The Liberty Bell girls’ cross-country team was in high spirits even before winning the 1B/2B state championship on Saturday.
By Don Nelson
One state championship team, and a couple of individual state champions, highlighted the 2016 year in sports for Liberty Bell High School.
The girls’ cross-county team cruised to first place at the state 1B/2B meet, led by individual champion Novie McCabe, a freshman. It was the first state title for any Liberty Bell girls’ team.
After a one-year absence from the medals podium, Liberty Bell senior Meritt Fink took first place in the 1B/2B 145-pound division at Mat Classic XXVIII.
Several other squads including girls’ soccer, baseball, tennis and track took part in state tournaments with impressive results
Here’s a team-by-team summary of 2016’s accomplishments:
Lauren Ochoa, No. 42, looks for a Lady Lion teammate to pass to in a game against Manson.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The Lady Lions finished sixth in league play with a record of 4-10, and compiled an overall record of 5-13 in the 2015-16 season. They ended the season on a high note with a 49-39 home court victory over Manson, but missed out on post-season competition after making it into the playoffs the previous year.
Monica Chavey graduated, but Liberty Bell returned most of its squad for the 2016-17 season, including top scorers Lauren Fitzmaurice (12 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Katie Labanauskas (8.4 points, 6.6 rebounds). The Lady Lions were 4-3 for the 2016-17 season as this issue went to press.
Fitzmaurice and Labanauskas were named to the Central Washington girls’ 2B North All-League second team. Liberty Bell won the league’s team sportsmanship award for the second consecutive year.
Liberty Bell’s seniors were celebrated, along with their families, at the team’s last home game. From left, Josh Frey, Connor Cooley, Micah Klemmeck, Ben Klemmeck, Andrew Reggiatore and Chase VanderYacht.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
The Mountain Lions’ 2015-16 season came to an end with two tough losses in the district playoffs against highly seeded teams.
Liberty Bell lost six seniors to graduation including top scorers Micah Klemmeck (17.4 points) and Connor Cooley (16.9 points), along with Ben Klemmeck, Andrew Reggiatore, Chase VanderYacht and Josh Frey. Cumulatively, the six seniors contributed an average of nearly 60 points per game.
Cooley and Micah Klemmeck were named to the Central Washington boys’ 2B North All-League second team. Ben Klemmeck received honorable mention.
The 2016-17 Mountain Lions squad was 0-7 on the season as this issue went to press.
LBHS senior Meritt Fink, right, was congratulated by wrestling coach Gunnar Doggett after taking first place in the 1B/2B 145-pound division at the state championship meet in Tacoma. It was Fink’s second state title — something Doggett is familiar with, having won two state titles when he wrestled for the Mountain Lions.
WRESTLING
Senior Meritt Fink ended his Liberty Bell wrestling career with his second state title at the 2016 state meet, in the 145-pound division. He won in 2014 wrestling at 138 pounds, but was hampered by injuries in the 2015 state championships and failed to place.
Liberty Bell’s only other scorer was senior Jacob McMillan, who took fifth place at 170 pounds. Liberty Bell finished 14th overall in the 1B/2B division with 38 points. Eight Liberty Bell wrestlers had been seeded in various weight classes for post-season competition.
In 2015, the Mountain Lions tied for third place; the previous two years they were state champions.
Fink was named Wrestler of the Year at the team banquet.
Liberty Bell goalkeeper Mikey Hafsos made one of his many dramatic saves against Manson.
BOYS SOCCER
The Mountain Lions lost several close games, and also suffered injuries that depleted the roster, as they struggled to a 2-12 season with a 0-12 league record after recording their best record ever and making the state tournament for the first time in school history the previous year.
Named to the Central Washington 2B All League second team were Eden Davis on defense and Danny Rodriguez on offense.
At the team’s awards barbecue, Rodriguez and Rowan Post were named captains. The Golden Boot Award (for most goals) went to Post, Most Valuable Player was Rodriguez, the Coach’s Award went to Davis, Rodriguez was Most Inspirational Player and Leo Shaw was Most Improved Player.
The doubles team of Josh Frey, left, and Jesse Schulz is headed to the state tennis meet after taking first place at the regional competition.
