NK soccer in first round of state playoffs

The Vikes cemented its place in the Class 3A state tournament with a narrow, 3-2 victory, over Lindberg in a game played on Saturday in the West Central/Southwest district tournament.

North snagged the victory while three key players were sidelined with injuries, midfielder Eyla Lee to a seperated shoulder, five minutes into the game, midfielder Madie Taylor broke her nose and 10 minutes into the game forward Siara Byers took a hit and was out for the rest of the half.

But the team demonstrated tremendous will and resilience.

First half: NK, Sidney Byers, minute 14; NK, Delanee Nilles, assist Jen Sargeant, minute 20.

Second half: L, Nichole Burnette, minute 58; NK, Siara Byers, assist Sidney Byers, minute 62; L, Sarah Aylward, assist Burnette, minute 70.

On Nov. 4 the Vikings hosted Timberline to a sub-district loser out/winner to districts match and the Vikes won with an awesome 7-0 shutout, marking North’s seventh straight shutout.

Keepers Christine Parker and Heather Martin shared the duties.

First half: Siara Byers, unassisted, minute 5; Madison Taylor, assist Siara Byers, minute 15; Lindsey Foster, assist Nilles, minute 20; Ashley Cole, assist Alyssa Walker, minute 31; Taylor, assist Cami Crema, minute 39.

Second half: Taylor, unassisted, minute 72. Taylor recorded her first hat trick in her high school career.

On Nov. 1 the Vikes hosted the Kingston Buccaneers and won 4-0.

First half: Nilles, unassisted, minute 34.

Second half: Taylor, assist Georgia Suter, minute 51; Siara Byers, assist Nilles, minute 56; Siara Byers, assist Nilles, minute 67.

On Tuesday the Vikings traveled to Everett for the first round of state playoffs against Everett High, results of the match weren’t available at presstime.

This is the first time the Vikings have qualified for state since 1998, when they advanced to the semifinals.

Vikings swim team heading to state

Over the weekend the Vikings swim team traveled to the WCDIII 3A finals, placing seventh. It was the Vikes first appearance at the finals meet and placing in the top seven at the meet guarantees the Vikes an allocated position at state.

Finishes: Senior Stephanie Longmate finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 500-yard freestyle, and will compete at state in both events. Freshman Bethany Aban finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley, and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, earning a trip to state in both events. The 200-yard free relay ‚ Longmate, Aban, Ingrid Reeves and Andrea Coyle ‚Äî moved from fifth to fourth, improving their time by 0.3 seconds to 1:48.65, which is the second fastest girls 200-free relay time in school history. The 200-relay advanced to state.

The 400-yard freestyle relay ‚ Longmate, Aban, Reeves, Coyle ‚Äî broke the school record again with a time of 4:00.67, moving from a seventh seed to finish fourth overall and earning a trip to state.

This is the first time in 20 years NK will have more than one female at state, and the relays are the first girls’ relays to go to state in more than 20 years.

Kingston swimming finishes season strong

Over the weekend the Bucs swimming team traveled to the Olympic Aquatic Center for the WCD III 1A/2A girls swim meet.

The Bucs placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay ­— Nicole Avila, Katie Fisher, Karly Crawford and Brittany McKenzie — with a time of 2:04.05.

“My girls had a great district meet, and finished the season quite well,” wrote head coach Celia Ozereko in an e-mail.