By NATHAN WHALEN
Special to the News-Times
When practice for spring sports began in late February, a record number of students at Oak Harbor High School signed up.
“We had just under 400 kids turn out for spring sports, which is amazing,” said Jerrod Feury, athletic director at Oak Harbor High School, adding that the school is starting to see the transition out of COVID-19.
Athletes are busy preparing for the first games of the season and teams have goals ranging from competing for a conference championship to seeing athletes improve in their sport.
Games get underway Saturday with Oak Harbor’s baseball team traveling to Ferndale and then hosting Marysville Getchell March 11. The boys soccer team travels to Marysville Getchell March 9 while the girls golf team travels to Glacier Peak March 11.
Oak Harbor coaches shared their thoughts on their teams and the upcoming season.
Baseball
With seven seniors, four of whom are signed to play in college, Oak Harbor’s baseball team will benefit from senior leadership and strong pitching.
“We should have a very strong team this year,” Oak Harbor coach Cody Anderson said. “We have a very deep team this year.”
Seniors Parker Anderson, Jacob Figerele, Adam Nurvik, and Zack Pyles will play baseball in college and the Wildcats have seven seniors on the team.
Senior Jacob Fry is a pitcher who went 10-0 as a sophomore but missed last year. “We got our ace back,” Anderson said. He added fellow pitcher Pyles had a good season in 2023 as a junior.
Oak Harbor had 28 players come out, Anderson said, which is enough for varsity and junior varsity squads.
His goal for the season – “I want to win the Northwest Conference.”
Softball
Like the baseball team, Oak Harbor’s softball team will have an experienced squad in 2024 with eight players returning from last season’s varsity team. The Wildcats will have two seniors and a freshman round out varsity, coach Alicia Ashburn said.
“We’re really looking forward to the season,” Ashburn said.
The Wildcats in 2023 finished with 10 wins, which is up from four wins the previous year. They earned a spot in the district tournament but lost in the first round.
“It was definitely a learning experience,” Ashburn said, adding it was the first time since she started coaching in Oak Harbor in 2019 that the team qualified for a district tournament.
She said the team has strong pitching, hitting and defense.
“Everybody has an important role and they step up when they need to,” Ashburn said. Instead of naming captains, the team will recognize players throughout the season based on three characteristics – commitment, character and community.
“We are really embracing the idea of a 1-percent-better-each-day mindset,” Ashburn said.
The goal for the year is to go back to district and get their first postseason win.
Soccer
After graduating eight seniors from the 2023 team, the boys soccer team will be fielding a younger team this season.
The Wildcats have one senior who played on varsity last year and a couple freshman could make varsity, said Tony Savoy, head coach of the boys soccer team.
“I’m impressed with the way we’re moving the ball,” Savoy said. “If we all do our job, then we’ll be more successful.”
Junior Jackson Whitney has been running the captains practices in the offseason and junior Presley Garcia has started every game as a freshman.
“They got game experience and know what my expectations are,” Savoy said, adding that the team has a lot more freshmen and two other seniors on the team.
“I’m impressed with the technical ability of the boys to kick the ball around,” Savoy said. “We’re going to play young guys.”
Being one of three 3A teams in the Northwest Conference, the top two are eligible to compete in the district tournament. Oak Harbor always has a shot qualifying for playoffs, Savoy said. Oak Harbor came up short qualifying for the postseason in 2023.
Oak Harbor starts its season Saturday traveling to Marysville Getchell. Their first home game takes place Tuesday against Stanwood. Game time is 7 p.m.
Girls tennis
Of the 12 players on Oak Harbor’s girl tennis team, six are returning varsity letter returners.
“We have a lot of experience, we just don’t have a lot of experience playing together,” tennis coach Malia Turner said.
Senior Gracie Cecka is Oak Harbor’s number-one singles player. She was an alternate at the state tournament in 2023. Turner said Cecka’s goal is to go to districts for the third time in a row and compete at state.The Wildcat’s number-two singles player is senior Anna Servatius.
