ADAM BARRETT, AR girls basketball
Barrett’s Ravens did it once, then they did it once again. For the second straight year, Auburn Riverside knocked off every in-state opponent, capped by a 48-40 victory against a young but highly talented Kennedy team to capture another Class 3A state girls basketball title. The Ravens finished with a 25-3 record, with their only three losses coming in the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions last December in Phoenix. They breezed through South Puget Sound League 3A competition, then turned aside Kennedy in the SPSL-Seamount League playoffs, and again in the West Central-Southwest District title game.
ED BENDER, Auburn girls basketball
A one-time state power with two titles and seven appearances in the finals, the Trojans hadn’t been to the season-ending dance in more than a decade – 1997, to be precise. This past winter, Bender’s team did something about it. Auburn went 10-4 in SPSL 3A play, finishing second behind undefeated Auburn Riverside. After dropping their district opener to Fort Vancouver, the Trojans won two straight loser-out games to clinch a state ticket. Once they got to Hec Edmundson Pavilion, they bounced back from a first-round loss to Bellevue and beat Ferris, then gave Lakeside a run for it into the fourth quarter before the Lions pulled away. Bender’s team finished with a 19-9 overall record.
RYAN HANSEN, Auburn boys basketball
Hansen’s veteran squad put together a perfect regular season, going 14-0 in SPSL 3A play and 20-0 overall. Fittingly, Auburn clinched the league title with a gritty 55-53 victory at Enumclaw – one of the toughest places to play a game, much less win one. Auburn hung on to beat Renton in the SPSL-Seamount playoffs, 64-62, and went on to qualify for state, winning one of its three games to finish with a 23-4 record.
JAYME HOSTETTER, Auburn Mountainview gymnastics
Hostetter’s talented team battled assorted injuries all winter, but never flinched. The Lions went 16-0 during South Puget Sound League competition, becoming the first team in the three-year history of the school to put together an undefeated regular-season record. Mountainview followed by winning the SPSL sub-district and West Central District meets. Finally in the Class 3A state meet, the Lions racked up a school-record 171.60 points to take home the third-place trophy.
CRYSTAL JILBERT, AR girls swimming
Over the years, Riverside has won lots of titles in lots of girls sports – but never in swimming. That changed last fall. In the final dual meet of the SPSL 3A season, the Ravens beat defending champion Enumclaw in the Hornets’ pool, 103-83. The win gave Auburn Riverside a final record of 4-1 and a share of the regular-season crown, along with Enumclaw and Sumner.
CHRIS LEVERENZ, AR volleyball/fastpitch
One state tournament wasn’t enough for the veteran coach. Leverenz got both of her teams – volleyball in the fall, fastpitch in the spring – into state. Her volleyball team took down everyone in its path on the way to the Class 3A state championship match. The Ravens went 23-1, their only loss to Hanford in the state final. The softball team, which graduated some top veterans from last year, also won the SPSL 3A title, going 13-1, made it to the district final, and then to state. AR’s final record was 19-7.
CRYSTAL WISNESS, Auburn girls tennis
In a league where Auburn Riverside and Enumclaw usually are the first schools to be mentioned when the topic is title contenders, no one gave Auburn much of a thought. But with a solid 1-2 singles punch of Sandy Dennett and Breann VanSteenvoort, Wisness found the right combinations in doubles to help the Trojans forge a 13-1 record and capture the school’s first-ever girls tennis league championship. Along the way, Auburn split its two matches against the defending champion Hornets, and swept two from perennial power Auburn Riverside. One of Wisness’ doubles teams, Mariah Siemion and Peyton Prothero, whom she paired up at midseason, went all the way to the state tournament.
