by Declan O’Malley

Sounder contributor

Fall is in the air, and with a new season comes a new sports season at Orcas Island High School. Coaches and student-athletes have worked hard during the off-season to prepare, and those efforts will be rewarded with the start of inter-school competition.

Athletic Director Paul Steimel is pleased to see school athletics return for the fall season and is pleased with the level of participation.

“Numbers are up this year, and we have some of the highest we have seen for volleyball,” Steimel said.

OIHS Athletics will have a new challenge this year as they and Mount Vernon Christian have moved back into the more significant 2B classification.

“I look forward to the new season, and we are moving up to 2B, so it will be interesting,” said Steimel.

Steimel is also pleased with the coaching staff this year at the school. He continued, “We have good coaches in place who are balanced between being competitive and supporting the kids.”

Soccer

Viking Soccer is seeing a large turnout this season and will roster 27 players. Of the main roster, a travel squad of 18 players must be whittled down for away matches.

In preparation for the season, the team’s players have been training hard, both individually during the winter and during authorized organized team activities via scrimmages.

Head Coach Terry Turner is pleased with the club’s progress this season and is excited to get things going.

“We will be dynamic and entertaining on the attacking end,” said Turner…”We have had some key losses on the defense, but we will have a good defense despite losing some key defenders and some returners that will step up,” Turner continued.

Turner has also been impressed with his leaders on the field and will look to senior and team captain Demetrio Salinas-Cruz and juniors Joaquin-Shanks Morales, Anthony Conejo and Lauro Quintero-Carrionto to have an impact. Salinas-Cruz also used his leadership skills to organize an alumni game fundraiser, which Coach Turner said raised a record amount.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as the team captain for our soccer team,” said Salinas-Cruz. “It is such an honor and I cannot wait to lead our team to victory. I am beyond excited for school to be starting as well and eager to learn new things, meet new friends, and make the most out of this upcoming year. The combination of being the team captain and the anticipation of the new school year has me bursting with enthusiasm.”

The Vikings will face tough competition from St. George’s (Spokane), Providence (Seattle Area), Mount Vernon Christian and Friday Harbor. The Vikings kicked off their season with friendlies against St. Georges and several eastern Washington sides the weekend of Sept. 15.

Volleyball

This fall, volleyball is seeing a large turnout of 34 student-athletes, and the program is fielding a very competitive Varsity squad of 12 players along with two Junior Varsity teams.

During the summer, most of the student-athletes attended summer open gyms, both indoors and outdoors, on sand courts. Players also attended week-long volleyball camps off the island, where they could compete against other athletes from the region and develop their skills.

This season, volleyball is preparing for the move up to 2B and is ready for the challenge.

“We are moving up this year from 1B to 2B so we will compete against larger schools when we get to the postseason. All of the 2B teams in our division will be tough – just the way we want it! We won our league last year and expect some exciting matches against La Conner, Coupeville, Mount Vernon Christian, and of course, Darrington,” said Head Coach Mallory Balcomb.

This season, the varsity team will have five seniors, led by captains Lili Malo and Ava Shcraft.

“Lili is our veteran setter who can dish up incredible balls with pin-point accuracy anywhere along the net. Outside Hitter Ava can pass any ball hit at her, then turn around and kill the ball; she is an all-around player and will be key to our success,” said Coach Balcomb.

“Our other key seniors are Middle Hitter, Alexandria Sanders, Right Side Hitter, Morgan Anderson, and Defensive Specialist, Molina Stone,” Balcomb said.

The Vikings have experience on the floor this year and plan to rely heavily on our returners. Their key underclassmen are Sofia Mahony-Jauregui, junior middle blocker, and Maria Burns, newly Junior Libero.

The team will miss Bethany Carter, named Player of the Year in their league, and departing players Milana Schneider and Sera Knapp. The Vikings are ready to start the season and plan to provide some on-court excitement.

“Everyone who joins the home crowd in the Orcas High School gym agrees — Viking Volleyball is one of the fastest, most competitive and most exciting sports around,” said Malcomb. “The all-out effort that Orcas teams are known for will be on display this season. There is no way you’ll want to miss the action on the homecourt this season!”

Cross-country

Viking Cross Country will have a roster of eight for this fall’s season. The seven boys’ and one girls’ teams will compete across the region, with one of the major events being the NIKE 17TH

Annual Twilight XC Invitational at the Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville.

Head Coach Michael Kulper is looking forward to hitting the ground running this fall and seeing the team reach some of its goals.

“It would be great if at least a couple of our guys could qualify again for the State Championships in Pasco at the beginning of November,” said Kulper.

Kulper and OIHS Cross Country will rely on a key core of returners who are expected to have solid performances. Senior Finn Ontjes qualified for state last year, and sophomore Tom Malo

will also strive to run in the state again during this year’s campaign.

Keeping Up with OIHS athletics

You can keep up with Viking Athletics all fall with the Sounder and also the official website of Viking Athletics, orcasvikings.com.

Cienna Richardson contributed to this story.

Cienna Richardson photo. Vikings volleyball. Back row, l-r: Lucia Rios, Emily Ibarra-Garcia, Mia Ashcraft, Ava Ashcraft, Emilia Rios, Alexandria Sanders, Sofia Mahony-Jauregui, Lili Malo, Lauren Forbes, Morgan Anderson, Katharine Exton, coach Lisa Rios. Middle row, left to right: coach Mallory Balcomb, Devanhi Guerra, Vera Sasan, Molina Stone, Viviane Casaday, Lucia Weaver, Leela Griesemer, Tatum Wright, Lula Segault, Ivy Shaefer, Maria Burns and coach Hank Date. Front row, left to right: Allison Garcia, Nootka Townsend, Ashely Conejo, Gwynn Hawley, Gisselle Meraz, Isabella Morillon Garcia, Isla Sasan, Tina Malaspina, Molly Donovan, Katie Spinogatti and Chloe Anderson-Cleveland.

The track team. L-R, head coach Michael Kulper, Robin Limbach, Kenneth Farani, Assistant Coach Matt Tong, Tom Malo, Drew Nunez, Fin Ontjes, Max Peterson, Hugh Kirk and Assistant Coach Bill Kramer.