Fall sports are just around the corner, with football practices five days away and all other sports beginning practice in 10 days. Regular season action is less than four weeks away.
The 2025 fall season was loaded with hardware in Thurston County, from North Thurston volleyball’s historic state title run to Pope John Paul II's state title in boys cross country and runner-up state finishes for the Olympia girls cross country team and the Tumwater football team.
This fall, there’s no shortage of intrigue in the prep sports scene around the county.
Let’s take a look at some of the top storylines to keep a close eye on this season.
10. Is this the year for Capital diver Emy McMurdie to take the 3A crown?
Capital senior diver Emy McMurdie has qualified for the 3A state meet in 1-meter diving in each of her first three seasons and has consistently been one of the top divers in the classification. She has three top-10 finishes on her resume, including a fifth-place medal her freshman year and a ninth-place finish last season. Five of the top eight performers who finished above McMurdie’s 2025 state finals score of 262.45 have graduated, although Gig Harbor sophomore and reigning state champ Jane Jackman will be difficult to top.
If McMurdie can bring a state title to Capital, she would be the first Cougars diver to win a championship in 43 years. Courtney Carr clinched the 4A 1-meter diving title in 1983.
9. How will Allyson Ooms close out her outstanding Rainier volleyball career?
It was an unforgettable season for Rainier standout Allyson Ooms in 2025, as she led the Mountaineers to their first District 4 2B title since 1998 with a Central 2B League MVP campaign.
Ooms, who was also named The Chronicle’s All-Area MVP, recorded a staggering stat line of 276 kills, 292 digs, 27 aces and 15 blocks. She’s been a stud for the Mountaineers since her freshman year and will enter 2026 as the only senior on the roster.
Ooms helped Rainier secure consecutive state trophies in 2023 and 2024, but the top-seeded Mountaineers left empty-handed in 2025 after a loss to Toutle Lake, the same time Rainier defeated in the district title match.
Rainier will advance as far as its superstar takes it in a tough C2BL that also features experienced teams in Onalaska and Toledo, and don’t count out a bounceback year from Adna. The Mountaineers will have a couple of gaps to fill with the graduation of Anika Plowman and Katelyn Eckroth, but they still have a chance to make some noise in the C2BL, the district and in the 2B bracket in Yakima under the tutelage of Ooms.
8. Is Timberline football back?
No Lacey or Olympia football team has qualified for the state tournament since Timberline went to the quarterfinals in 2018.
The Blazers may present the best chance in the area to return to state in 2026 just two years after finishing 1-9 overall and 0-6 in Puget Sound League play. Timberline took a leap in 2025 with a 5-5 mark, but there’s confidence within the program that 2026 could be a huge year.
The roster is littered with talent on both sides of the ball. Offensively, First Team All-Puget Sound League Nisqually running back Cooper Jones will be a workhorse once again for the Blazers. Second Team All-PSL Nisqually quarterback Cam Vongdara will have time to throw to a talented array of playmakers behind an experienced offensive line headlined by Oregon State commit Kataferu Galoia and all-league senior Amacyn Savelio.
Defensively, the Blazers are going to be appointment television. Galoia and Savelio are among the best defensive linemen in the league, and University of Washington commit Maurice Williams transferred in from Graham-Kapowsin bringing plenty of talent. Linebacker Caleb Bacon and defensive back Champean Spearman round out what should be an electric defensive unit.
Timberline’s league schedule includes a home game against Peninsula, a road game against what should be an improved River Ridge team, and a road test at Lakes in Week 7. If the Blazers can put it all together, this should be their best team in eight years.
7. Can Tumwater volleyball survive the loss of decorated senior class?
Few area volleyball teams are losing more production than Tumwater. Gone are 2025 EvCo MVP Tove Hugus, all-state middle blocker Paige Henderson, defensive specialist Milani Palizzi, setter Bailey Broeker, right-side hitter Chloe Henderson and libero Lalie Betschart from the T-Birds team that took home the fifth-place state trophy in Yakima last fall.
Senior Kay Kay Malroy, who shined in the 2A state tournament, will be expected to jump into the lead role at her outside hitter spot. Junior Lauren Montoya-Kilmer, who was named an honorable mention on the All-EvCo list in 2025, returns with plenty of experience as a defensive specialist.
The T-Birds will learn very quickly what they’re about in 2026, as they kick off the regular season against 4A runner-up Curtis, South Puget Sound League runner-up Olympia, 1A fourth-place finisher La Center, and 4A seventh-place finisher Emerald Ridge. Even if Tumwater gets off to a slow start in non-league play, the T-Birds should still be able to take care of business in the EvCo.
6. Will River Ridge and Timberline girls soccer take another step forward?
The River Ridge and Timberline girls soccer teams have both enjoyed steady progress over the past four years and enter 2026 looking for their biggest leaps yet.
Timberline improved from a 6-7-3 season in 2024 to 11-4-4 in 2025, falling just one win shy of its first state appearance in 14 years. The Blazers have upped their winning percentage in league play in each of the past four years. Standout goalkeeper and Puget Sound League Nisqually Defensive MVP Addison Lawrence has graduated, as have all three of the Blazers all-league defenders in Isabel Liukkonen, Paityn Gagnon and Saylor Carrougher.
But first-team forward Hannah Jackson is back as the leader of the pack, along with senior forward Abby Green and senior defender Kalena Moe to lead what should be another exciting year for the Blazers.
As for River Ridge, the Hawks are four years removed from a winless campaign and three years removed from a one-win season. But the Hawks jumped to 5-7-4 in 2024 and 7-8-2 in 2025, and they clinched their first district tournament berth in nine years last fall.
