Winter Sports:
Ski and snowboard season could begin as early as Friday at one Washington ski area.
White Pass Ski Area announced Tuesday that "conditions are looking good for opening this weekend."
On Tuesday, the ski area reported a snowpack base of 38 inches at its summit and 26 inches at its base. Ten inches of new snow had fallen in the previous 24 hours.
A spokesman for the ski area expressed optimism about an earlier than anticipated start to the 2006-07 season.
"While we expect to be open on Saturday, there is a chance we could move that up to Friday, so watch the conditions page [at the White Pass website] for updates. We'll make the call Thursday before noon," the spokesman said.
Visit skiwhitepass.com on the internet to see where things stand before making "first tracks" plans.
Prep Football:
Three of SW Washington's four entries in the state Class 1A playoffs won last weekend to advance to this weekend's quarterfinal round.
Top seed Montesano (10-1) shut out Friday Harbor, 21-0; No. 2 Kalama routed Columbia of Burbank, 51-6; No. 3 Castle Rock (10-1) edged Cascade Christian of Puyallup, 24-21; and No. 4 La Center (7-4) fell to unbeaten Meridian, 21-8.
This Friday, Montesano meets Castle Rock in Tumwater, in a quarterfinal game that kicks off at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Kalama travels to Bellingham to take on Meridian (11-0) in a contest that gets under way at 3:30 p.m.
Prep Girls Soccer:
The semifinals of the 2006 state 1A/2B tournament take place this Friday at Curtis High School, in University Place.
The first pairing pits Seattle Christian against King's of Seattle at 4 p.m. The second semifinal match at 8 p.m. will feature defending champion La Salle of Yakima versus Naches Valley.
Winners will advance to Saturday's championship match at 4 p.m.
Prep Boys Soccer:
Curtis High School will also host the state 1B/2B championships for boys, which begin Friday at 2 p.m. with a semifinal match between Tacoma Baptist and Bear Creek.
The second semifinal will have eastside rivals Moses Lake Christian Academy and Northwest Christian of Colbert facing off at 6 p.m.
Saturday's championship match will begin at 2 p.m.
Prep Volleyball:
Trico Division champion Castle Rock lost to Puyallup's Cascade Christian in five sets last Saturday and finished seventh in the 2006 Class 1A tournament in Yakima.
The Rockets qualified for the fourth-place match earlier in the day by upending Cedar Park Christian of Bothell in four sets.
Castle Rock was the only SW Washington team to earn a trophy at this year's state championships.
Zillah eliminated Trico runner-up Stevenson on day two of the tournament, taking the loser-out match in straight sets.
La Center and Montesano, SW Washington's other two entries, were ousted from the double-elimination tournament on Friday. Local favorite Goldendale fell from trophy contention on Saturday.
In Saturday's championship match, Colfax swept top-ranked Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls to repeat as state champion. It was Colfax's third title in a row, fifth in the past seven years and eighth overall.
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