Question of the day: Should injured athletes be "passed through" league meets to district?

I ask because it happened a couple of times at the South Puget Sound League 4A sub-district meet last week. League coaches voted to allow Ezra John Griffey, one of the top sprinters in the state, to sit out the 100 and 200 to give a leg injury more time to heal. He will run in the West Central 4A District meet this Friday and Saturday. Griffey pulled up lame last month in the Shoreline Invitational, but vows to be ready this weekend and believes he can make a run at a couple of state titles in Pasco the following weekend.

Puyallup's Eric Morrison also got a pass in the 300 hurdles after getting hurt in the 110 high hurdles.

The SPSL has 10 district berths. But with the pass-throughs, only the top nine qualified in the 100, 200 and 300 hurdles based on their performances at the SPSL meet.

Is this a good policy? Or do you think injuried athletes should have to go through the normal qualifying process? Mind you, if Griffey or Morrison decide they aren't ready to run at district, the alternate in each race would be allowed to compete. And there are no pass-throughs from district to state.

As the WIAA makes them official on its Web site, I'll fill in the first-round matchups for the state baseball playoffs.

ALL GAMES SATURDAY

Class 4A

At Kent Memorial in Kent

South Kitsap vs. Bothell, 10 a.m.
Battle Ground vs. Kentlake, 1 p.m.

At Gonzaga Prep in Spokane

TBA vs. TBA, 10 a.m.
Redmond vs. TBA, 1 p.m.

At Everett Memorial in Everett

Snohomish vs. Puyallup, 10 a.m.
Central Kitsap vs. Mountlake Terrace, 1 p.m.

At Heidelberg Park in Tacoma

Tahoma vs. Heritage, 10 a.m.
Marysville-Pilchuck vs. Olympia, 1 p.m.

Class 3A

At Bannerwood Park in Bellevue

Franklin Pierce vs. Captial, 10 a.m.
Hazen vs. Issaquah, 1 p.m.

At Parker Field in Yakima

Hanford vs. Kamiakin, 10 a.m.
Ferndale vs. Kennewick, 1 p.m.

At Skagit Dream Field in Mount Vernon

Mount Rainier vs. Seattle Prep, 10 a.m.
West Seattle/Liberty winner vs. Meadowdale, 1 p.m.

At Wheeler Field in Centralia

Kelso vs. Olympic, 10 a.m.
Bishop Blanchet vs. Auburn, 1 p.m.

All first-round games Tuesday

Class 4A

Snohomish vs. Bellarmine, 7 p.m. at Mt. Tahoma
Olympia at Juanita, 7 p.m.
Eastlake vs. Pasco, 7 p.m. at Edgar Brown Stadium (Pasco)
Mead at Central Valley, 6:30 p.m.
Kentwood vs. Battle Ground, 7 p.m. at Battle Ground Stadium (Vancouver)
Marysville vs. Puyallup, 7 p.m. at Sparks Stadium (Puyallup)
Bothell vs. Todd Beamer, 5:30 p.m. at Sunset Chev Stadium (Sumner)
Jefferson vs. Shorewood, 7 p.m. at Shoreline Stadium

Class 3A

Hudson's Bay at Mercer Island, 7 p.m.
Shorecrest at Auburn Riverside, 7:30 p.m. at Sunset Chev Stadium (Sumner)
Kennedy at Eastmont, 7 p.m. at Apple Bowl (Wenatchee)
Kamiakin at Sunnyside, 7 p.m.
Bainbridge vs. Capital, 7 p.m. at Ingersoll Stadium
Mt. Rainier vs. Lakeside, 5:30 p.m. at Interbay Field
Nathan Halle at Camas, 7 p.m.
Yelm at Mount Vernon, 7 p.m.

That's right.

Bonnie Richardson was the only athlete from Rochelle High School to compete in the 1A state tournament Saturday in Austin, Texas, and in five events she accumulated more points by herself than any other team.

Richardson, a junior, won the high jump (5-feet-5) and the 200 meters (25.03), finished runner-up in the long jump (18-feet-7) and the 100 meters (12.19) and was third in the discus (121-0) in events held over two days, Friday and Saturday.

It was a good thing the 1A events were split over two days because Richardson said the heat -- temperatures were in the high 90s both days -- might have knocked her down. She laughed off a suggestion that she could have won more if UIL rules didn't limit individual participation to five events.

"I don't think I could handle any more," she said. "It was hot and I was tired."

Officials believe it's the first time a girl has ever won a team title on her own. Former Pittsburg Steeler Frank Pollard is believed to have done it on the boys side for Meridian High School in the 70s.

Not a bad weekend, I'd say.

Two games. It happens just like that. For two months, Eastside Catholic was one of the top baseball teams in the state, and the Crusaders took over the top spot in Class 3A just last week.

But like that, they're gone.

The high-school playoffs are unforgiving, with no room for hiccups. The Crusaders won 18 consecutive games before the postseason, but two consecutive losses did them in. Give credit to West Seattle, which surely knew it was the underdog last night but didn't give in when it was down early. The Wildcats scored eight runs in the fifth inning to boost itself to an 8-6 win and kept their season alive.

