Tiger tracker: Volleyball gets first wins, XC top-10 relays, soccer still searching
Volleyball climbed to 2-4 with back-to-back wins, cross country landed two relay teams in the top 10 at Ellensburg, and soccer slipped to 0-5 despite a competitive showing at Quincy.
Updated
From left, Addison Vasquez, Sidney Chornuk, Navi Kaur, Staci Guerrero and Skyler Wood celebrate a point during Ephrata's four-set win over North Central (Spokane) on Sept. 12, the program's first win of the season. Photos by Casey Devine
Volleyball
Ephrata volleyball got in the win column this week, claiming back-to-back matches by beating North Central (Spokane) at home Sept. 12 and sweeping Quincy on the road Sept. 15, to improve their season record to 2-4.
The Tigers took the NC match in four sets, 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18. They followed that victory with their most dominating performance yet at Quincy, winning 25-7, 25-18, 25-15.
At Quincy, a trio of sophomores helped lead the Tigers' attack. Addison Vasquez paced the offense with 12 kills; Sidney Chornuk added eight kills, 14 digs and two aces; and Staci Guerrero anchored the back row with 28 digs. Other contributors on the young Ephrata squad included fellow sophomores Bergen Lauver (four blocks, four ace serves) and Scarlet Wolther (eight digs) and juniors Clairissa Johnson (seven kills, seven blocks) and Navi Kaur (one block).
Team unity made the difference, said first-year Ephrata coach McKaidan Boyd.
“The girls are not only showing up for themselves, but each other really well right now," she said. "Confidence and mental toughness have been some of the key highlights of our team's focus, and taking one day at a time."
Boyd added, "It's been an honor so far to work with such talented athletes who have the same goals in mind."
Ephrata will face visiting Prosser (4-1) this Thursday, then host a 16-team tournament Saturday (Sept. 19) starting at 8 a.m. Schools from across central and eastern Washington will participate, including neighboring squads from Moses Lake and Almira-Coulee-Hartline.
Cross Country
ELLENSBURG — Ephrata placed two relay squads in the top 10 among a field of 52 coed teams competing at the Ellensburg Invitational Relays on Friday. The Tigers' top team finished fourth overall with a combined time of 46 minutes, 35.9 seconds and the second group placed ninth at 48:09.4.
Host Ellensburg won in 43:25.0, Eisenhower took second in 43:54.0, and a second Ellensburg team placed third in 46:18.0, 17.9 seconds ahead of Ephrata's fourth-place finishers.
Runners on the coed teams — three boys and two girls — each cover 1.5-mile legs on a course that includes hay bales and a water crossing through a pond.
Ephrata entered 48 runners at the invitational, with 20 filling four Tiger relay teams and the others racing the same course individually beforehand.
Junior Caleb Fitts led Ephrata's fourth-place team with a time of 8:08, the fastest leg any Tiger ran Friday and 32 seconds quicker than the 8:40.2 leg he ran last year as a sophomore. Junior Rebecca Wiser went next in 10:09, followed by freshman Mike Jimenez in 8:52 and junior Savannah Harper in 10:30, before junior Niko Diaz anchored in 8:56.
For the Tigers' ninth-place team, sophomore Caleb Schooler led off in 8:40. Freshman Sam Goldy ran 9:00, followed by freshman Zoie Grubb (10:09) and senior Hannah Malone (11:22) before freshman Seve Molitor anchored in 8:59.
Five freshmen landed among Ephrata's nine fastest boys. Jimenez was third in the Tigers’ top 10 at 8:52, Molitor sixth at 8:59, Goldy and Ransom Springs both even at 9:00 and Conrad Nelson at 9:02.
"The freshman boys continue to surprise and impress," head coach Lyndsy Roberts said. "Their potential is tremendous. If they stick together and push each other in workouts, I'm excited to see what they accomplish."
Roberts also lauded Zoie Grubb's effort. "Excited to see her grow in confidence and understand she can compete with anyone in our league," he said.
Noah Maynard ran 9:36 and Kayden Varnell 10:05 in the first boys individual race, both placing in the top 10, Roberts said.
"It was fun to watch Noah and Kayden compete at the front of a race," Roberts said. "A great reward for them in the early season."
Ephrata's other teams took 19th in 51:37.8 and 25th in 52:35.1. Junior Ryan Delgado ran 8:53 on the 19th-place team, fourth-fastest among Tiger boys.
The Tigers compete again this Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Apple Ridge Run Invitational in Yakima, on the course that also hosts the Central Washington Athletic Conference's district meet.
Roberts said Saturday's event will feature three separate courses, scoring six runners per team, and is limited to larger schools.
"A chance for most of our younger runners to see the district course," Roberts said. "Valuable experience for our end-of-year postseason race."
