Year in review: New stadium, state appearances and titles highlight exciting 2023 in high school sports
Jan. 3—It was a busy year in high school sports, on and off the field. While the school year runs September through May, the calendar year of 2023 brought some exceptional performances in the Greater Spokane League and across Eastern Washington.
The biggest story of the year, however, didn't happen on a field — it was a field, specifically the opening of ONE Spokane Stadium, the new downtown outdoor sports and entertainment venue adjacent to the Spokane Arena and the Podium.
But plenty of cool things happened on the fields, mats, gyms and tracks across the region.
The stories on this list were compiled and then voted on by The Spokesman-Review's sports staff to determine the top five. What follows is a summary of the biggest stories this staff told in the year 2023 — plus a few honorable mentions.
Downtown stadium opens to rave reviews
After debate, disagreement and discourse, ONE Spokane Stadium opened this fall, finally giving the five city schools a centrally located place to call home. There were some hurdles even after the doors opened, but athletes, coaches and administrators all gave the venue high praise.
The impact was such that our editors named the building one of its "difference makers" of the year, a moniker that until now was exclusively used for exemplary people in the community.
"The reality of ONE Spokane Stadium has far surpassed expectations," Spokane Public Schools Executive Director of Communications Ryan Lancaster said. "We've seen a steady turnout for games, and school programs received a record amount of revenue from ticket sales this fall."
Sophomore standout leads Colfax girls to perfection
Brynn McGaughy, the top girls basketball prospect in the state, and her teammates completed the first undefeated girls basketball season in Class 2B since 2016 by defeating the last program to accomplish the feat — Okanogan — 59-52 in the state title game at the Arena in March.
"To watch my kids rise up," Colfax coach Jordan Holmes said at the time, "I couldn't be more proud."
It was a redemption for the Bulldogs, who fell to Warden in the title game in 2022. It was the program's fifth state title, also taking home the hardware in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2018.
Rogers football makes state playoffs
Winning doesn't come easy in some places. When it happens, it's that much more impactful. Behind senior standout Aaron Kinsey, Rogers completed just its fourth winning season since 1970 and qualified for the state playoff for the first time since 2015.
It took a three-way tiebreaker the Tuesday after the regular season ended, but the Pirates topped West Valley 7-3 in a minigame to reach the postseason. Rogers finished 7-3 after a 53-12 loss to Anacortes in the first round of state.
"No doubt. No question in my mind," Kinsey said after the tiebreaker win. "I knew we were gonna get here."
Wellpinit boys basketball wins school's first state title
After qualifying for the program's first state championship game with a semifinal win over Willapa Valley, top-seeded Wellpinit defeated second-seeded Sunnyside Christian 55-50 to bring home the school's first state title in any sport.
"They played the whole season as one," Wellpinit head coach Billy Flett Sr. said. "Honestly, they just came together as a family."
It was a total team effort — nine players scored, led by David Wynecoop III with 12 points. "I loved being here and I'm happy we came out with the win in my senior year," Wynecoop said.
East Valley senior earns back-to-back XC titles
Senior Logan Hofstee dominated the State 2A girls field for the second consecutive year in November, winning another individual title at the WIAA state cross country championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. The East Valley girls team placed seventh out of 16 teams.
Hofstee finished nearly a minute ahead of runner-up Sophie Koch of Bellingham with a time of 17 minutes, 20.80 seconds.
Hofstee, who signed to run at Gonzaga University, wanted to take it all in during her last high school race. " I was trying to enjoy the moment. This year, the team was able to come with me," she said. "I was fighting my body a little bit, but I knew I had to keep going. I was trying to attack those hills."
Other notable stories from 2023
University senior Q'veli Quintanilla earned his third wrestling state title at Mat Classic XXXIV at the Tacoma Dome in February, defeating Yelm's Lake Harris with a 16-0 technical fall in 2:30 in the 145 finals of the 3A championship. Quintanilla was held off the prestigious "four-timer's club" only due to the pandemic year when the event was not held.
The first Spokesman-Review High School Basketball Showcase was held in March at Lewis and Clark High School, featuring the Denny Humphrey Memorial boys all-star game and the Jack Blair Memorial girls all-star game. The Showcase returned the region's girls all-star game for the first time in five years and provided the first boys game.
Two Rogers girls wrestlers — Ellabelle Taylor and Viktoriya Dovhoruka — won individual state titles at Mat Classic. Both athletes signed with Evergreen State College in Olympia — the only four-year college in Washington to offer women's wrestling. Taylor also won the 100-meter dash and the 4x100 relay at the State 2A track meet in May.
Lakeside football earned its first trip to the state title game, beating district rival Freeman in a quarterfinal and knocking off Nooksack Valley in a semi before falling to Royal 49-7 in the State 1A championship game at Husky Stadium at the University of Washington in December. Royal won its seventh title in the past eight seasons.
Oakesdale beat Neah Bay in straight sets for its third straight State 1B volleyball title in November. The Nighthawks have won seven of the past eight state championships and 13 overall.
Ridgeline junior receiver Brayden Allen caught 90 passes for 878 yards — breaking his GSL record for single-season receptions — and moved into first in career receptions with 197. He also owns the single-game mark with 17, set his freshman year. Allen needs 522 yards his senior season to move into first in career receiving yards.
