The first high school state championship will be contested of the winter sports season will be contested this weekend in University Place, near Tacoma.
And for a brief moment, we thought we could celebrate the advancement of three Clark County teams and eight other individuals to the state bowling championships at Narrow Plaza Bowl.
It turns out the contingent of local bowlers is a bit smaller than that.
We were told Friday that the top three teams, plus the top eight bowlers on non-qualifying teams would advance to state from the Class 3A/2A district tournament Friday in Tumwater.
We learned Sunday that information was not accurate.
In fact, only the top two teams and the top four individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state, mirroring the allotment of teams and individuals afforded to 4A bowlers from District 4.
That means that Mountain View, which placed third Friday to district champion R.A. Long and runner-up Mark Morris, won’t be going to state as a team.
Columbia River’s Emily Basnett and Brianna Gadaire are still going to state as individuals, as previously reported. However, they will only be joined by one additional Clark County bowler — Mountain View’s Alex Lanning, according to Don Farler, the athletic director at Black Hills of Tumwater and the 3A/2A girls bowling district tournament director.
“I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding,” Farler told The Olympian. “I must have misread the state info.”
It seems a little odd that District 4 will send two 4A teams to state when only six competed in the 4A district tournament, but was limited to two 3A/2A teams when 12 teams competed in the 3A/2A district tournament.
It’s also odd because District 4 has sent at least three teams to the 3A/2A state bowling championships each of the past four years — even sending four in 2010. And the last three 3A/2A state team champions came out of District 4 (Mark Morris in 2010 and 2012; Prairie in 2011).
But past state success doesn’t factor in future state allotments. It’s all based on numbers of teams competing in a sport around the state.
And we can assume that, either through the reclassification of schools or more schools adding girls bowling teams to their programs, there was a shift in the number of 3A/2A girls bowling teams in the state.
In 2013, District 2, which is based in the Seattle area, will send four teams to state, while District 4 (Southwest Washington) will send two. In 2014, District 2 will send three teams, and District 4 also will send three teams.
(You ever notice how talking about WIAA state allocations has a “Hunger Games” feel to it?)
Anyway, the shift in numbers from 2013 to 2014 is likely where the error was made.
It’s a shame. But the WIAA’s state allocations for winter sports is available to everyone on the WIAA’s website and has been since Dec. 14.
We only hope our local bowlers found out sooner rather than later that they weren’t going to state. And we’re sorry we didn’t double-check the information we were provided on Friday concerning those allocations.
Basketball
The Class 3A Greater St. Helens League and Class 1A Trico League will be completing their regular seasons this week. The 4A and 2A GSHLs will wrap up early next week. So let’s take a look at some key games that will help determine playoff berths this week.
Tuesday: A couple of weeks ago, the Washougal boys earned their first win over Mark Morris in school history. Now if the Panthers want to capture the 2A GSHL title, they’ll need to earn their second win over Monarchs. The rematch will happen in Longview.
In girls basketball, Mountain View plays at Kelso, with the winner receiving the No. 2 seed to the district tournament and the loser heading to a loser-out game against Hudson’s Bay in the first round of the 3A district tournament next week.
Thursday: Provided Skyview gets past a short-handed Evergreen squad on Tuesday, the Storm can clinch the 4A GSHL girls basketball title with a win at Union. A Union win could lead to co-champions and a potential tiebreaker game heading into district next week.
The King’s Way Christian boys enter the week tied with White Salmon for the final berth to the 1A district tournament. The Knights swept White Salmon this season, and that’s the good news. The bad news is White Salmon finishes its league schedule at last-place Stevenson.
King’s Way may need the Bulldogs to pick up their second league win on Thursday to help King’s Way reach district in their first season at Class 1A. (And, of course, we’ll need someone to let us know what the score of the White Salmon-Stevenson game is so that we can let people know who will be headed to district. The last time White Salmon and Stevenson played, it took us three days to find out who won.)
Friday: The Union boys will look to avenge their only league loss when the Titans host Skyview. A win over the Storm likely will keep Union on course for a showdown for the 4A GSHL crown on Feb. 5 against Evergreen.
If the Washougal boys can get past Mark Morris on Tuesday, the Panthers will need to make sure they don’t suffer a letdown when they host Hockinson. At the very least, this game will be a battle for second place in the 2A GSHL.
To stay up to date on all postseason basketball scenarios, be sure to follow our high school blog, which can be found at www.360preps.com.
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.