Top 10 Results —
Boys: Caleb Fitts 8:08, Caleb Schooler 8:40, Mike Jimenez 8:52, Ryan Delgado 8:53, Niko Diaz 8:56, Seve Molitor 8:59, Sam Goldy 9:00, Ransom Springs 9:00, Conrad Nelson 9:02, Louden Leenhouts 9:05
Ephrata girls soccer lost 3-1 to Cle Elum-Roslyn at home Saturday, Sept. 12, and 4-1 in a non-league match at Quincy on Tuesday, Sept. 15, dropping to an 0-5 season start.
Against Cle Elum-Roslyn, Ellie Molitor, assisted by Jill Linehan, accounted for Ephrata's goal.
Quincy had not given up a goal in four matches before facing Ephrata. The Lady Tigers ended that shutout streak when goalkeeper Aiyana Valle booted a 40-yard free kick that found Skarlett Sanchez near midfield. Sanchez passed it left to Brooklynne Addink, who found the top corner of the net from about 10 yards out.
Klepec said a tweak to Ephrata's new formation before the Quincy match helped, and so did having senior Brooklynn Sieverkropp back in the midfield after a high ankle sprain.
"The score was definitely not an indication of how well we played," head coach Gary Klepec said of the Quincy match. "I feel like we actually had more possession than they did."
The Lady Tiger offense came alive after halftime and controlled much of the remaining possession time. They took at least eight shots, five by freshman Ellie Molitor.
Molitor broke past the Quincy defense several times, making senior keeper Aylen Garcia dive to stop her.
On one, she got the ball back and found Addink, whose shot bounced off a defender to Sanchez. Sanchez's try glanced off the crossbar. On another, Molitor slipped past Garcia and a Quincy defender cleared the ball inches off the goal line.
"Ellie has been instrumental up top and will definitely help our offense this season," Klepec said, "especially when some of these injured girls come back."
The Tigers have been plagued by injuries in their first five games, but two defensive starters could soon be back in the lineup. Senior McKinnley Graaff may return this week, Klepec said, and should be back before league play begins. Kaitlyn Wolther tried a few minutes at Quincy but could not play at full strength and may need a longer recovery. CWAC All-Conference player Paige Murray remains out for the season.
Klepec said Ephrata has had to pull inexperienced players up from the junior varsity to fill the gaps. "The whole team has had to step up and we'll have to continue to step up," Klepec said.
The Lady Tigers host Prosser (2-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ephrata High School soccer complex.
"Keeping spirits up has not been too much of a problem with this group," Klepec said. "They are very close-knit and are able to encourage each other and stay positive."
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Tiger tracker: Volleyball gets first wins, XC top-10 relays, soccer still searching
Volleyball climbed to 2-4 with back-to-back wins, cross country landed two relay teams in the top 10 at Ellensburg, and soccer slipped to 0-5 despite a competitive showing at Quincy.
Volleyball
Ephrata volleyball got in the win column this week, claiming back-to-back matches by beating North Central (Spokane) at home Sept. 12 and sweeping Quincy on the road Sept. 15, to improve their season record to 2-4.
The Tigers took the NC match in four sets, 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18. They followed that victory with their most dominating performance yet at Quincy, winning 25-7, 25-18, 25-15.
At Quincy, a trio of sophomores helped lead the Tigers' attack. Addison Vasquez paced the offense with 12 kills; Sidney Chornuk added eight kills, 14 digs and two aces; and Staci Guerrero anchored the back row with 28 digs. Other contributors on the young Ephrata squad included fellow sophomores Bergen Lauver (four blocks, four ace serves) and Scarlet Wolther (eight digs) and juniors Clairissa Johnson (seven kills, seven blocks) and Navi Kaur (one block).
Team unity made the difference, said first-year Ephrata coach McKaidan Boyd.
“The girls are not only showing up for themselves, but each other really well right now," she said. "Confidence and mental toughness have been some of the key highlights of our team's focus, and taking one day at a time."
Boyd added, "It's been an honor so far to work with such talented athletes who have the same goals in mind."
Ephrata will face visiting Prosser (4-1) this Thursday, then host a 16-team tournament Saturday (Sept. 19) starting at 8 a.m. Schools from across central and eastern Washington will participate, including neighboring squads from Moses Lake and Almira-Coulee-Hartline.
Cross Country
ELLENSBURG — Ephrata placed two relay squads in the top 10 among a field of 52 coed teams competing at the Ellensburg Invitational Relays on Friday. The Tigers' top team finished fourth overall with a combined time of 46 minutes, 35.9 seconds and the second group placed ninth at 48:09.4.
Host Ellensburg won in 43:25.0, Eisenhower took second in 43:54.0, and a second Ellensburg team placed third in 46:18.0, 17.9 seconds ahead of Ephrata's fourth-place finishers.
Runners on the coed teams — three boys and two girls — each cover 1.5-mile legs on a course that includes hay bales and a water crossing through a pond.
Ephrata entered 48 runners at the invitational, with 20 filling four Tiger relay teams and the others racing the same course individually beforehand.
