The Oak Harbor boys soccer team might have finished third in the Wesco North standings, but they topped the charts when it came to the all-league squad. The Wildcats led the North Division with seven first and second team all-league selections when the Wesco All-League teams were announced last week. The squad had three more players named honorable mention for a total of 10 all-stars, just one shy of a complete soccer team.
“Our entire starting midfield was named, as were our strikers,” said Cats head coach Steve Barker. “Our whole attack team was named, that’s quite remarkable.”
Leading the way were four first team selections — senior midfielder Brent Thompson, senior defenseman Micah Pruss, junior forward Grant Bull, and junior midfielder Kyle Rip. Senior goalkeeper Stephen Brabner, senior defenseman Kyle Kingma, and junior forward Cody Parker earned second-team nods. Senior midfielder Dustin VanVelkinburgh, junior forward Dan Hinkley, and junior midfielder Kyle Veach were named honorable mention.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the kids,” Barker said. “It was a remarkable season.”
The Wildcats finished the season with a 9-6-2 record in the competitive Wesco and made the district playoffs for the first time since 1992. Barker was pleased with this season’s results but also believes that the Cats could be just as strong or stronger next year.
“We got a huge contribution from our seniors this season, but of the 10 that made (all-league) we have six coming back next year,” he said. “I’ve never had a season like this one in Oak Harbor and now we’re going to shoot for two in a row.”
Barker was just as proud of the fact that his squad took home a WIAA scholastic award for having a team GPA over 3.00.
“That award is important to me,” he said. “I think that it’s another mark of a championship-caliber team.”
It wasn’t just the soccer team that racked up the honors. Oak Harbor’s other spring sports had their share of all-league performers as well.
Three Wildcat golfers received All-Wesco accolades. Senior Shane Wells, who took fifth at the Wesco North Division League meet and tied for 17th at state was named to the boys team for the second straight year.
The Cats also had a pair on the girls first team. Senior Kate Waller, who finished second at league and 27th at state, earned all-league honors for the second consecutive season, while sophomore Camille Merritt, who took fourth at league and participated in the state tourney, earned the honor for the first time. The lady Wildcats linksters were also the 4A state academic champions with an impressive 3.88 GPA as a team.
On the diamond, the Wildcats had two seniors earn all-league honorable mention. Infielder/pitcher Anthony Martinez, who posted a .321 batting average and lead the team with 10 steals, was named along with outfielder Chris Cardinal, who led the squad with a .357 average and six doubles on the season.
The Cats fastpitch team showed that there is hope for the future as sophomore catcher Kristin Barone and freshman first baseman Libbe Bear were each named honorable mention.
The Oak Harbor tennis squad grabbed two of the four all-league spots on the singles side. Senior Theresa Black, who won the league and district titles, was named to the singles team for the second straight year, while junior Maggie Manucal, who took second at the Wesco North Division meet, earned all-league honors for the first time.
The Wildcats track team had one first-teamer, senior Stefan Kulpa, who earned the honor in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Kulpa took the event with a school-record 39.97 time at the Wesco North Division league meet on May 10.
You can reach Sports Editor Matt Moss at 675-6611 or via email at sports@whidbeynewstimes.com.
