February 13, 2008

Sprague High School's racquetball team won its third state championship last weekend at Portland's Multnomah Athletic Club and the Beaverton Family YMCA.

Sprague's girls' team won the state championship and the boys' team placed third, which added up to an overall state championship for the Olympians.

"It was the depth," said Bill Edmonston, one of Sprague's coaches. "You can only win by having a deep team. You got to have a good, deep team in girls and good, deep in boys. That allowed us to beat the Portland teams."

Sprague's three girls' doubles teams won their brackets.

The team of Kara Donithorne and Staci Wood won the first doubles bracket, Alexa Franklin and Karin Foster won the second and Melissa Hale and Erin Pattan won the third doubles.

Individually for Sprague's girls, Donithorne placed fourth in first singles, Foster won in second, Wood won in third, Franklin won in fourth, Ralene Cabrerra was third in fifth and Hale won in sixth.

Among the boys for Sprague, Parker Miles and Ryan Schoonmaker were fourth in first doubles and Matt Gillette and Ben Bowerly were first in second.

In singles, Schoonmaker was third in third boys and Max Wade was second in fifth.

In mixed doubles, Josh Heater and Megan Foster placed second in the third bracket.

Racquetball is a sport not sanctioned by the OSAA.

The USAR national high school championships are Feb. 27 to March 2 at Multnomah Athletic Club.

-- Bill Poehler