Baseball debuts in A Decade of Champions
SANDPOINT — Say this for the 2006 Sandpoint sports season: it didn’t lack for drama.
Not to diminish the accomplishments of the volleyball and boys soccer teams, which added yet another banner to the litany of others hanging from the rafters of Les Rogers Court, but 2006 will be remembered for a much rarer feat, as the Bulldogs baseball team captured the school’s first and only state title.
The boys soccer team rebounded from its worst start ever to claim its fifth state title, and did so in dramatic fashion.
The Bulldog volleyball team rebounded from a two-win season to claim its 13th banner, the first by current head coach Karen Alsager, who became the third Bulldog coach to win a volleyball title in the decade (joining Jeff Hurst and Jamie Pancho).
n 2006 Sandpoint baseball team
ROSTER: Jake Howell, Tyler Lichty, Alex Wolfe, Zac Manor, Ricky Klontz, Noah Hawkins, Vincent D’Orazi, Clay Montgomery, Cory Hawkins, Andy Lattin, Luke Pearlstein, Asa Ames, Ricky Stewart, Dan Hansen, Cory Reichart, assistant coaches Rick Klontz and Chris Young, and head coach Mike Givens.
While they featured a bevy of strong arms and a potent batting order, the team may well be remembered for its moxie and never-day-die attitude.
After beating Post Falls 17-2 in the district championship, head coach Mike Givens’ squad was burgeoning with confidence, prompting him to tell the Bee “we’re going to ride the wave where it takes us.”
Junior Tyler Lichty, who is currently pitching at baseball power Lewis and Clark State College, threw a one-hitter and struck out eight in a dramatic 1-0 win over Mountain Home in the state opener. Vinny D’Orazi laid down a perfect squeeze to score Lichty for the lone run.
In the second game, the Bulldogs found themselves down 4-2 to Madison in the seventh inning, before exploding for eight runs to win 10-5.
In the 4A championship against Bishop Kelly, Jake Howell hit a two-run double to cap an 8-6 come-from-behind win in dramatic fashion.
“These guys will never quit,” said Givens after the championship. “They’re not home run hitters or anything like that, but they don’t quit. They’ve got a heart of gold.”
Quote of the year: “They don’t want to just show up at state,” Givens claimed after districts. “They want to take something home.”
n 2006 Sandpoint volleyball
ROSTER: Katie Watson, Piper Wahlin, Lydia Tollbom, Savanna Lester, Abby Helander, Koko James, Jackie Palaniuk, Julia Witte, Lori Jenson, Colleen Koopal, Kelly Aylward, Brooke DeMers and head coach Karen Alsager.
Featuring ample firepower and a scrappy back line, and looking to erase the memory of a two-win season, the Bulldogs restored order by claiming another state title.
Savanna Lester set a school record for digs and was named the Inland Empire League Defensive Player of the Year, joining Piper Wahlin (Newcome of Year ) and Karen Alsager (Coach of Year) with league honors en route to a 22-5 season.
In the 25-20, 25-16 and 29-27 sweep of Idaho Falls in the championship, senior Katie Watson and freshman Wahlin combined for 20 kills, a sort of microcosm of the young and old make-up of the team, which was summed up best by senior Lori Jensen.
“Our seniors hearts and our freshman skills,” explained Jensen to the Bee after winning districts. “Together, that did it.”
Quote of the year: “Oh my God, we worked out (butts) off,” senior Jackie Palaniuk told the Bee after districts. “I’m not going to lie, we’ve earned what we’ve got. We’re going all the way for sure.”
n 2006 Sandpoint boys soccer
ROSTER: Daniel Anderson, Spencer Swerin, Ryan Williams, Forrest Andrews, Shaunn Carlson, Sebastian Imlay, Alex Crossingham, Gunnar Paulsen, Drake Hanson, R.J. Dixon, Kyle Meaux, Adam Crossingham, Tanner French, Mike Shields, Henry Machado and head coach Randy Thoreson.
With all due respect to whoever coined the expression “it’s the journey, not the destination,” the Bulldogs of 2006 would just as soon remember the destination, and forget the journey.
After a 1-7-2 start to the season, an unprecedented low in these soccer-crazy parts, the Bulldogs rallied and peaked at the right time to claim their fifth, and unlikeliest, state title.
Kyle Meaux scored a hat trick in the state playoff opening 4-1 win. In game two, the Bulldogs found themselves down 2-0 to a 19-1 Burley team, before Alex Crossingham scored twice and Spencer Swerin once in a 3-2 win.
Oddsmakers would have had a field day with the championship game, which pitted undefeated Skyview (19-0) against Sandpoint (10-9-2), and they would have most likely been wrong. Crossingham would add to his list of clutch kicks, bending a 20 yard free kick into the net for a golden goal in a 1-0 overtime win.
“We knew when we got everyone back it would be a whole different game,” Meaux told the Bee after the championship. “Randy kept telling us to ‘play through it, it’s only going to get better,’ and it did.”
Quote of the year: “It’s been an incredible road we’ve taken to get here,” said Thoreson. “Just crazy.”
See tomorrow’s Daily Bee for a look at the Aca Deca powerhouse of 2006, before segueing into 2008, as A Decade of Champions nears its conclusion.