Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Owls have summer slate of athletic camps
Mary M. Knight High School athletic director and football coach Tom Kerr talks to his players during practice last fall.
Mary M. Knight's Micah Palmer drives to the basket while contested by Wishkah Valley defenders during a 1B Coastal League boys basketball game Jan. 6 in Matlock.
The state of Mary M. Knight athletics is "projecting well," according to athletic director Tom Kerr.
MMK had some trouble getting participation in some sports, including football and boys basketball. Kerr said that a lot of youth are in the varsity programs and participation numbers are expected to go on an upward trend after this year.
"The majority of our athletes - both boys and girls - will be freshmen and sophomores next year so the future is bright for MMK," Kerr told the Journal in an email. "I am always concerned about the lack of students period - both boys and girls. One of the main challenges of being a small 1B school is since our enrollment is so low, the majority of the student population has to play sports so we can field teams. This is a great thing for students to get involved early in athletics, but can be challenging when students do not turn out to play."
Football, one of the biggest sports in generating interest in athletics for many schools, moved to six-man football three years ago. Kerr said the passing of the six-man football amendment has saved football, not only for MMK, but for many smaller schools in the Coastal 1B league.
"Without the availability of 6-man football, we would not have been able to consistently field a team the past three years," Kerr said. "For the foreseeable future we will plan to stay at six-man. If our numbers do increase and we are able to sustain it, then we will move back up to eight-man."
Spring sports went well for the Owls. In track, coach Kitty Brehmeyer had to step down for a year and assistant Pat Ferguson took over for this year, with Brehmeyer expected to be back next spring. Logan Green made it to the 1B state meet as a freshman, ensuring MMK has had at least one athlete qualify for state every year since 2001.
The golf team had two boys and four girls, and all but one were first-time golfers. Three girls qualified for the 1B/2B district tournament in junior Misty Baughman, freshman Cloey Fletcher and freshman Maelynn Nygaard.
Mary M. Knight is adding flag football for middle school students in grades 6 to 8, and each school in the Coastal League will offer the sport and each team will play five games in the inaugural season.
Each sport at MMK has a summer camp. Football camp is happening now through Friday. Volleyball is going to Saint Martin's University for an all-skills camp June 28 to 30. Girls basketball heads to a summer camp in Ilwaco next week and then the boys will be at a summer camp in Ilwaco from June 26 to 29. DAP Hoops hosts a basketball skills camp for all ages at the MMK gym in Matlock July 14 and 15.
"Personally, I am very excited for the next few years of MMK athletics," Kerr said. "We have a good nucleus of young athletes that are not only pretty talented, but they are dedicated as well. We will still be young next year, but for a couple years after that we will be able to make some noise."
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