With the New Year tomorrow it’s that time of year to review the highlights of what was a memorable 2024 in the Twin Harbors.
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Titles a plenty to start the year
The early winter months of 2024 proved to be fruitful for several Harbor athletes and programs.
Aberdeen boys diver Zeke Olson won a 2A District title competing against 3A-school divers and the Bobcats boys swim team won the 2A District championship, a feat so rare school officials had no idea if the achievement had ever been done before.
In boys wrestling, Elma won its first 1A Evergreen League title in 10 years thanks to wins by Xavier Espinoza, Aidyn Johnson, Kale Reeves, Taye Lessard and Eastin Wright.
The Eagles followed that up a week later with a second-place finish at the regional championships in Hoquiam.
At the Mat Classic state-championship meet, Willapa Valley’s Tyson Portmann was the lone Twin Harbors state champion. Portmann defeated Kittitas’ Simon Jones to win the 1B/2B 165-pound state crown.
On the hardcourt, Montesano’s girls team secured its place in school history with a 41-36 win over Seton Catholic in the 1A District 4 title game, earning the Bulldogs an unprecedented fourth-consecutive district championship.
Montesano’s boys team experienced a resurgence behind senior Tyce Peterson and junior exchange student Delon Chan.
The Bulldogs defeated East County rival Elma in a memorable district third-place overtime game to advance to the state tournament.
In college wrestling, the Grays Harbor College women’s program produced two individual champions and won the NCWA national title, its first since the 2018 season.
But despite being an athletically-successful program, the program appears to be in limbo after the resignation of head coach Kevin Pine and no announcement from the school regarding the hiring of a new head coach.
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Hoquiam’s Roloff caps off memorable senior season
While the springtime sports scene on the Harbor is usually dominated by a wealth of top-state softball talent, the end of the prep sports year belonged to a distance runner from Hoquiam.
Following suit with her cross-country state championship in the fall of 2023, Hoquiam’s Jane Roloff dominated her races at the WIAA 1A State Track and Field Championships, winning state titles in the 800-, 1600- and 3000-meter races to cap off an incredible senior season for the likely future Hoquiam Hall of Famer.
Roloff and Aberdeen’s Henry Nelson helped make the annual Ray Ryan Memorial Championships meet memorable, each recording meet records in their respective 800-meter races.
On the diamond, Montesano won the 1A District 4 softball title by riding a tournament-record 20-strikeout performance by senior pitcher Riley Timmons.
But the Bulldogs hopes for a repeat state-title were dashed with a fourth-place finish in the state tournament.
Montesano also played under the lights at Dick Tagman Field for the first time in 2024 and had a memorable standing-room only game against Aberdeen that felt more like a state-playoff game than a regular-season non-league contest.
Aberdeen advanced deep into the 2A State tournament once again, falling one game short of the state’s third-place game.
The Bobcats did advance to the district-title game and the state tournament after a rousing victory over eventual state runner-up Tumwater, but suffered a 2-1 loss to W.F. West in the district final.
It was ultimately the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans that can lay claim to the best softball season in the Twin Harbors as PWV beat Kittitas to place third in the state.
In baseball, Montesano’s bid to advance to its second-straight 1A State championship game fell short after struggling in the district-tournament.
But the Bulldogs did have a moment to remember when they swept a doubleheader in Tenino with the 1A Evergreen League’s top playoff seed on the line.
Elma also had a game to remember when senior pitcher Carter Studer threw a full seven innings of no-hit baseball in a 3-2 win over Tenino in mid-April.
In boys soccer, Raymond-South Bend scored two stoppage-time goals to tie Montesano late before winning a penalty-kick shootout for a 3-2 upset, one of the most shocking results on the pitch in recent memory.
East County golfers continued to dominate the region in the spring, with Montesano’s Hailey Blancas capping of her impressive prep career with a district title and state runner-up placement.
Not to be outdone, Elma’s girls golf team won its second district crown and placed third in the state in 2024.
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Davis Field to get grandstands
It’s been a long time coming, but the biggest news of the summer was the announcement that the Elma School District and a private charity organization had come to an agreement to construct a covered grandstand at Davis Field. But renovations have been put on hold during the current school year.
Other news that dominated a typically slower summer sports schedule was the announcement by Grays Harbor College that it was suspending the men’s golf and men’s wrestling programs with no evidence of reinstating the programs in sight.
In August, fans of Hoquiam High School sports got an exclusive sneak peak of the stunning new floor renovations at Hoquiam Square Garden, featuring new graphics, a renewed surface and an eye-catching stained Grizzly stenciling that needs to be seen in person to do it justice.
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History made in the fall
The 2024-25 fall prep sports was highlighted by several teams and athletes making history.
On the gridiron, Aberdeen had a winning season and hosted a postseason contest for the first time since 1997. But the Bobcats’ season ended with a loss to Columbia River in what was a one-half football game rather than play a two-team Kansas tiebreaker on election night.
The Bobcats did beat Hoquiam in the 119th Myrtle Street Rivalry 34-9 for the Bobcats’ fifth-consecutive rivalry win.
Montesano also made some history, upsetting third-ranked La Center to reach the 1A State semifinals for the first time since 2015.
The Bulldogs fell to Seton Catholic one week later to end their season.
On the volleyball court, Aberdeen had its best season in over two decades, placing second in the 2A Evergreen Conference behind the play of League MVP Lilly Camp and First Teamer Sophia Knutson.
In girls soccer, Montesano’s three-year run to the state Final Four ended with a state-playoff loss at home.
Both Monte and Elma were bounced in the first round of the state playoffs after battling for 1A Evergreen League supremacy again this past season.
Elma senior forward Beta Valentine was named the League MVP for the second-straight year.
Valentine surpassed 100 goals this season and ended her prep career with 108 goals, which puts her in the upper echelon of Eagles soccer elite and likely puts her up for Hall of Fame consideration in the future.
But the biggest history of all made during the fall was the performance of Montesano sophomore Haley Schweppe, who was the second-consecutive Harborite to win the 1A State Championship after Hoquiam’s Jane Roloff won the year prior.
Aberdeen sophomore Ailyn Haggard also had a banner year, winning the 2A District 4 cross-country title this past fall.