Junior Caleb Fitts led Ephrata's fourth-place team with a time of 8:08, the fastest leg any Tiger ran Friday and 32 seconds quicker than the 8:40.2 leg he ran last year as a sophomore. Junior Rebecca Wiser went next in 10:09, followed by freshman Mike Jimenez in 8:52 and junior Savannah Harper in 10:30, before junior Niko Diaz anchored in 8:56.
For the Tigers' ninth-place team, sophomore Caleb Schooler led off in 8:40. Freshman Sam Goldy ran 9:00, followed by freshman Zoie Grubb (10:09) and senior Hannah Malone (11:22) before freshman Seve Molitor anchored in 8:59.
Five freshmen landed among Ephrata's nine fastest boys. Jimenez was third in the Tigers’ top 10 at 8:52, Molitor sixth at 8:59, Goldy and Ransom Springs both even at 9:00 and Conrad Nelson at 9:02.
"The freshman boys continue to surprise and impress," head coach Lyndsy Roberts said. "Their potential is tremendous. If they stick together and push each other in workouts, I'm excited to see what they accomplish."
Roberts also lauded Zoie Grubb's effort. "Excited to see her grow in confidence and understand she can compete with anyone in our league," he said.
Noah Maynard ran 9:36 and Kayden Varnell 10:05 in the first boys individual race, both placing in the top 10, Roberts said.
"It was fun to watch Noah and Kayden compete at the front of a race," Roberts said. "A great reward for them in the early season."
Ephrata's other teams took 19th in 51:37.8 and 25th in 52:35.1. Junior Ryan Delgado ran 8:53 on the 19th-place team, fourth-fastest among Tiger boys.
The Tigers compete again this Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Apple Ridge Run Invitational in Yakima, on the course that also hosts the Central Washington Athletic Conference's district meet.
Roberts said Saturday's event will feature three separate courses, scoring six runners per team, and is limited to larger schools.
"A chance for most of our younger runners to see the district course," Roberts said. "Valuable experience for our end-of-year postseason race."
Top 10 Results —
Boys: Caleb Fitts 8:08, Caleb Schooler 8:40, Mike Jimenez 8:52, Ryan Delgado 8:53, Niko Diaz 8:56, Seve Molitor 8:59, Sam Goldy 9:00, Ransom Springs 9:00, Conrad Nelson 9:02, Louden Leenhouts 9:05
Girls: Zoie Grubb 10:09, Rebecca Wiser 10:09, Savannah Harper 10:30, Hannah Malone 11:22, Annabelle Adams 11:39, Eden Morris 12:13, Gracee Neff 12:19, Paisley Graaff 12:20, Evangeline Springs 12:22, Jillian Bair 12:31
Soccer
Ephrata girls soccer lost 3-1 to Cle Elum-Roslyn at home Saturday, Sept. 12, and 4-1 in a non-league match at Quincy on Tuesday, Sept. 15, dropping to an 0-5 season start.
Against Cle Elum-Roslyn, Ellie Molitor, assisted by Jill Linehan, accounted for Ephrata's goal.
Quincy had not given up a goal in four matches before facing Ephrata. The Lady Tigers ended that shutout streak when goalkeeper Aiyana Valle booted a 40-yard free kick that found Skarlett Sanchez near midfield. Sanchez passed it left to Brooklynne Addink, who found the top corner of the net from about 10 yards out.
Klepec said a tweak to Ephrata's new formation before the Quincy match helped, and so did having senior Brooklynn Sieverkropp back in the midfield after a high ankle sprain.
"The score was definitely not an indication of how well we played," head coach Gary Klepec said of the Quincy match. "I feel like we actually had more possession than they did."
The Lady Tiger offense came alive after halftime and controlled much of the remaining possession time. They took at least eight shots, five by freshman Ellie Molitor.
Molitor broke past the Quincy defense several times, making senior keeper Aylen Garcia dive to stop her.
On one, she got the ball back and found Addink, whose shot bounced off a defender to Sanchez. Sanchez's try glanced off the crossbar. On another, Molitor slipped past Garcia and a Quincy defender cleared the ball inches off the goal line.
"Ellie has been instrumental up top and will definitely help our offense this season," Klepec said, "especially when some of these injured girls come back."
The Tigers have been plagued by injuries in their first five games, but two defensive starters could soon be back in the lineup. Senior McKinnley Graaff may return this week, Klepec said, and should be back before league play begins. Kaitlyn Wolther tried a few minutes at Quincy but could not play at full strength and may need a longer recovery. CWAC All-Conference player Paige Murray remains out for the season.
Klepec said Ephrata has had to pull inexperienced players up from the junior varsity to fill the gaps. "The whole team has had to step up and we'll have to continue to step up," Klepec said.
The Lady Tigers host Prosser (2-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ephrata High School soccer complex.
"Keeping spirits up has not been too much of a problem with this group," Klepec said. "They are very close-knit and are able to encourage each other and stay positive."