Fall sports welcome back student athletes

The fall sports rosters are filling up as student athletes hit the hardwood or field to condition for the season. Wahakiakum School District athletic programs offer a diverse playing field including football, volleyball, and cross country. This year the entire district is seeing changes including the Athletic Department: Moving to a new athletic league and classification. Athletic Director Rob Garrett is looking forward to the changes and believes one grows when faced with change.

“Our kids will be competing against schools that are much more comparable in size to us compared to years past which should provide more opportunities to competeat a high level. I think overall it's an exciting time to be a Mule. These changes will allow some of our programs to rebuild and others to excel at the top of their playing field.”

Wahkiakum Mules football is coached by Ryan Lorenzo, Matt Mogush, Aric Cothren, Brad Moon, and Beau Reynold with a roster of 28 athletes. The football team has shifted from an 11-man game to an 8-man, moving their league designation. If you haven’t seen 8-man football, it’s like a track meet on the field, where the advantage is in the speed and agility. The season opener will be an away game at Tahola Saturday, September 7 at 3:00 p.m. The first home game will be Friday, September 13 vs. Naselle which will be the KM Trophy game.

The Lady Mules volleyball team is ready to show you what they’ve got like we saw last year with 8th graders playing up. There are 22 ladies playing on the high school volleyball team coached by Kayli Hurley and Tina Merz. Their first game is Thursday, September 5 at Oak Jamboree at 5 p.m. Come cheer on the Lady Mules for their first home game against Illwaco Monday, September 9 at 5:45 p.m.

A strong cross-country team is hitting the ground coached by Tiffany Niemeyer. A group of three athletes have joined the high school team. and the middle school has four runners. The first meet for the Mules Cross Country high school team will be Tuesday, September 10 at La Center. Middle school runners compete on a 3K loop, while high school runs a 5K. Each meet consists of varying terrain and tests athletes’ endurance. Cross country is one of the best sports for training an all-around athlete. Coach Niemeyer anticipates a great season. “It has been a few years since we have had enough athletes to compete, so I am excited to get middle and high schoolers out competing again!"

The high school cheerleading squad has a total of twelve athletes coached by Kaitlyn Kincaid and Braydon Finaks. They will be on the sidelines boosting the crowd. They will have an exciting job ahead with the return of the KM trophy games.

Lastly, middle school volleyball started practice on August 26 with 23 girls. Coached by Jamie Brown and Kami Gray, these young ladies are learning the fundamentals, while also having fun and becoming teammates. The first middle school volleyball game is home vs. Napavine at 5 p.m. on Monday, September 9.

It is exciting to see the KM Trophy games are back in high school sports. The first KM Trophy game is in football on Friday, September 13, and volleyball is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25. Both games will be on home turf so everyone is encouraged to come out and cheer on the Red and Black.