For the number-one doubles team, Oak Harbor has a newly formed team, seniors and lefties Kalynn Mellan and Gina Snyder. Mellan played singles in 2023 on junior varsity and Snyder played varsity doubles in 2023 with a different partner.
“We do a lot of goal setting and mental preparation,” Turner said, which includes a lot of reflection post-match as well as meditation and goal setting during matches.
“Our goal is to win at least 50 percent of our matches,” Turner said. She noted the strength of the 2A schools in the Northwest Conference especially Lynden and Bellingham.
Oak Harbor’s girls tennis’ first game of the season takes place at 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 13 hosting Anacortes.
Track (Boys and Girls)
Oak Harbor saw around 170 athletes sign up to compete on the boys and girls track teams.
The Wildcats have eight athletes who competed at the state track meet in 2023.
On the boys side, Jayden Boyles placed 15th in the 100-meters, and placed 18th in the 200-meters. He was also a member of the 4×100-meter relay team that placed ninth, and the 4×400-meter relay team that placed 13th.
Michael Johnson-Howard placed 17th in the triple-jump and was a member of the 4×100-meter relay team. Dan Williard was a member of the 4×400 relay team.
For the girls, Addison Boyer and Audrey Hart competed on the 4×200-meter relay team that placed fifth and the 4×400-meter relay team that placed 15th. Olivia Hudson placed 20th in the shot put, Daisy Lemley placed 14th in the shot put and 13th in the discus. Lilly Grubbs placed 13th in the javelin.
In addition to the competitors with experience at state, coach Jay Turner highlighted several other key returners. Junior Carson Lang will complete in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and long jump.
For the girls, Natalie Chadduck will compete in pole vault, Vanessa Cisco will compete in the hurdles, Jasmine Phillips in the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump and relays, Brianna Richard will participate in the hurdles and Carly VanGiesen will race in the 400-meters and the relays.
“We hope to continue to improve and get better every week,” Turner said in an email.
Oak Harbor’s first track meet of the season takes place at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 13 hosting Lynden.
Boys golf
When Oak Harbor’s boys golf team hits the links this season, they will field a team that has five of six players returning with three of those being seniors, said David Smith, boys golf coach.
Junior Tobias Wood is a leader of the team, Smith said in an email. Wood placed 31st at state in 2023 and improved over the offseason through his participation in Washington Junior Golf Association events over the summer where he finished in the top 10 in multiple events.
Seniors Tobias Wyer and Anders Spencer are the number-two and number-three golfers. Smith said both worked on their games over the summer and he’s seen big improvements.
“I really feel like this team has a chance to qualify for state as a full team if we work on our fundamentals and course management this season,” Smith said.
Oak Harbor’s first match of the season takes place at 2 p.m., Thursday, March 14 when the team travels to the Skagit Golf and Country Club to face Burlington-Edison. Their first home match takes place at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 19 when they host Lake Stevens at the Whidbey Golf Club.
Girls golf
The Wildcats are coming off a successful girls golf season in 2023 where they were Northwest Conference and District champions. They also qualified the team and an individual to state.
Coach Andy Wesley said 17 golfers tried out for the team.
Senior Hailey Jenson is the captain. She, along with Addison Nations, have two years of experience playing in the state tournament. They have worked to improve their game from 2023 and hope to return to the state tournament as a team, Wesley said.
“Our goal as a team is to connect as a team, improve from last year and to have fun working together as a group,” Wesley said in an email.
The girls golf team travels to Jackson Park Golf Course to compete against Glacier Peak Monday, March 11.
Their first home match takes place at 11 a.m., Monday, March 18 when they host Issaquah at Whidbey Golf Club.
Oak Harbor athlete Lilly Norman hit the ball at the softball team’s season opener last year. (Photo by John Fisken)
Oak Harbor sophomore Reese Wasinger pitches during a game in 2023. Oak Harbor’s softball team begins its season March 12 when they host Cascade. (Photo by John Fisken)
Oak Harbor senior Michael Johnson-Howard will compete in the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump, triple jump and relays. He competed at state in 2023 in the triple jump and 4×100-meter relay. Oak Harbor’s track team kicks off the season March 13 when they host Lynden. (Photo by John Fisken)
