Top 5 Sports Stories of 2013

Waitsburg-Prescott sprinter James Thompkins led the WP boys' track and field team to a 3rd-place finish at the state 2B meet in Cheney in May. The team missed second place by one point. Thompkins, then a junior, won the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes and anchored the winning 4x400 meter relay team. Other strong performances at the state meet included Ben Shafer's second place in the shot put and Seth Deal's 3rd place in the 3,200 meter run and sixth in the 1,600 meter run. Brendan Donovan placed 10th in the 110 meter hurdles and 13th in the 300 meter hurdles. WP's 57 points trailed only LaConner with 58 and league-rival Asotin with 64.

The WP Tigers soccer team brought home the 4th-place trophy from the state 2B soccer tournament in Sumner in November. They reached the final four with a dramatic 1-0 victory over NW Christian in the district tournament in Spokane. In Sumner, the Tigers lost both their games, 3-1 to Grace Academy and 2-0 to rival St. Georges.

The Lady Bulldogs softball team finished in the top eight at the state 2B tournament in Yakima in May. In their second tournament game, Dayton took eventual state champion Toutle Lake into extra innings before eventu­ally falling 5-1. The Lady 'Dogs beat Orcas Island in their first game, 5-2, and also crushed league rival Asotin 17-3. In their final game, the Bulldogs lost to Napavine in their final game, 8-1.

The WP football team won their sixth straight league championship with a thrilling 42-41 victory over Tri-Cities Prep in November. The Cardinals won their first-round playoff game against Liberty, 41-14, before suffering a season-ending loss to Adna in the second round, 33-17. Cardinal kicker Antionio Benito and defensive back Talen Larsen were honored by the Associated Press as members of the All-State First team.

WP wrestler Tristan New­man, a (then) freshman, took his talents to the state 2B wrestling tournament in the Tacoma Dome in February. He was the first state qualifier for the WP wrestling program, which was in only its second year. Newman lost both of his match­es in Tacoma, but gained great experience which will help him in his three remaining years as a high- school wrestler.