Michele Pringle is off to Pacific Lutheran University after a decorated prep career that was capped off by a Co-Offensive MVP award for her 19 goals in her senior season. First Team All-PSL Nisqually defender Sophia Richards has also graduated, but River Ridge welcomes back junior forward Emily Schelling and senior defender Samantha Thomas, among others.
The Hawks got off to a strong start in September before stumbling a bit in October, particularly in the scoring department. If River Ridge can maintain offensive success throughout the season, another district appearance or even the first state trip in program history could be on the horizon.
5. Can Timberline volleyball challenge North Thurston?
The Timberline volleyball team left the 3A state tournament with a trophy for the first time since 2014 as the Blazers bounced back from their quarterfinals loss to win three elimination games in a row and place seventh.
The program has undergone a recent rebirth, with Timberline winning 18 games in 2024, up from just seven the year prior, and then jumping to 19 wins in 2025. Timberline has won 12 league games in each of the past two seasons.
North Thurston wasn’t tested often in league play in 2025. The Rams only lost six sets during the league slate, and Timberline was responsible for two of those.
Timberline brings the majority of its core back, including Western Washington commit Kinley Smith, Central Washington commit Jovie Lind, Miya Jackson and Leia Dela Cruz. The biggest hurdles standing in the way of an improved season for Timberline in 2026 are North Thurston and Lakes. If the Blazers can stun one of those two Puget Sound League powers, that momentum may carry them to new heights.
As for the reigning 3A state champ North Thurston, you’ll have to keep reading deeper into this article to see what the Rams are bringing to the table this fall.
4. Can Rainier girls cross country repeat its 2024 glory?
The Rainier girls cross country program has established itself as one of the premier teams at the 2B level. Two years separated from their first team state championship, the Mountaineers have some different leaders in place and loads of talent.
Komaire Robles is the headliner, a junior who quickly became a fixture in the program with a district title as a freshman and a podium finish as a sophomore. Juniors Kinsley Barlow and Alexis Myers have steadily improved year after year and have been crucial pieces of Rainier’s last two state trophies.
Senior Rayanna Mustoe is back after missing all of 2025 with a serious injury. The Mountaineers will need Isabella McCarthy, Ruby King and Brooklynn Bentz to supply the quality depth that has always led to hardware for Rainier.
Co-head coaches Rob Henry and Karissa Beckman have long led a well-oiled cross country machine in Rainier. But, in order to reach the 2B pinnacle once again, the Mountaineers will be tasked with outperforming Liberty Bell, Chewelah and Pope John Paul II teams that return the vast majority of their core.
3. What will Olympia cross country sophomore phenoms Quenton Lanese and Leah Hennen do for an encore?
Since arriving on the Olympia campus, Quenton Lanese and Leah Hennen have done nothing but thrive on the track, whether in cross country or in track and field.
Lanese has been making headlines in running since he was in elementary school, and he’s only gotten better and more record-breaking as time has passed. In his freshman year, he obliterated the boys school freshman record and became only the second Olympia Bear to run 15:05 when he finished second at the state meet. He crossed the finish line in under 16 minutes in six of his nine meets last fall.
Hennen also stands alone as the most accomplished freshman for the Olympia girls team. Her times steadily slid down, culminating in a fourth-place state finish with a time of 18:26.1. She followed it up with a trip to the NXR Northwest Regional Championships, where she finished in 18:11.5. It’s already the fourth fastest time in school history and the fastest by a freshman by over 30 seconds.
Both runners also medaled in the state track and field meet in the spring. By season’s end in November, it would be a shock to no one to see Lanese and Hennen securing school records and state titles.
2. Will Tumwater football finally break through and win it all?
Husky Stadium has not been kind to the Tumwater football team for each of the last three seasons. The Thunderbirds have come in second place in the 2A ranks for three consecutive years, including a 35-20 loss to Archbishop Murphy in last year’s title game.
No 2A football team has been to the state championship game more in the last 16 years than Tumwater, as the T-Birds have played in the season finale 10 times with two state titles in 2019 and 2010.
Tumwater’s 2025 roster was loaded with experienced seniors who grew quite used to playing football through early December. But few programs across the state reload quicker than Tumwater, and 2026 should be no exception.
Harvard commit Ethan Bello has gotten stronger this offseason and will be one of the most versatile and productive defensive backs in Class 2A. Tumwater’s run game will be fueled by Tyler Briscoe, Gavin Kaikkonen, Grady Wall and Jayden Hinchcliffe.
The 2026 schedule features some fresh faces from the GSHL, including Washougal, Ridgefield and Woodland, and Tumwater will close the regular season at W.F. West. Once the T-Birds enter the state tournament, they will have faced a higher level of competition than they’re used to and should be more prepared to face teams like Anacortes, Archbishop Murphy, Lynden and/or East Valley (Yakima) who are staples in the 2A semifinals and title game.
1. Can North Thurston volleyball repeat as state champions?
No team in Thurston County enjoyed a better fall last year than North Thurston volleyball. The Rams marched to the 3A state championship match for the second consecutive season and triumphed this time with a near-perfect run through the tournament.
North Thurston swept Mount Spokane in the title match and went 12-1 in sets in the tourney. A state championship was inevitable after a couple of dominant years in 2024 and 2023 that fell just short of the ultimate goal of the top prize.
In 2026, North Thurston will have to learn to live life without Puget Sound League Co-MVP Addy Conner on the outside, as well as Sammi Humphrey setting for her and Anna Sheeran making clutch defensive plays at her libero spot. The Rams’ attack will be anchored by Abby Losey and Kaelani Adams, along with Ava Almonte and Kelci Teo.
A state championship places an inevitable target on the backs of the Rams, but the culture of success has been established by head coach Jackie Meyer. They played with the mindset of finishing their unfinished business in 2025, and the standard will certainly be raised to the goal of defending their crown this fall.
