The last week of January means the winter regular season of high school sports is winding down.
The winter postseason begins Friday, as it does every year, with girls bowling.
Two bowling teams in the Greater St. Helens Leagues have set themselves apart from the other teams — Skyview and Hudson’s Bay.
Those two teams have won every single match they’ve played this season with one exception — the Dec. 3 match between Skyview and Hudson’s Bay.
In that match, both teams posted scores above 2,000, with Skyview escaping with a 16-pin victory over the Eagles, 2061-2045.
That’s part of a 14-0 season for Skyview, and the Storm have eclipsed 2,000 pins 10 times.
The Storm are led by senior and three-time All-Region bowler Addy Case. Case, who has three top-six finishes at state, holds a 200 average this season and is a model of consistency.
Avery Henderson (172 average) and Kaydree Rowland (170) have also been key contributors for the Storm.
The 4A and 3A district tournaments are scheduled for Friday at Hazel Dell Lanes.
The 2A district tournament is Friday at Fairway Lanes in Centralia. Hudson’s Bay is expected to challenge for a district title after posting a 13-1 overall record and 12-0 against 2A GSHL squads.
Senior MJ Westmorland leads the Eagles with a 190 average. Abby Schoonover and Sidd Huff both have 174 averages. The Eagles have eclipsed 2,000 pins 11 times this season, according to the league website.
The state bowling championships will be held Feb. 5-8 at Bowlero in Tukwila. The 3A tournament will be held Feb. 5-6, followed by the 4A and 2A-1A tournaments on Feb. 7-8.
Wrestling
The postseason for high school wrestling will have a different look.
Gone are the regional tournaments around the state. Wrestlers will advance to state from their district tournaments.
The 4A and 3A boys and girls district tournaments will be held Saturday, Feb. 8 at Union.
Camas athletic director Stephen Baranowski said District 4, which consists solely of the 4A/3A Greater St. Helens League, did not have a bi-district agreement with District 3, as it does for several other sports.
When the decision was made to move away from the regional qualifying process, District 4 was given the option of reaching a bi-district agreement with another district. But Baranowski said that no such agreement could be found.
That will limit the number of GSHL wrestlers who can qualify for state. For 4A boys and 4A girls, two wrestlers at every weight class will advance to state from the Feb. 8 district tournament. For 3A boys and 3A girls, the top three wrestlers in each bracket will advance.
Now at the 2A and 1A levels, previous regional tournaments were really just District 4 tournaments, combining the GSHL with the Evergreen Conference at Class 2A and the Trico League and Evergreen Conference at 1A.
But even that will have a different look this year.
The 2A boys sub-district tournament is Feb. 8 at Hockinson. The top two placers at each weight class will qualify directly to state. Wrestlers who finish third, fourth and fifth will advance to a district crossover event on Feb. 11 at Mark Morris High School for the remaining berths to state.
The 2A girls district tournament will be Feb. 14-15 at Hudson’s Bay with the top seven wrestlers advancing to state.
La Center will host the Trico League boys wrestling championships on Feb. 8. The top four placers in that event will advance directly to state. The fifth-place finisher will wrestle the fourth-place finisher from the 1A Evergreen Conference on Feb. 15 at Montesano for the final berths to state.
The 1A/2B/1B girls wrestling district tournament will be Feb. 15 at Montesano. The top eight placers will advance to state.
The state tournaments for boys and girls wrestling will be Feb. 21-22 at the Tacoma Dome.
Boys swimming
Swimming is a bit more straightforward.
The 4A and 3A district meets will be Feb. 14-15 at Kelso High School. The district champion at each event, plus anyone who meets the state standard, will advance to state.
The 2A-1A district meet is Feb. 14-15 at Mark Morris High School. The top three swimmers in each event, plus anyone who makes the state standard, will advance to state.
The state meets will be held Feb. 21-22 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. The 2A/1A meet has the morning time slot at state, 3A in the afternoon and 4A in the evening.
Gymnastics
The 4A district meet will be held on Feb. 8 at Naydenov Gymnastics in Vancouver. The top placers in that event will advance to West Central bi-district meet on Feb. 14 at Ascend Gymnastics in Olympia.
The 3A/2A/1A district meet will be Feb. 15 at Naydenov, with top placers advancing straight to state.
The state meets have been moved up one week earlier than in past years. The 3A/2A/1A state meet will be Feb. 20-21 at Sammamish High School in Bellevue. The 4A state meet is Feb. 21-22 at Sammamish High School.
