The fall sports season will be the first time in four years we see teams in new classifications. Although no Whatcom or Skagit teams were affected by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) 2024–28 classification cycle, a couple of new schools will be competing alongside them.
In 2A football, former Class 3A Marysville-Pilchuck is dropping down to 2A and leaving the Wesco Conference to play in the Northwest Conference. Class 2A Archbishop Murphy, which played an independent schedule in 2023, is also joining the NWC. Both schools will remain in Wesco for the rest of their fall sports.
State tournament allocations for each fall sport will not be released until the WIAA Executive Board meeting Sept. 30. Therefore, the amount of spots for the conferences will be a question until halfway through the season.
Volleyball will have a handful of teams facing different obstacles while trying to reach the state tournament. Some will try to win with inexperienced teams, some will rely heavily on one or two players, and other teams will need to rely on a senior-heavy roster.
Meridian, Nooksack Valley and Lynden Christian lost a combined six seniors, making them young 1A teams eager to repeat their success.
Lynden will need support after losing a senior core that fueled the Lions’ success the last few years, which included a third-place finish at state in 2023. Meridian High head coach Angie Short heads into her second season after going 17-6 and losing only a couple of seniors.
In girls soccer, Bellingham hopes to sneak into the state tournament with several all-league players returning. Sehome looks to return to state with a veteran roster, Meridian and Lynden Christian hope to reload their rosters after state appearances, and Ferndale and Lynden retain a few players with confidence they can make it past the second round.
Cross country excellence runs through Sehome High. The boys and girls teams — which both won state last season — each have up to 10 runners who can compete at state. The Mariners will be favorites on both sides but a few of their foes are right behind as dark horses.
Anacortes finished second in the boys and girls state meet and bring back nearly all their top runners, too. The Bellingham girls finished fifth and have a storied culture, as well as Squalicum. Both teams can challenge Sehome as contenders this year.
In boys tennis, Anacortes doubles teams Andrew Van Egdom and Sawyer Nichols won the first state title in program history. However, Nichols graduated and Van Egdom will look for his new partner for his senior year.
Sehome junior Harley Kaiser and Bellingham’s Nate Lyons and Caleb Imbach look to bounce back after falling short in the district tournament.
Swimming: Bellingham, Sehome, Anacortes and Squalicum all finished top 10 at the 2A girls state swim meet last season. Bellingham’s Grace Sorenson will look to defend her state title in the 100-yard butterfly while the rest of the team hopes to improve after losing only one of their state swimmers.
Sehome lost a handful of state swimmers but also boasts a handful of seniors fighting for one more state appearance. Anacortes was the youngest of the four teams, competing with several freshmen and sophomores at state in a handful of relays. Squalicum lost two of its top four swimmers. Yet, the Storm have two senior swimmers hoping to create some thunder at state.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