TENNIS
The Liberty Bell High School doubles team of Josh Frey and Jesse Schulz took seventh place at the state tennis championships in Yakima, where teams from 1B, 1A and 2B team competed in one meet.
SOFTBALL
The Lady Lions went 8-12 for the season, missing the playoffs after having advanced to the state tournament in 2015. When Liberty Bell found its swing, the results were telling: the Lady Lions scored 15 or more runs seven times. A strong core group of players returns for the 2017 season.
Mountain Lion first baseman Sam Thomsen gets set for a pitch against Manson.
BASEBALL
The Liberty Bell High School baseball team’s progress in the state tournament ended on an odd note with a 15-4 loss to Asotin that was played over two days, in two different locations, because of rain. The Mountain Lions were making their third consecutive trip to the state championships. Lost to graduation were Jacob McMillan, Gavin Wengerd and Sam Thomsen. Pitcher Derek Alumbaugh returns along with several other key players.
TRACK AND FIELD
Liberty Bell High School’s boys’ and girls’ track teams both improved on the previous year’s performances at the 2016 2B state championships. The boys finished in 14th place, compared to 2015’s 16th-place finish. The girls scored three points for 32nd place — compared to zero points at last year’s state meet.
Ben Klemmeck ran well during his senior year.
Senior Ben Klemmeck finished sixth in the 3,200-meter run. Senior Micah Klemmeck finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles. Both boys’ relays teams scored for the Mountain Lions.
For the girls, freshmen Lucy Cole and Icel Sukovaty and junior Lauren Fitzmaurice each scored with an eight-place finish, Cole in the 400M, Sukovaty in the 3,200M, and Fitzmaurice in the 300M hurdles.
GIRLS’ SOCCER
Lauren Ochoa led her teammates through the traditional “victory tunnel” after the Lady Lions defeated Tonasket.
Liberty Bell finished an impressive season with a fourth-place finish at the1B/2B state championships, the fourth time in five years that the Lady Lions have finished among the state’s elite teams. Liberty Bell’s Stella Gunnip-Hunter and Anna Post won sportsmanship awards for their efforts at the tournament.
Liberty Bell entered the state finals as league and district champions, and on a nine-game winning streak.
Liberty Bell High School placed six players out of the 11 named to the CWB girls’ soccer all-league first team, and two more were named to the second team.
First-team honorees were junior goalie Lauren Ochoa, junior defender Haley Post, junior defender Anna Post, senior midfielder Danielle Mott, senior midfielder Lauren Fitzmaurice and sophomore forward Sally Thornton-White. Named to the second team were junior defender Stella Gunnip-Hunter and senior midfielder Cassidy Butler.
Additionally, Liberty Bell coach Lincoln Post was named Coach of the Year, and Liberty Bell took the Team Sportsmanship award.
Liberty Bell also won the Academic State Championship for schools of similar size, for the second consecutive year.
The Lady Lions will lose Cassidy Butler, Danielle Mott, Corinne Dietz and Lauren Fitzmaurice to graduation.
The Liberty Bell boys’ team took second place at the state 1B/2B meet.
CROSS-COUNTRY
It was a historic season for Liberty Bell High School’s cross-country teams at the 1B/2B state championships. The girls’ team won the first-place trophy, the first state championship for any Liberty Bell girls’ team. The boys’ team took second place. And freshman Novie McCabe won the girls’ 5,000M race by a comfortable 30 seconds, making her Liberty Bell’s first individual state champion in cross-country.
The girls’ team score of 24 points was one of the best in the entire history of cross-country state championship competition at any level. Their win was the fourth state championship for Liberty Bell. The boys’ cross-country team took first place in 1998, and the wrestling team won state titles in 2013 and 2015.
McCabe, Gretta Scholz and Athena Milani were recognized as first-team All-League honorees, while Eli Nielsen, Walker Hall, Wes Olive and Cade Quigley were named to the boy’s All-League first team. Named to the second team were Lucy Cole for the girls and Peter Aspholm and Emerson Worrell for the boys. Honorable mention went to Ava Mott, Icel Sukovaty and Taya DeLong for the girls, and to Carter Dornfeld for the boys.
The Liberty Bell boys’ team, hoping for a top-four finish and a spot on the trophy podium after finishing sixth in 2015, surprised everyone by claiming second place among 1B/2B schools in the 5K race — their best showing since a second-place finish in 2001.
Katie Labanauskas goes high for a spike as Lily Stoothoff, No. 9, and Megan Dammann, No. 13, ready for a possible return.
VOLLEYBALL
The Liberty Bell volleyball team played aggressively all year and registered some impressive come-from-behind wins, but enough to get them into post-season play.
The Lady Lions finished the season with a 2-6 record in league play and 4-12 overall. Liberty Bell will lose Megan Dammann, Lily Stoothoff, Haley Bakke and Erin Schuh to graduation, but several players who made major contributions will return.
Named to the CWB All-League team were Schuh, first team; and junior Katie Labanauskas honorable mention.
FOOTBALL
After a year of playing eight-man football, the Mountain Lions returned to familiar 11-man territory for the 2016 season. The results were mixed, as Liberty Bell finished with a 2-6 record that included an impressive homecoming win over Bridgeport along with several lopsided losses.
In 2015, playing a cobbled-together schedule, Liberty Bell’s record was 8-1 against other eight-man teams, and the Mountain Lions scored 70 points or more several times.
Mountain Lion defenders converged on a Bridgeport ball carrier.
The switch to eight-man play had been largely prompted by the players, after a difficult 2014 season that included a couple of forfeits and ended with a roster depleted by injuries. Methow Valley School District Superintendent Tom Venable endorsed the change to eight-man competition on a one-year experimental basis. After the 2015 season, activities director Chase Rost recommended to Venable that Liberty Bell return to 11-man ball. Venable accepted the recommendation.
With a large group of underclassmen returning next year, Liberty Bell will have a more-experienced squad.
MISCELLANEOUS
• Math is Cool: Liberty Bell seventh-grader Alexander Nicolazzo won first place at the Math is Cool pre-algebra regional competition.
• Methow Valley Rodeo: The Labor Day Rodeo was back in the arena after one-year absence.
Eli Nielsen qualified for a trip to Norway with the U.S. team.
• Biathlon: Two Methow Valley biathletes, Claire Waichler and Eli Nielsen, both students at Liberty Bell, qualified for international competition representing the United States. Waichler was selected for the World Youth and Junior Championship competition in Chelei Grandestei, Romania. Nielsen was one of two young male competitors named to the 2016 Youth Olympic Games team competing in Lillehammer, Norway.
• Ice skating/hockey: The Winthrop Rink’s refrigeration equipment became operational and the facility opened for a much longer season, including six scheduled hockey tournaments.
• Swimming: The Methow Valley Killer Whales swim team’s long string of victories in the county championship meet came to an end as the Brewster Bearacudas managed just four more points than the Whales to take first place. The Killer Whales finished the season strong after starting late, competing with fewer swimmers than usual and finding other places to train as the Wagner Memorial Pool in Twisp was closed for repairs until July 14. At the county meet, the Methow Valley team claimed 43 first-place finishes (winning more than a third of the events), 20 second-place finishes and 27 thirds.
Liberty Bell’s Claire Waichler proudly represented the United States at the World Junior Biathlon Championships in Romania.
• Academics: Liberty Bell finished fourth out of 60 class 2B schools in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and Washington Army National Guard 2015-16 Scholastic Cup Championships. The Mountain Lion girls’ soccer team and girls’ cross country teams each took first place in their categories, and the girls’ tennis team took second.
• Summer baseball: The Methow Valley U12 baseball team took top honors with four wins and one loss at the San Juan Islands Baseball Tournament on play against teams from San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands.
• Knowledge Bowl: The Liberty Bell High School Knowledge Bowl team claimed second place at the state championship tournament — the school’s highest finish in 10 appearances at the state finals. The tournament included more than 500 students from classes 1B to 4A.
• Nordic skiing: Seven members of the Methow Valley Nordic Team (MVNT) traveled to Cable, Wisconsin, for the Junior National Championships in March: Claire Waichler, Gretta Scholz, Ella Hall, Novie McCabe, Eli Nielsen, Peter Aspholm and Emerson Worrell. Waichler finished her competition with an All American (top 10) performance.
