March 28, 2024
The Liberty Lake Splash
PO Box 363
Liberty Lake, WA 99019
Phone: 509-242-7752
News Blog Business Community Opinion Sports
Submitted photo by Erik Smith Photography

The Central Valley girls soccer team celebrated its second consecutive state championship in November. The win capped an incredible 12 months for female sports teams at CV.

Search the News Archive Search the News Archive

CV’s Lady Bears celebrate banner year
12/29/2014 2:54:13 PM

By Mike Vlahovich
Splash Contributor

"Man works from sun to sun. Woman's work is never done."

That old saw may well be correct, but during the calendar year from November 2013 through this past November, there was little work Central Valley's women left unfinished.

The Bears captured their first State 4A soccer championship and bookended that milestone with their second last month. Sandwiched around and in between were the school's first volleyball trophy in the fall; two trips to state cross country, placing fourth in 2013; track and field league, district and regional titles in the spring; a Greater Spokane League softball title, second place in basketball, top three GSL gymnastics finish, undefeated tennis season and this fall they shared the GSL slowpitch softball title and won the district title in a rout.

Soccer: Two years ago, the onus was on a group of underclassmen, nine of them juniors at the time, who, coach Andres Monrroy believed, had the talent to challenge for a state title. His faith was well-founded, and they worked even harder to repeat. It came to pass. Central Valley became one of just three schools to win back-to-back State 4A girls soccer championships. Over the course of two years, they compiled a 38-3-1 record, outscored their foes 135-29 and pitched 25 shutouts.

Track and Field: The regional title showed the level of all-around female talent CV possesses to make it all happen. Coach Geoff Arte was unabashed when he admitted poaching from other sports, a reason the Bears had such success. You need look no further than Madison Hovren as an embodiment of these gifted multi-taskers. 

Hovren, who will attend Army after graduation this spring, was the league's leading scorer for the second-place basketball team last winter, averaging nearly 23 points per game. She came off the bench as a contributor to the volleyball state trophy winners. 

And she was one of the GSL's top two hurdlers in track and field.

She was not alone.

If there had been a track MVP in the spring, it likely was basketball All-GSL teammate Mariah Cunningham, who won the state high jump, placed in the long jump and anchored two medaling relays for the league, district and regional team champions. Cunningham has taken her basketball talents to Eastern Washington University.

Then there is sophomore Kelsey Turnbow. The national age-group soccer team member is a remarkable talent, someone you have to watch to believe. She scored an unheard-of 31 goals for the state champs, giving her 51 in her first two seasons at CV. Thirteen of those came during the postseason this year alone! Small wonder she was soccer MVP - and one of the region's fastest sprinters in track.

Soccer All-GSL defender McKenna Stocker was the second-best javelin thrower in the GSL behind teammate Liz Adams, with a throw in excess of 121 feet (she does come from a baseball family, after all).

Volleyball: It was a season of firsts - first Greater Spokane League championship, first district title, first regional crown, eighth-place trophy in the school's third state appearance, two under second-year coach Amanda Bailey.

It all began with power hitter Kazlyn Roullier, who was GSL MVP, joined by Sasha Montgomery, Keann White and Jade Rockwood on the all-league first team.

All-GSL: The list runs long. In track and field besides the aforementioned were Kearan Nelson in the 3,200; Anna Fomin, Savannah Hoekstra (also soccer on the 2013 champs), Brielle Crump and Briegan Bester in the relays. 

Gymnasts McKinzie Carter and Izzie Erdem were All-GSL state participants.

Softball MVP Carli Riordan, now pitching in college, was one of three Bears all-league selections. Shortstop Shayla Vegas and catcher McKynzie Adams were the others. Vegas and Makenna Wasteney were major cogs for the slowpitch district champions. Gabrielle Ford was All-GSL in her first cross-country season and tennis player Kyra Harames was All-GSL.

To get there meant working sun-to-sun.

• • • 

Amazing four-year run for soccer team
During the end-of-season banquet, soccer coach Andres Monrroy cited a four-year litany of his girls' accomplishments:

• Three-time GSL league champions (2011, '13, '14) 

• Two-time district champions ('12, '13)

• Two-time regional champs ('12, '13)

• Four-time state placers (quarterfinalists '11 and '12, champions '13, '14)

• Ranked 12th (2013) and 13th (2014) in nation

• Five GSL MVP, 10 All-GSL first team, six second team and four honorable mention players, and one Washington Gatorade Player of the Year (Kelsey Turnbow).

• During the four years, the Bears compiled a 66-10-1 overall win-loss record. 


Advertisement

Copyright © 2024 The Liberty Lake Splash | Print Page