With spring break shortening prep schedules, baseball is the only sport that saw a major shake-up at the top end of the Northwest Conference standings.
That said, many sports squeezed in some important final matches before the week-long break commenced.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of the spring season.
Prep
Baseball
Mount Vernon (10-2, 6-0 NWC) has taken sole possession of first place in the NWC after beating Lynden (9-1, 5-1 NWC) in a 3-2 thriller on Monday, April 1. It was the first spring break game for both teams, and it had huge league ramifications.
Blaine (7-3, 3-3 NWC) has bounced back from three straight losses by winning two in a row, and the Borderites last beat Mount Baker 15-0 on Tuesday, April 2.
Meridian, Lynden Christian, Bellingham and Nooksack Valley all are 3-3 in NWC games, creating a temporary jam in the middle of the league standings. Ferndale (3-5, 2-4 NWC) is still in the mix, albeit just below that middle group.
The NWC standings will remain mostly idle until next week, as many teams are traveling for non-league play on the break.
Fastpitch softball
There hasn’t been much movement in the fastpitch standings, as Lynden (8-0, 4-0 NWC) remains the team to beat. The Lions last beat Ferndale, 10-7, on March 28.
Blaine (4-0, 3-0 NWC) has played half as many games, but the Borderites are dangerous, allowing an average of one run per game thus far. Mount Baker (6-1, 3-1 NWC) also keeps winning, and the Mountaineers last crushed Oak Harbor 12-1 on March 28.
Meridian, Lynden Christian and Nooksack Valley all have two league wins, keeping them right in the middle of the NWC hierarchy.
Boys golf
Sehome’s John Kummer won the last Northwest Conference-centric tournament ahead of spring break in an eight-team event on Thursday, March 28 at Camaloch Golf Course on Camano Island
Kummer beat Sedro-Woolley’s Riley Friebel, Lakewood’s Dylan Kirkpatrick and his Mariners teammates Gabe Quick and Jackson Niva by three strokes, posting an 18-hole score of 80.
Another pair of Sehome players cracked the top 10, as Zach Behrends (86) finished sixth and Morrison Kuntz (87) tied for seventh with Squalicum’s Daniel Robbins and Mount Baker’s Malcolm Evans.
Girls tennis
Bellingham holds a slight lead over Lynden for first place in the NWC, as the Bayhawks sit at 4-1 overall with a 3-0 league record.
Lynden (4-0, 2-0 NWC) remains unbeaten, and the Lions have only dropped three courts on the season. Bellingham most recently beat Anacortes, 5-2, on March 28 while Lynden swept Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, March 26.
Boys soccer
Sehome bolstered its first-place hold on the league with a 7-0 win over Lakewood on March 28 — entering spring break with a 7-0-0 record (3-0-0 NWC) on the season.
Bellingham (7-1-0, 3-0-0 NWC) is in second, and the Bayhawks last beat Oak Harbor, 4-0, on Wednesday, March 27. Squalicum (5-2-0, 3-0-0 NWC) is in third, and the Storm have won two in a row after losing to Class 4A Lake Stevens on March 21.
The Class 1A ranks are still led by Meridian (5-2-0, 2-0-0 NWC) and Nooksack Valley (2-4-0, 2-0-0 NWC), though Blaine (5-1-2, 0-1-1 NWC) remains a close contender.
Blaine had a chance to narrow the gap when it played a one-win Lynden Christian team on March 28, but the teams tied 2-2. The Borderites then faced Lakewood in a non-league game, defeating the Cougars 3-0 on Saturday, March 30.
Ferndale (2-4-1, 2-2-1 NWC) is hanging with Mount Vernon (4-2-1, 2-1-1 NWC) in the 3A hierarchy, and the Golden Eagles have won two of their last three games — most recently beating Sedro-Woolley, 2-1, on March 28.
Northwest Conference baseball standings — April 3
Northwest Conference fastpitch softball standings — April 3
| Baseball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Mount Vernon | 6-0 | 10-2 |
| Lynden | 5-1 | 9-1 |
| Oak Harbor | 5-1 | 8-1 |
| Anacortes | 5-1 | 8-3 |
| Lakewood | 5-1 | 5-3 |
| Blaine | 3-3 | 7-3 |
| Meridian | 3-3 | 6-3 |
| Lynden Christian | 3-3 | 6-4 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 3-3 | 6-5 |
| Bellingham | 3-3 | 5-5 |
| Nooksack Valley | 3-3 | 5-5 |
| Ferndale | 2-4 | 3-5 |
| Burlington- Edison | 1-5 | 3-7 |
| Sehome | 1-5 | 2-8 |
| Mount Baker | 0-6 | 0-8 |
| Squalicum | 0-6 | 0-9 |
| Softball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Lynden | 4-0 | 8-0 |
| Burlington- Edison | 4-0 | 4-4 |
| Blaine | 3-0 | 4-0 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 3-0 | 5-1 |
| Mount Baker | 3-1 | 6-1 |
| Lakewood | 3-1 | 5-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 2-2 | 4-2 |
| Meridian | 2-2 | 4-3 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2-2 | 2-3 |
| Sehome | 1-3 | 5-4 |
| Anacortes | 1-3 | 3-3 |
| Ferndale | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Oak Harbor | 1-3 | 3-5 |
| Mount Vernon | 1-3 | 1-6 |
| Squalicum | 0-4 | 0-7 |
| Bellingham | 0-4 | 0-8 |
Northwest Conference boys soccer standings — April 3
| Boys soccer | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L-T | W-L-T |
| Sehome | 3-0-0 | 7-0-0 |
| Bellingham | 3-0-0 | 7-1-0 |
| Squalicum | 3-0-0 | 5-2-0 |
| Mount Vernon | 2-1-1 | 4-2-1 |
| Ferndale | 2-2-1 | 2-4-1 |
| Meridian | 2-0-0 | 5-2-0 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2-0-0 | 2-4-0 |
| Anacortes | 1-1-1 | 2-3-3 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1-1-0 | 3-3-0 |
| Lynden | 1-2-0 | 4-4-1 |
| Lakewood | 1-3-0 | 3-5-1 |
| Lynden Christian | 0-0-1 | 1-4-1 |
| Blaine | 0-1-1 | 5-1-2 |
| Oak Harbor | 0-4-1 | 1-6-2 |
| Mount Baker | 0-2-0 | 0-2-0 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0-3-0 | 2-5-0 |
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
