Welcome to Highline College Athletics 

Home of the Thunderbirds

Men’s Basketball

Overcoming Olympic

Big Second Half Leads Highline Over the Rangers

Dec. 21 – Mahlik Hall, Highline’s second leading scorer, overcame a scoreless first half to hit for 21 points in the second half to lead the Thunderbirds to a 90-72 win over Olympic College. All five Highline starters, playing at least 35 minutes, hit for double figures, with Jaylen Fayson also pulling down a game high12 rebounds to go with his 13 points.
Ahead by a 39-36 count at halftime, the T-Birds broke out to a 12 point lead before Olympic went on a run to tie the score at 56 with 11 minutes to go.  Highline then outscored the Rangers 18-2 over the next five minutes with Hall scoring 10 consecutive points during the run to put the game away.
Highline improves to 7-5 with its next game on Dec. 30 as it hosts Bellevue College.

Mahlik Hall with two of his 21 second half points in Highline’s win over Olympic College.

Men’s Wrestling

Big Win Over Big Bend

Dec. 13, 2019 –  despite forfeiting at two weights, Highline wrestlers still dominated the Big Bend visitors with Austin Cleland, Jeramias Sandoval, Jeramias Sandoval, and Nico Torres recording pins, John Sowers and Kai Olson with technical falls, and Hayden Henry with an 11-9 win in overtime.  The final score was Highline 31  Big Bend 18.

Austin Cleland would go on to pin Roberto Ramirez of Big Bend in the 2nd period.

Women’s Basketball

A Solid Win

Newcomer Lunday Leads T-Birds

Dec. 14 – facing a much needed win, Highline turned to one of its newest players for a spark. Freshman Kylie Lunday, joining the team after the end of volleyball season, led the Thunderbirds with 17 points and 11 rebounds in its first win of the year, 55-44 over Skagit Valley.  Catherine Sunny added 16 points and 5 rebounds for Highline. Skagit Valley was led by McKenzie Yost with18 points and 12 rebounds. While Highline held the rebounding edge 40-32, the key was its defense in holding Skagit Valley to  shooting 18% from the field.

The team takes a holiday break before participating in the Lower Columbia Tournament starting Dec. 27.

Kylie Lunday sparked Highline to its first win in 2019.

Women’s Soccer

Highline Defeats Peninsula 1-0 For Title

Sophia Leer Hits Winning Goal in Double Overtime
Hannah Jenkins Named MVP

Hannah Jenkins to an NWAC reporter about the Highline defense: “”We’re filthy, we’re nasty, and we don’t go down without a fight.”

Nov. 17 – you could tell they were tired.  They seemed a step slower, moving a little sluggishly, their passes lacked crispness, and their distance kicks didn’t go quite as far.  They were having trouble clearing the ball from their end. It came as no surprise; they were in the second overtime in the championship match against Peninsula, and this was their second double-overtime match in less than 48 hours, following a penalty shootout win over Walla Walla in the semi-finals.  With a bench of only three players to start both contest, almost half the Thunderbird starters had played every minute of both contests.  Peninsula, on the other hand, had been substituting liberally throughout the match. And now in this second overtime, with two starters now out with leg injuries and no fresh players to bring in, Highline was hanging on by its fingernails, saved only by Peninsula near misses and a series of sprawling saves by the preternaturally calm Highline freshman goalkeeper Kate Nelson.  And then it changed (Finish reading the story at the Women’s Soccer page).

Highline also takes Playoff and League MVP honors; Coach of the Year; places six players on All-Star team (details)

The 2019 Women’s Soccer Champions

Women’s Volleyball

Season Endings

Highline went 2-2 in the NWAA Championship Tournament as its season came to an end. The Thunderbirds finished at 20-7 overall and 10-2 in league play.  Three sophomores made the West Division All-Star teams, with Alicia Nguyen and Kiki Troy being named to the First Team and April Talaiga making the Second Team.  The playoffs saw the final appearances Nguyen, Troy, and Talaiga along with sophomores Taecia Akana and Misiona Ribeiro,

Team Leaders:
Kills:  Alicia Nguyen 306 (4.86 per set)
Assists: Kiani Troy  462 (8.4 per set)
Digs: April Talaiga  271  (4.37 per set)
Service Aces: Kiani Troy  (0.58 per set)

Highline finished the 2019 season 20-7 overall and 10-2 in league play, going 2-2 in the NWAC Championship Playoffs.

Men’s Soccer

One and Done in the Playoffs

Wenatchee Valley 2  Highline 1  (double overtime)

Nov. 6 – For most men’s soccer teams in the Northwest Athletics Conference, a 7-4-1 league record and a trip to the playoffs would be considered a very successful year.  But by the high standards the Highline program has set over past years, the 2-1 first round loss to Wenatchee Valley in double-overtime can only seem a disappointment.  It was a hard-fought contest that saw Wenatchee Valley take the lead at 46 minutes after a scoreless first half on an unassisted goal by Luis Navarrete.  Highline’s Cris Garfias-Lozano tied the score on a penalty kick at 78 minutes.  That ended the scoring through the end of regular time and the first overtime.  The match ended when with a couple of minutes left in the second overtime midfielder Alex Medina of Wenatchee Valley took advantage of a scramble in front of the Highline goal and scored the game winner.  And with that goal Highline’s season was over.

The loss marked the final matches for the sophomores, led by  Alex Weaver, Gauoussou Doucoure, Nestor Quijada, and Augie Estrada.  Head Coach Steve Mohn will need to replace such standouts but after playing this year with a freshman laden roster gaining valuable experience, Highline should be bringing back an abundance of match-tested players for the 2020 season.

Freshman David Avila will be a key returnee for the Thunderbirds.

Women’s Tennis

A Sunday Morning Reunion

Oct. 20 – this year’s Highline Women’s team (with six new members) got a chance to meet last year’s team to play a few sets and have lunch together as the team hosted its first ever alumni match on Sunday, Oct. 20 at the Boeing Employee Tennis Center.  In the process the current team got a chance to pick up some tips, both in tennis and being a college student. With a young team, the T-Birds will be anchored by Mikyla Olsen, who won the #3 Singles Championship at the 2019 NWAC Tournament.

The 2018/19 and 2019/20 teams, with Head Coach Laura Rosa and Asst. Coach Makoa Rosa.