Lake County soccer players, XC runner excel in college

by John Heglie Special For Leader
| November 18, 2018 2:30 PM

The Mission Valley had eight collegians playing on the pitch of women’s soccer fields this season, an unprecedented number for this area.

Three of them who will be graduating this coming spring are Sarah Howell, Linnea Madsen and Keely (Clairmont) King.

As an Argonaut, Howell has been the quintessential example of her former Pirate mascot in the sense of having accrued quite a treasure trove of accolades: multiple all-academic awards that include 2017 and 2018 honor from the College Sports Information Directors of America as well as multiple team and individual awards.

Madsen received an individual honor from her conference for sportsmanship her sophomore season. King (nee Clairmont) transitioned from defender to goalkeeper this season due to a rash of injuries to regulars.

Another quintet who are at earlier stages in their collegiate soccer careers include Tiara Duford at Rocky, Jenna Evertz at the University of Providence, Rachel Maddy (Mission Valley Christian Academy) at Seattle Pacific and Marina Mayorga as well as JaNessa Taylor at Feather River College (Quincy, Calif.).

sr. MF #6 Sarah Howell (Polson) UProvidence career2018-15: 4g11a(27sog)55sh

2018:1g3a(10sog)24sh / 2017:1a(4sog)8sh / 2016:1g2a(4sog)8sh / 2015:2g5a(10sog)18sh

(3x CCC academic all-conference, 2x Daktronics-NAIA scholar-athlete), 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District (College Division, Dist 4), Iron Woman (3x), Coaches Award (2x), team captain (3x), 2017 Defensive MVP, 2016 Defensive POY.

sr. MF Linnea Madsen (Polson) North Central University NCAA D3 career: 75gms, 9g2a

2018: 1g,14sh(5sog)/2017: 1a, 11sh(6sog)/2016: 2g,22sh(14sog) / 2015: 6g1a, 25sh(15sog)

2016 UMAC Women’s Soccer Sportsmanship Awards – Team: North Central, Individual: Linnea Madsen

sr. D #6 Keely (Clairmont) King (Polson), Central Christian College

2018: 16sv / 2017:(1sog)3sv / 2016:1a(1sog)2sh / 2015: (3sog)5sh

so. F #2 Tiara Duford (Polson), Rocky 2018: 4g2a, (11sog), 2017: 5g2a, 27sh(13sog)

so. GK #1 Jenna Evertz (Polson), UProvidence 2018:5sv

fr. GK #00 Rachel Maddy (MVCA), Seattle Pacific

fr. Marina Mayorga (Polson), Feather River 2g

fr. JaNessa Taylor (Polson), Feather River 2g

scored game winning goal in 38th minute against College of the Redwoods

Cross Country

Rocky Mountain College cross country sophomore Jackson Duffey (Ronan, Class of 2017) finished second in the Frontier Conference Championships with a time 25:52 to help Rocky to a second place team finish, trailing Lewis & Clark State by only three points.

Duffey qualified to compete in the 2018 NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championships to be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Nov. 16.