora Miller and Aaron Elefson are all competing at the event.

The girls 3A 3,200 race, which O’Callahan is competing in will take place on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. The boys 3A 3,200 race, which Elefson will compete in, also takes place Thursday at 8:30 p.m.

Andersen and Ellis will both compete in the 3A girls javelin contest, which will take place on Friday, May 28 at 12:30 p.m.

The 300-meter hurdles race, which Miller will compete in, begins with heat 1 at 1:55 on Friday. Heat 2 will race at 2 p.m. The finals will be held on Saturday at 12:15 p.m.

For a full list of the track and field state schedule, and the heat sheets for each competition visit the WIAA track and field page.

The state tennis competition starts on Friday, May 28. Jordan Smith, Max Franklin, Andrew Smith, Chelsea Bailey, Julia Schubach, Kelly Crandall, Julia Zook and Nora Tan will all play for the Islanders. You can find the various doubles and singles brackets here for both boys and girls.

The girls and boys state golf tournament will wrap up this afternoon. Here’s a look at the first day scores for the Islanders and I will be updating the final scores as soon as they become available.

Best of luck to all the MI teams!

In just about two weeks I’m going to be introducing a new feature to the sports section and I need your help! Along with some other new things that we here at the Reporter are going to be doing, I’m going to include a weekly Sports profile in the sports section.

In order to highlight local athletes I need students to fill them out! So that’s where you come in: Anyone who would like to, can fill out the questionnaire at the bottom of this post, and send it back to me at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com

I will be selecting those submitted at random and the first will run on May 19. Thanks in advance for all your help!

Click here to down load the form: MI Reporter sports profile

Here’s a look an example of what the profile will look like in the paper: