The Everett Community College spring sports teams represented the school in recent tournaments.

Both the softball and track teams made the annual NWAACC tournaments while the baseball team reached the qualifying tournament.

The Everett Trojans baseball team entered the final playoff with one goal, which was to advance to the NWAACC tournament.

The season however came to an unfortunate end, as the Trojans were yet again one game short of advancing to the tournament. This was the ninth year in a row that the men have been within a game of advancing.

Although the day was full of heartbreak for the Trojans, they had many memories to look back on throughout the year. "The part of the season that I will remember the most would be the last game of the season, which was also my last game as a Trojan," said sophomore and team leader Chance Hargrove.

Most of the players agreed that their favorite game of the season was the first, when the Trojans faced their rivals, the Edmonds Tritons. Everett's pitcher Keith Campbell set the tone of the game from the first pitch.

The Trojan's bats were alive and the Tritons had no answer for Campbell's major league fastball. When asking Hargrove if he believed the Trojans got redemption from the Tritons who ended the Trojans season last year, he firmly responded, "Without a doubt."

The Trojans will have to work on consistency on offense to be more successful in the years to come.

The Everett distance track team qualified 15 athletes for the NWAACC tournament, where they would not only match up against the toughest athletes in the Northwest, but the heat as well.

It certainly didn't make things any easier as nerves had already built up for many of the Trojan athletes who would have to run in the heat of Spokane instead of in cold, rainy Everett.

"It was pretty hot out [there] so it makes it hard to run a fast time in the 10K," head coach Matt Koenigs said.

"These are some of the fastest kids in the nation for junior colleges and I was extremely nervous," said sophomore Jacob Wahlenmaier. "For about three hours before [the race] I was shaking with nerves."

There couldn't have been more pressure on sophomore women's captain Megan Hall, who came into the 10K as the number one seed with a personal record of more than 20 seconds faster than the Number Two seed.

Hall, who ran in the first event of the 2009 NWAACC track champion and was expected to win, sprinted out to the lead half-way to go and held on to take first place.

Many Trojans finished in the top eight, displaying solid individual performances, including Hall in the 5K and 10K, Sophomore Jessica Costigan in the 10K, men's captain Mitch Elias in the 3K steeplechase, sophomore Tyler Nilson in the 5K and freshman Andy Wagner in the 10K.

The Trojans softball team capped off their season with a respectable showing in their tournament, and a 21-23 overall record.

First up, the Trojans had to take on the number one seed out of the south, the Lower Columbia Red Devils. The Devils had won the previous three years, and taking out the champs proved to be a daunting task.
Everett kept pace with the Devils through three innings, but then Lower

Columbia busted the game wide open with an eight run fourth capped off by an Anna Owen grand slam.

The game was called for mercy after five innings, giving the Devils a 9-1 victory and sending Everett into the one-loss bracket.

With the season on the brink, the Trojans clicked on all cylinders in their next game against the Centralia Trailblazers.

Behind the strong arm of Sydney Mahan and hot-hitting Alyse Wynar, the Trojans reversed the outcome of the previous night to capture an 8-0 victory to keep the season alive. Mahan pitched a complete game shutout allowing only three hits while striking out six. Wynar finished the game going 3-3 with a run, stolen base and three RBIs.

Next up would be the Southwestern Oregon Lakers.

The Lakers proved to hard to handle and jumped on Everett early to capture a 6-1 victory and end the Trojans run at the title.

The Everett athletes have much to be proud of after respectable seasons. The Trojans will unfortunately have to wait another year for hopes of an NWAACC title.