The Front Row with MARK NELKE May 20, 2010
They've only been at it for a few years, but the Post Falls Trojans are quickly making some strides in tennis under coach Angela Blair. Post Falls had never qualified a boys doubles team to state before, and this year have qualfied two - Ben Payton and Michael Tucker, and Adam Sedgwick and Andrew Sedgwick.
They've only been at it for a few years, but the Post Falls Trojans are quickly making some strides in tennis under coach Angela Blair.
Post Falls had never qualified a boys doubles team to state before, and this year have qualfied two - Ben Payton and Michael Tucker, and Adam Sedgwick and Andrew Sedgwick.
The Trojans have been more competive with the other local 5A teams, Lake City and Coeur d'Alene, even beating Coeur d'Alene this season. Post Falls finished ahead of Coeur d'Alene last week at the Region 1 tournament, behind Lewiston and Lake City.
And one Trojan, Joel Schmuland, has signed to play tennis at Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Post Falls also qualified a mixed doubles team, Marian deTar and Dyllin Cady, for the state tournament which runs Friday and Saturday in Boise.
After winning the state 3A girls golf championship on Tuesday, Kellogg freshman Kaceelyn Pouttu was asked if she would wear her state medal to school on Wednesday to show off her accomplishment.
"No," she replied.
Her tone gave the impression the young Wildcat standout was not into attracting attention to herself, though her game certainly has.
She shot back-to-back 79s to win medalist honors by nine strokes at The Links Golf Club in Post Falls.
Simon Miller is Pouttu's coach at Kellogg, but he knows well enough not to take too much credit for her play. That, he says, goes to the local golf professionals who worked with her as well as to her dad, Tommy, a miner who has helped keep her going in junior tournaments over the years.
Her debut on the high school scene this year was much-anticipated given her junior golf career, which included two age-group championships at the Idaho state tournament.
"As a high school coach you always have the thought, 'High school golf is different from junior golf,' but she has surpassed all of those (expectations) for me," Miller said. "She went over all those barriers and shattered those."
Pouttu, 14, plans to play in junior golf tournaments in Washington and Idaho this summer, as she has for years, as well as play in a big junior tournament, Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego on July 13-16.
With a state title as a freshmen, on a team with one other freshman and three sophomores, well, you can imagine what the expectations will be over the next three years.
"She set that bar high, but I think she's up to the task," Miller said.
The state 3A softball tournament begins today at Ramsey Park in Coeur d'Alene (see capsules/B4), and defending champion Kimberly (25-0) is looking to win its third state title in four years. But the Bulldogs are looking for a different result this year after coming up short in their last two state appearances at Ramsey.
Two years ago, Kimberly lost to Buhl in the state title game. In 2006, Kimberly finished second to Bear Lake in a rain-shortened tournament when Saturday's games were rained out.
Last year, Kimberly beat Fruitland for the title. Fruitland opens vs. Timberlake today at 3 p.m. Kellogg, in its first trip to state in softball, opens vs. Teton at 5.
Rain is possible all three days of the tourney (which figures when the state 3A softball tournament comes to town), with high temperatures in the mid-50s. The tournament at Ramsey was also shortened by rain in 2004, when Middleton beat Buhl in a semifinal game which turned out to be the title game.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.