Girls Soccer:

Taunts and jeers rang out loud and clear across the field from the Wenatchee High School student section as freshman Allie Flynn closed in on Eastmont’s goal. As the ball found its way into the back of the net, a deafening chant of, “She’s a freshman!” drowned out the angry cries from the Wildcat section while Flynn ran down the field to celebrate with her ecstatic teammates during the Sept. 16 match.

“Since my first game, I’ve been working towards that. Once I got my first goal it was the best feeling I’ve ever had. After that I was looking for that third goal for a hat trick … I just feel great. It’s the biggest accomplishment I’ve ever made in my life,” Flynn said.

Although Flynn was just one goal short of a hat trick, senior Katie Michkiosky managed a hat trick, helping the team win 6-1 against EHS to defeat their rival school and boost the team into second place in league behind Moses Lake, a complete turnaround from the beginning of this season when they were second to last in league.

“Last year we were really close, only a point’s difference in beating Eastmont, but now we won 6-1 so it feels great to really beat your rival school like that,” sophomore Sophia Garrison, who also scored once in the second half of the game, said.

With Michkiosky scoring twice in the first half, the team went into halftime with two goals already in the net, a welcome change from their previous games. Eastmont’s only goal was a penalty kick scored in the beginning of the second half, but not to be put off, WHS quickly added four more goals before the second half was over: two goals from Flynn, one more goal from Mitchkiosky, and the final goal from Garrison.

“This was not an easy game, it was difficult to do, and we did this because every one of us dug down to that ball,” Coach John Springer said. “It was a great battle.”

-Kiana Wilson, Opinion Editor

Girls Swim:

On Sept.16 the Wenatchee varsity swim team beat West Valley at home, 140.5-44.5. That makes the team start the regular season with an undefeated record of 3-0. Some key swimmers which contributed to the enormous win were sophomore Rebecca Bay, junior Kayli Elwyn, and sophomore Isabelle Dressel. Each winning their event, Bay placing first in the 500-yard freestyle, Elwyn in the 200 individual medley, and Dressel in the 100 freestyle.

The Panthers put in their, “best lineups,” Elwyn said. Not knowing much about the opposing team, the Panthers went in with high hopes and prevailed. “We’re doing well at this point of the season,” Bay said.

Sept. 19 WHS traveled to Richland where the Panthers competed against Richland and Hanford in a meet. Wenatchee continued to be a powerhouse as they beat Hanford, 132-53 and Richland 99-87. The team is still undefeated and are looking good right now. The team’s next meet is against Moses Lake where they compete at Moses Lake.

-Lexi Rivera, Staff Reporter

Volleyball:

Wenatchee defeated rival Eastmont  in the Panthers first league match on Sept. 16. The Panthers seemed to have control in the first two games, winning 25-19 and 26-24, but Eastmont came back to win game three and was on its way to win the fourth. After being down late in the fourth game, Wenatchee clutched up and won 28-26, closing the match.

“In a tight game like that, the bond you have with your team is most important, and that’s why we won,” said senior Christa Dietrich.

The Panthers lost to 1A defending state champs, Cascade High School, in a clean sweep, with Cascade winning all three games on Sept. 18. The game was non-league, so the Panthers still have a 1-0 league record.

The Panthers’ next home game is on Sept. 30 against Davis at 7 p.m.

-Daniel Arndt, Staff Reporter

Cross Country:

The Wenatchee boys and girls showed the others teams what they were made of on Sept. 20 at Walla Walla Point Park, with both boys and girls varsity winning the meet.

The girls placed first out of six other teams. Junior Sophie Marshall came in sixth place out of 46 girls running a 20:46.35. Senior Raquel Thody was close behind placing seventh running a 20:56.89.

The boys placed first out of 10 teams. Senior Cole Christman placed first out of 73 boys running a 15:38.52. Senior Austen Lane was right behind him placing second running a 15:43.21.

On Sept. 18, the Panthers girls and boys both placed second in their first league meet at West Valley. Christman won his race with a time of 16:27.38 right ahead of Lane, who placed second with a time of 16:36.46.

The Panthers travel next to the Bellevue Invite and Nike Pre-Nationals on Sept. 27.

-Kirsten Walker, Staff Reporter

Football:

On Sept. 18 the Wenatchee Panthers traveled to Yakima to face off against the Eisenhower Cadets where they came away with the win, 34-6.

The Panther offense was led by junior quarterback Brandon Graves, who completed 11 passes out of  22 attempts, including a touchdown pass to senior Killion McGinnis. Graves also accounted for a 2-yard run into the end zone. Senior Chase Resch had a great game that included a 55-yard touchdown pass to McGinnis and 78 yards rushing. McGinnis finished with 82 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

-Sean Kelley, Staff Reporter