That's not the only Metro upset last night. Lakeside ended Holy Names' five-year streak of Metro girls track championships last night, with a large supporting cast surrounding its two individual champs: Rachael Severtson (pole vault) and Madeline Rathbun (800 meters). As coach Doug Porter told our Craig Smith after Lakeside's first championship since 1992, "There is not a more surprised person in this stadium than myself."

Morning stars

1. MiKenzie Voves, Issaquah, softball. Threw a two-hitter and struck out seven in a shutout that allowed Issaquah to claim the KingCo 3A tournament championship with a 1-0 victory. The Eagles remain undefeated.

2. Ivana Krommelova, Arlington, girls tennis. She didn't lose even game in a two-set victory to win the WesCo 3A tennis tournament.

3. Bothell boys track. It was a big track night, and you can read about all of the individual stars in our stories about the KingCo, Metro and SPSL 4A meets. But Bothell gets a mention this morning for winning its first league championship in school history, edging out Inglemoor 122-114.

In one night, the playoffs in Class 3A's best conference this decade flipped upside down. The top two seeds -- Newport and Skyline -- have been relegated to fight it out for the right to play in a pigtail game, while the division's third and fifth seeds -- Issaquah and Liberty -- will play in the final.

Issaquah beat Newport with the Knights down a couple star players, but starter Jacob Kemmerer allowed just three hits in the 6-1 Eagles win. Four first-innings runs were all Issaquah needed.

Liberty also got off to a fast start with two first-inning runs against Skyline's dominating sophomore, Adrian Sampson. But Skyline eventually fought back, tying it in the sixth. But Liberty, which beat Bellevue in an eight-inning game to stay alive Tuesday, won behind a Chandler Tracy RBI double in the seventh.

You might be asking: Why is this important? What the Metro League is to 3A state basketball, KingCo 3A is to 3A state baseball. It has produced six of the last eight state champions, including Issaquah last year, when it started as the KingCo 3A's fifth seed and went all the way to the state championship.

But with only 1 1/2 berths to state -- the team that wins the second seed plays Metro's third seed for a berth -- this might be one of the most intense tournaments around the state. Saturday's playoffs should be fun to watch.

But it can't be the only fun conference to watch this weekend. Feel free to chime in on what you think will be the best playoffs, in any sport, as we get closer and closer to state tournaments.

Morning stars

1. Natalie Allen, Holy Names, and Davis Mangham, Lakeside; tennis. Meet your new Metro League champions. Mangham won 6-2, 6-3 in the championship against Seattle Prep's Shuhei Matsuya, and Allen beat teammate Rachel Storz 6-3, 6-0.

2. Natsumi Ueda, Newport, softball. Hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to put Newport ahead in a 5-3 win against Skyline.

3. Chris Hashimoto, Lake Washington, baseball. Went 3-for-3 with a big two-run home run in an 11-2 win that kept the Kangs' season alive.

Today's top games

KingCo 3A softball championship: Newport vs. Issaquah, 5:30 p.m. at Issaquah. Issaquah has yet to lose a game this season, and can clinch the KingCo 3A's top seed with a win.

Metro League track, at Southwest Athletic Complex and KingCo 3A/4A track at Liberty. Conference finals all around today, with state only two weeks away.

I took a call last night with one of the most impressive individual performances I've ever seen.

Emerald Ridge goalkeeper Kevin Weeks did it all.

Through 80 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime, Weeks stopped 20 shots by Kentlake for his seventh shutout. But that's not all. In the subsequent penalty-shootout, he stopped four of the Falcons' five attempts.

But again, there's more.

Weeks, a senior, also converted a penalty shot of his own. Which turned out to be the game-winner as the Jaguars advanced in the SPSL 4A playoffs.

Wow.

But there have been other amazing feats this spring: Kentridge senior Spencer Graham recently had a 3-homer, 7-RBI day. Ryan Prentice ran an amazing sub-9 minute 3200 at the Shoreline Invitational. Brittany Allen from Archbishop Murphy threw an 11-inning no-hitter and had 25 strikeouts!

What have been some of the most performances you can remember from this season?

Morning stars (the non-Weeks edition)

1. Seattle Prep baseball -- The Panthers stunned top-ranked Eastside Catholic with four runs in the top of the seventh in a 10-6 win to qualify for the state tournament. Prep was led by John Humphrie, who hit a two-run home run and got the win on the mound, Paul Twining (4-for-5, triple) and Mike Buckley, who doubled and drove in three runs.

2. Other Metro state qualifiers -- Adam McNaghten booked Bishop Blanchet's ticket to state with a 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh after the Braves blew a 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning. Nathan Hale and Lakeside's boys soccer teams qualified for state with 2-0 wins.

3. Hallie Martin, Roosevelt girls tennis -- Despite losing her first set, Martin battled back to defeat Inglemoor's Coco Bater in the KingCo 4A girls singles championship, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Good story out of Northern California. A girl beat out 15 boys and made her high school's JV baseball team.

See the video and full report here. (Wait for the advertisement to play out).

Pretty cool, huh? Be great to see more stories like it!